Pray for Death (1985)

I'll tell you why so serious

Great Film overall

I cannot think of one single thing that I would change about this film. The acting is incomparable, the directing deft, and the writing poignantly brilliant.

It's the kind of movie you'll want to see a second time with someone who hasn't seen it yet, to remember what it was like to watch it for the first time.

Though it has a simple, time-tested plot and a surprisingly effective cast, 'Pray for Death' comes up a bit short in the execution department. The action scenes are effective in that 80s ninja movie style, but they lack the intensity and brutality of Kosugi's 'Revenge of the Ninja'. They and the film also lack the latter's emotional power as well.The cast is certainly up to the task. Kosugi has an amazing ability to go from friendly, mild-mannered businessman to vengeful human weapon with a snap of the fingers. James Booth (who also wrote the screenplay) is quite good as the sadistic lead henchman Limehouse, and veteran character actors Parley Baer and Norman Burton help round out a cast that's much better than we've come to expect from films of this genre.With a few tweaks this could've been on the level with Kosugi classics such as 'Revenge of the Ninja' and 'Ninja III: The Domination'. As it is, it's a second rate shrug of a chop-socky revenge flick.

HORRIBLE acting, bad cinematography, bad choreography, fake blood, awkward action, terrible uninspired directing and editing. The antagonist is SO BAD, lol OMG. He's like a grouchy old man at a country club that has an enlarged prostate, not a crime boss. There are ultra wide shots with Akira sneaking around all by himself, followed by close ups of henchman drawing pistols, followed by a shot with the pistols right in Akira's face, like they moved faster than light to magically surround the hero. Akira then kicks the enemy one by one, while none of them shoot, with these close ups of the enemy awkwardly and passively waiting to be kicked. Once again, the editing is HORRENDOUS. One example of why the action looks so ridiculous and the directing is so bad: there is a scene where Akira mysteriously escapes right in front of his enemies (terribly done, completely unbelievable). The crime boss and his cronies proceed to look for him, in the same poorly composed shot, and they begin to fire their weapons randomly in front of them as they run, no idea where the guy is. The old fart boss even points up some stairs to where they think Akira has gone, pointing with his GUN and FIRING it nonchalantly in that directing like he's using it as a signal. In so many of the action sequences, you can tell they rushed shots just to get the "gist" across (particularly the scene where these characters get hit by a car, HAHAHA). The child actors are SO bad, you can tell they're just trying not to smile, or that their bored or...something. There are SO many awkward smiles by the protagonist lol, these weird confused smiles you get from anxious tourists or something. It reminds me of so many rushed, cheap and ill-crafted scenes and cheesy acting in the movies my buddy and I made as a kid. Thankfully we got all that crap out of us after a few years of practicing. I think this filmmaker and his crew liked the Hollywood parties more than actually learning the craft of cinema, and once they had sniffed enough asses to get a movie deal, they just kicked back and haphazardly put stuff in front of the camera. HORRIBLE HORRIBLE HORRIBLE DIRECTING. Gordon Hessler sucked.

Akira lives in Tokyo with his wife, Aiko and children. When the family has a chance to move to the United States so that Aiko can teach the children about their American heritage, they pack up and run a restaurant. A band of crooked cops store stolen goods in the back room of the restaurant and unknown to them, a priceless necklace is wanted by a local syndicate. When one of the cops decides to take the necklace for himself, the syndicate goes after the previous owner of the restaurant, then after the Akiras family. When one of the boys is kidnapped, Akira quietly rescues him. But when Aiko is killed, Akira finally decides to unleash his dark side....If you've seen Revenge of the Ninja, then you've seen this, it's basically the same movie, but with a more sadistic villain, and not very good fight scenes.Kosugi looks the part, all metal and eyeliner, but compared to other martial arts film from the eighties (especially from Cannon), it's pretty non eventful.The villain is hilarious though, spouting off threats,setting fire to old men, and holding his own to a ninja for a decent ten minutes.There are a few good scenes, but it's almost a carbon copy of Kosugis better movie.But it has a wonderful theme tune.

A man wants to leave his country behind and start a new life in America.Unfortunately, he runs into gangsters that thought he stole a necklace from them. His family is in danger, and he reverts to his true calling - a ninja - to get justice.Shô Kosugi gives us a great martial arts/revenge flick. His acting isn't the greatest, but his fists speak loudly.He warned them, and now, they will pray for death.Gangsters, crooked cops, and the most dangerous man in California are no match. Even the kid (Kane Kosugi) is dangerous with nun-chucks and darts.They had to really stretch credulity at the end as he fought James Booth. He sliced thought a dozen men, but they stretched this battle out.