''Commando Ninja'' is a 2018 English-language French
martial arts
Martial arts are codified systems and traditions of combat practiced for a number of reasons such as self-defense; military and law enforcement applications; combat sport, competition; physical, mental, and spiritual development; entertainment; a ...
action comedy film
Action comedy is a genre that combines aspects of action and comedy. The genre is most prevalent in film with action comedy films, though several TV series fit this genre.
Film
The action comedy film is a film genre that combines aspects of actio ...
written and directed by Benjamin Combes. It pays homage to 1980s action films such as ''
Commando
Royal Marines from 40 Commando on patrol in the Sangin">40_Commando.html" ;"title="Royal Marines from 40 Commando">Royal Marines from 40 Commando on patrol in the Sangin area of Afghanistan are pictured
A commando is a combatant, or operativ ...
'', ''
The Terminator
''The Terminator'' is a 1984 American science fiction action film directed by James Cameron. It stars Arnold Schwarzenegger as the Terminator, a cyborg assassin sent back in time from 2029 to 1984 to kill Sarah Connor (Linda Hamilton), whos ...
'', ''
Rambo: First Blood Part II'', ''
Predator
Predation is a biological interaction where one organism, the predator, kills and eats another organism, its prey. It is one of a family of common feeding behaviours that includes parasitism and micropredation (which usually do not kill th ...
'', and ''
American Ninja
''American Ninja'' is a 1985 American martial arts action film produced by Menahem Golan and Yoram Globus's Cannon Films. Directed by Sam Firstenberg, who specialized in this genre in the 1980s, the film stars Michael Dudikoff in the title rol ...
''.
The film stars Eric Carlesi, Philippe Allier, Stéphane Asensio, Olivier Dobremel, Anaëlle Rincent, and Charlotte Poncin.
The film was
crowdfunded
Crowdfunding is the practice of funding a project or venture by raising money from a large number of people, typically via the internet. Crowdfunding is a form of crowdsourcing and alternative finance. In 2015, over was raised worldwide by crow ...
through
Kickstarter
Kickstarter is an American public benefit corporation based in Brooklyn, New York, that maintains a global crowdfunding platform focused on creativity. The company's stated mission is to "help bring creative projects to life". As of July 2021, ...
from 20 February 2018 to 22 March 2018 with pledges reaching €31,953, making 213% of its original goal of €15,000.
Originally planned to run at 45 minutes, Combes expanded the running time to 68 minutes and released the film on
YouTube
YouTube is a global online video platform, online video sharing and social media, social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by ...
on 21 December 2018.
Plot
In 1968, during the
Vietnam War
The Vietnam War (also known by #Names, other names) was a conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. It was the second of the Indochina Wars and was officially fought between North Vie ...
, a
Green Beret
The green beret was the official headdress of the British Commandos of the Second World War. It is still worn by members of the Royal Marines after passing the Commando Course, and personnel from other units of the Royal Navy, Army and RAF wh ...
platoon known as the "Lizard Smokers", led by John Hunter, is ambushed by
ninja
A or was a covert agent or mercenary in feudal Japan. The functions of a ninja included reconnaissance
In military operations, reconnaissance or scouting is the exploration of an area by military forces to obtain information about enem ...
s. In the midst of the chaos, Leeroy Hopkins loses his right arm in the ambush, Sgt. Oskar Kowalsky is attacked by
velociraptor
''Velociraptor'' (; ) is a genus of small dromaeosaurid dinosaur that lived in Asia during the Late Cretaceous epoch, about 75 million to 71 million years ago. Two species are currently recognized, although others have been assigned in the pa ...
s, and John is captured by the
Viet Cong
,
, war = the Vietnam War
, image = FNL Flag.svg
, caption = The flag of the Viet Cong, adopted in 1960, is a variation on the flag of North Vietnam. Sometimes the lower stripe was green.
, active ...
. While in captivity, John learns the art of
ninjutsu
, sometimes used interchangeably with the modern term , is the martial art strategy and tactics of unconventional warfare, guerrilla warfare and espionage purportedly practised by the ninja. ''Ninjutsu'' was a separate discipline in some tradit ...
from his captor, Colonel Yin. After John's training is completed, Yin sets him free, but warns him of a red ninja who betrayed his teachings. Yin is killed when his compound is bombed by the U.S.
In 1986 Canada, John is paid a visit by Hopkins and is informed that his ex-wife Lori has been murdered and his daughter Jenny has been kidnapped by ninjas working for an illegal arms dealer. John and Hopkins participate in a joint operation between the
FBI
The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is the domestic Intelligence agency, intelligence and Security agency, security service of the United States and its principal Federal law enforcement in the United States, federal law enforcement age ...
and the
U.S. Air Force
The United States Air Force (USAF) is the air service branch of the United States Armed Forces, and is one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Originally created on 1 August 1907, as a part of the United States Army Signal ...
in
Los Angeles
Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...
to nab the dealer, but the operation goes awry when John recognizes the dealer as former
Soviet Army
uk, Радянська армія
, image = File:Communist star with golden border and red rims.svg
, alt =
, caption = Emblem of the Soviet Army
, start_date ...
Colonel Kinsky, who was involved in his former platoon's ambush. Hopkins is killed by the red ninja before Kinsky escapes.
John travels to the
Central America
Central America ( es, América Central or ) is a subregion of the Americas. Its boundaries are defined as bordering the United States to the north, Colombia to the south, the Caribbean Sea to the east, and the Pacific Ocean to the west. ...
n country of
Val Verde and storms through Kinsky's villa to rescue his daughter, but discovers that Kowalsky has been converted into a cyborg. Jenny kills Kinsky by secretly placing a grenade in his pants, but Kowalsky suddenly disappears with her. John battles and defeats the red ninja in a duel, only to discover Lori behind the mask. Lori explains that an alternate future version of herself was the one murdered by the ninjas, and that Kinsky had supplied the ninjas with time travel technology since the Vietnam war. She then tells him that Jenny has been sent to 1998, where Kinsky is training his army to establish a new world order. After Lori urges John to save Jenny, he decapitates her and
uses the last of her energy to travel to a post-apocalyptic wasteland in 1998.
Upon his arrival, John reunites with Jenny, who is now an adult. She reveals that she reprogrammed Kowalsky to fight on their side. John also discovers that Hopkins is alive and well, driving a
Pontiac Firebird Trans Am
The Pontiac Firebird is an American automobile that was built and produced by Pontiac from the 1967 to 2002 model years. Designed as a pony car to compete with the Ford Mustang, it was introduced on February 23, 1967, five months after GM's Che ...
time machine.
In a mid-credits sequence, the quartet attempt to travel back to 1986, but end up trapped in a video game programmed by Kinsky. They must find a way to escape from the video game world and stop Kinsky from conquering the world with his army.
Cast
* Eric Carlesi as John Hunter, an American Green Beret that is 50% commando and 50% ninja
* Philippe Allier as Leeroy Hopkins, a
racist
Racism is the belief that groups of humans possess different behavioral traits corresponding to inherited attributes and can be divided based on the superiority of one race over another. It may also mean prejudice, discrimination, or antagonism ...
and
anti-semite
Antisemitism (also spelled anti-semitism or anti-Semitism) is hostility to, prejudice towards, or discrimination against Jews. A person who holds such positions is called an antisemite. Antisemitism is considered to be a form of racism.
Antis ...
Air Force Colonel from Texas who has a cybernetic right arm after losing his original one to ninjas in the Vietnam War
* Stéphane Asensio as Oskar Kowalsky, a
Polish-American
Polish Americans ( pl, Polonia amerykańska) are Americans who either have total or partial Poles, Polish ancestry, or are citizens of the Republic of Poland. There are an estimated 9.15 million self-identified Polish Americans, representing abou ...
member of John's former platoon who is converted into a
cyborg
A cyborg ()—a portmanteau of ''cybernetic'' and ''organism''—is a being with both organic and biomechatronic body parts. The term was coined in 1960 by Manfred Clynes and Nathan S. Kline.
* Anaëlle Rincent as Jenny Hunter, John's daughter
:* Charlotte Poncin as adult Jenny Hunter
* Thyra Hann Phonephet as Yin Sensei, a Viet Cong Colonel and ninjutsu practitioner who becomes John's mentor.
* Cécile Fargues as Lori Hunter, John's ex-wife
* Thémann Fagour as Curtis Jackson (a.k.a. Snow White), a
black
Black is a color which results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without hue, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness. Black and white have o ...
member of John's former platoon who is revealed to have died during Kinsky's experimentations.
* Olivier Dobremel as Oleg Kinsky, a
Jewish
Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...
former Soviet Army Colonel and an illegal arms dealer who kidnaps Jenny.
Production
In 2016 Benjamin Combes wrote the script for ''Commando Ninja'' and spent US$5,000 on producing and shooting footage with his friends.
Combes was heavily inspired by his two favorite childhood films: ''
Commando
Royal Marines from 40 Commando on patrol in the Sangin">40_Commando.html" ;"title="Royal Marines from 40 Commando">Royal Marines from 40 Commando on patrol in the Sangin area of Afghanistan are pictured
A commando is a combatant, or operativ ...
'' and ''
American Ninja
''American Ninja'' is a 1985 American martial arts action film produced by Menahem Golan and Yoram Globus's Cannon Films. Directed by Sam Firstenberg, who specialized in this genre in the 1980s, the film stars Michael Dudikoff in the title rol ...
'', as well as the 2011 film ''
Drive
Drive or The Drive may refer to:
Motoring
* Driving, the act of controlling a vehicle
* Road trip, a journey on roads
Roadways
Roadways called "drives" may include:
* Driveway, a private road for local access to structures, abbreviated "drive"
...
'' and the 2013 video game ''
Far Cry 3: Blood Dragon''.
Casting
After doing a small casting call on a local
Facebook
Facebook is an online social media and social networking service owned by American company Meta Platforms. Founded in 2004 by Mark Zuckerberg with fellow Harvard College students and roommates Eduardo Saverin, Andrew McCollum, Dustin M ...
group, Combes discovered bodybuilder Eric Carlesi and film memorabilia collector Philippe Allier and cast them as John Hunter and Leeroy Hopkins, respectively. In addition, he cast his former film schoolteacher Olivier Dobremel and Stéphane Asensio, Combes brought in his niece Anaëlle Rincent for the role of John's daughter Jenny. Martial arts instructor Thyra Hann Phonephet was cast as Yin Sensei after Combes saw some of his works in indie films.
Filming
''Commando Ninja'' was shot in
Montpellier
Montpellier (, , ; oc, Montpelhièr ) is a city in southern France near the Mediterranean Sea. One of the largest urban centres in the region of Occitania (administrative region), Occitania, Montpellier is the prefecture of the Departments of ...
, France from 2016 to 2018. In contrast to ''
Kung Fury
''Kung Fury'' is a 2015 English-language Swedish martial arts comedy featurette film written and directed by David Sandberg. It pays homage to 1980s martial arts and police action films. The film stars Sandberg in the title role, Jorma Taccone, ...
'', which relied on using a digital sound stage, the film used real sets and practical special effects.
The stunts were choreographed by Antony Cinturino. The kidnapping scene was shot at Combes' aunt's house, as it had similar architecture to American houses and the attic had 1980s carpeting. A swamp and a river outside Montpellier were used as stand-ins for the Vietnam War scenes. Combes' family wine distillery was used to portray the Los Angeles warehouse scene. The post-apocalyptic wasteland scene was shot at a
bauxite
Bauxite is a sedimentary rock with a relatively high aluminium content. It is the world's main source of aluminium and gallium. Bauxite consists mostly of the aluminium minerals gibbsite (Al(OH)3), boehmite (γ-AlO(OH)) and diaspore (α-AlO(O ...
quarry south of Montpellier.
The Val Verde assault scene was shot at Asensio's stepfather's winemaking villa in southern France. Filming the scene took three years, as the crew could only shoot during the summer and the vegetation in the background changed constantly. Because of this, Combes had to digitally alter the backgrounds shot during the fall to match those shot in the summer. Carlesi's hair length changed considerably during filming, but Combes kept that inconsistency in the film as a tribute to ''
Samurai Cop
''Samurai Cop'' is a 1991 American direct-to-video action film written, coproduced and directed by Amir Shervan and starring Robert Z'Dar, Matt Hannon and Mark Frazer. It has attained a cult following.
Plot
When a renegade Japanese gang known as ...
'', where
Matt Hannon was forced to wear a wig for reshoots.
Post-production
For the international version, all of the characters were dubbed over by English-speaking voice actors through the website VoiceBunny.com, except Charlotte Poncin and Thyra Hann Phonephet, who speak fluent English. Asensio also recorded his English lines during the pizza delivery scene.
In the French version, the supporting cast re-recorded their lines during post-production, but the lines of John, Hopkins, and Kinsky were dubbed over by French YouTubers Ganesh 2 and Superflame, who gave John an
Arnold Schwarzenegger
Arnold Alois Schwarzenegger (born July 30, 1947) is an Austrian and American actor, film producer, businessman, retired professional bodybuilder and politician who served as the 38th governor of California between 2003 and 2011. ''Time'' ...
voice, Hopkins a
Bruce Willis
Walter Bruce Willis (born March 19, 1955) is a retired American actor. He achieved fame with a leading role on the comedy-drama series ''Moonlighting'' (1985–1989) and appeared in over a hundred films, gaining recognition as an action hero a ...
voice, and Kinsky a
Christopher Lloyd
Christopher Allen Lloyd (born October 22, 1938) is an American actor. He has appeared in many theater productions, films, and on television since the 1960s. He is known for portraying Dr. Emmett "Doc" Brown in the ''Back to the Future'' tril ...
voice.
Marketing
German independent toymaker Goodleg announced they will release a limited run of action figures of the film's main characters in February 2019. The action figures are
kitbashed from various 1980s toy lines such as
G.I. Joe
''G.I. Joe'' is an American media franchise and a line of action figures owned and produced by the toy company Hasbro. The initial product offering represented four of the branches of the U.S. armed forces with the Action Soldier ( U.S. Army), Ac ...
,
Masters of the Universe
''Masters of the Universe'' (sometimes referred to as the ''He-Man'' or ''She-Ra'' series) is a sword and planet-themed media franchise created by Mattel. The main premise revolves around the conflict between He-Man (the alter ego of Prince Ada ...
, and
WWF. Pre-orders for the figures started on the day of the film's release.
Release
The film made its debut on
YouTube
YouTube is a global online video platform, online video sharing and social media, social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by ...
in English, French, and Polish on 21 December 2018.
It was released in Czech on 31 December 2018.
Fans who backed the project received copies of the film on
VHS or
Blu-ray
The Blu-ray Disc (BD), often known simply as Blu-ray, is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 2005 and released on June 20, 2006 worldwide. It is designed to supersede the DVD format, and capable of sto ...
.
Soundtrack
The film's soundtrack score was composed by Thomas Cappeau and features songs by
synthwave
Synthwave (also called outrun, retrowave, or futuresynth) is an electronic music microgenre that is based predominantly on the music associated with action, science-fiction, and horror film soundtracks of the 1980s. Other influences are drawn fr ...
musicians Cobra Copter, Flash Arnold, and OGRE.
The title theme song is by German synthwave artist Volt Age. The official soundtrack was released digitally on
Bandcamp
Bandcamp is an American online audio distribution platform founded in 2007 by Oddpost co-founder Ethan Diamond and programmers Shawn Grunberger, Joe Holt and Neal Tucker, with headquarters in Oakland, California, US. On March 2, 2022, Bandcamp ...
and in vinyl form by Enjoy the Ride Records on 14 December 2018.
While conceptualising ''Commando Ninja'', Combes researched several
synthwave
Synthwave (also called outrun, retrowave, or futuresynth) is an electronic music microgenre that is based predominantly on the music associated with action, science-fiction, and horror film soundtracks of the 1980s. Other influences are drawn fr ...
artists on
SoundCloud
SoundCloud is an online audio distribution platform and music sharing website that enables its users to upload, promote, and share audio. Founded in 2007 by Alexander Ljung and Eric Wahlforss, SoundCloud is one of the largest music streaming se ...
before discovering OGRE's 2014 album ''195'', which contains tracks that perfectly fit Combes' vision for the film. The soundtrack was also influenced by that of the 2015 short film ''
Kung Fury
''Kung Fury'' is a 2015 English-language Swedish martial arts comedy featurette film written and directed by David Sandberg. It pays homage to 1980s martial arts and police action films. The film stars Sandberg in the title role, Jorma Taccone, ...
''.
In composing the score, Cappeau drew inspiration from
Jerry Goldsmith
Jerrald King Goldsmith (February 10, 1929July 21, 2004) was an American composer and conductor known for his work in film and television scoring. He composed scores for five films in the ''Star Trek'' franchise and three in the Rambo (franchise) ...
and
Paul Hertzog, who extensively used synthesizers on ''
Rambo: First Blood Part II'' and ''
Bloodsport
A blood sport or bloodsport is a category of sport or entertainment that involves bloodshed. Common examples of the former include combat sports such as cockfighting and dog fighting, and some forms of hunting and fishing. Activities characte ...
'', respectively. To give the score an authentic '80s feel without sounding like a modern tribute, Cappeau used old, discontinued synthesizers from that era.
Track listing
Comic book
''Commando Ninja: Back in 'Nam'' is a comic book prequel that takes place 12 years before the film. The comic book is written by Gerardo Preciado and drawn by Luis Rivera, and was released in digital format in mid-2019.
Prequel
''Hopkins'' is a prequel short film with Allier reprising his role as the titular character. Released on YouTube on 13 November 2020, the short film is set in 1978 New York City, where Hopkins becomes a vigilante following a string of homeless veteran murders.
Future
Combes is planning the sequel ''Commando Ninja 2: Invasion America''.
See also
*''
Kung Fury
''Kung Fury'' is a 2015 English-language Swedish martial arts comedy featurette film written and directed by David Sandberg. It pays homage to 1980s martial arts and police action films. The film stars Sandberg in the title role, Jorma Taccone, ...
''
*''
Turbo Kid''
References
External links
Official Kickstarter projectBenjamin Combes' official site*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Commando Ninja
2018 films
2018 martial arts films
2018 action comedy films
2018 independent films
2010s English-language films
2010s French films
2010s martial arts comedy films
2010s war comedy films
Crowdfunded films
Cyborg films
English-language French films
Films about child abduction
Films about dinosaurs
Films about time travel
Films released on YouTube
Films set in 1968
Films set in 1986
Films set in 1998
Films set in a fictional country
Films set in Canada
Films set in Central America
Films set in Los Angeles
Films set in Vietnam
Films shot in France
French action comedy films
French films about revenge
French independent films
French post-apocalyptic films
Kickstarter-funded films
Ninja films
Vietnam War films