American Ninja

My brother Russ and I Had some good laughs on Monday, recalling our fixation and fascination of ninja movies and being a ninja, in the 80's. One movie we would rent almost every weekend for a long time was the American Ninja series, which lasted about 4 series I believe. Here is the plot:

Joe Armstrong, an orphaned drifter will little respect for much other than martial arts, finds himself on an American Army base in The Philippines after a judge gives him a choice of enlistment or prison. On one of his first missions driving a convoy, his platoon is attacked by a group of rebel ninjas who try to steal the weapons the platoon is transporting and kidnap Patricia, the base colonel's daughter, who happens to be along for the ride. Joe rescues Patricia and gets her safely back to the base, but everyone else in the platoon is killed, leading his superiors to conclude that Joe is guilty of cowardice, collaboration or simple incompetence. At the same time, the rebel leader vows revenge against the serviceman who disrupted his plans, and sends an army of ninjas to assassinate him and bring back Patricia. If he wants to survive and save the girl, Joe's going to have to draw on every last ounce of his training.


Can anyone else tell me if there was a better plot for an 80's ninja movie??? Was there ever a better name for a lead star playing an American Ninja than "Michael DUDEikoff"??