I suppose it's perfectly reasonable to argue that it's unfair to judge a filmmaker based on a single past experience. John Liu's 1981 feature 'Made in China' (alternatively known by various other names) was such godawful, sloppy dreck in every capacity that it was almost entirely unwatchable, and thereafter I could only assume the worst of anything else he made. This does, however, put 'New York Ninja' and filmmaker Kurtis M. Spieler in an interesting position. The nature of this flick is well established: written and directed by Liu in the 1980s, it was thereafter left unedited and lost to time, with no meaningful surviving record of what the intended story was, let alone any audio; fast forward a few decades, and following rediscovery of the footage, it was put in Spieler's h ands to try and make the most cogent product that he could. We effectively have a film where the credits are thoroughly divided: Liu, the director, and the writer of material at which we can only guess; Spieler the editor, the writer of the reconstructed footage, and the director of the assembled voice cast; an uncredited cast of actors joining Liu in front of the camera in the 80s, and a cast of new actors with no attachment to the original production, hired to dub dialogue in Spieler's reconstruction. It's only fair to wonder how the end result will stack up; the effort is unique and admirable, and the outcome might be either brilliant or awful. Would it validate the credentials of those involved, including Liu, or would it demonstrate their shortcomings?
Awkwardly, scattered across time and multiple hands as this is, in my opinion 'New York Ninja' actually turned out better than at least the one other Liu title I've watched. As Spieler accordingly tried to put this together with the best possible echo of the sensibilities of 80s film-making, this is arguably even more solid than Liu's most well-regarded starring vehicle, 1977's 'The invincible armour.' True, all told there are invariably some rough edges, and some of Liu's original footage was borne of some, uh, interesting choices; watch for the scene where the titular hero makes his second appearance, thwarting some petty crime. It's also possible that some otherwise more questionable inclusions (e.g., "costume design" that's just all over the place) are made to seem more palatable because the overall 2021 construction is more skilled than what we might have gotten 25-30 years ago. Yet one way or another, in no few ways the movie is surprisingly solid, and to varying degrees speaks well to those who participated in some capacity.
Silly as the concept is, one can easily see how the picture might have ended up as Z-grade fare, or just an altogether senseless tawdry mess. However, one will also discern similarities with unserious B-movies of the 80s and 90s, and ultimately I think this is the most useful point of reference. It's readily apparent from the footage alone that Liu's original intent was less than wholly somber, more a fun romp than an earnest thriller or martial arts piece, and to whatever extent some bits may raise a quizzical eyebrow, it was all only with a mind to entertain. In every regard some moments come off better than others, and the acting in the original footage is probably most variable of all. From what we can make of his work, however, Liu's scene writing and original direction were half decent, even if some odds and ends seem too far flung to have belonged in the same film. Meanwhile, say what you will about Liu's contributions, but Spieler's editing is plainly superb as he assembles a cohesive action feature with no significant framework for doing so; the screenplay he put together to create that order, and provide foundation for the voice cast, is likewise very appreciable. (Should a copy of Liu's screenplay ever be rediscovered I'd be so curious to compare Spieler's to his, but I don't suppose that will ever happen.) And while the dubbed voice work isn't especially great, it's surely far superior to too many examples of international pictures - especially Hong Kong kung fu flicks of the 70s and 80s - that are downright infamous for poor dubbing. Everyone involved in 'New York Ninja' treated the project with all due sincerity, and however much one might level criticism at various aspects, the sum total speaks for itself.
Some elements don't fit together so flawlessly; some of the dialogue is woefully blunt and forthright - for better or worse, appropriate for a lot of the acting on hand, the original direction and some of the camerawork, and what we know of Liu's other prior works. One way or another this is definitely not a top-of-the-line production, even including the stunts and action sequences (fine as they may generally be), and for any of the voice cast involved (notably including Don Wilson and Cynthia Rothrock) it surely falls into the middle or lower tier of their credits. Yet all told 'New York Ninja' is fairly well made, and it bears repeating that in the very least Spieler is to be commended for making a workable, enjoyable title out of Liu's raw footage. In one measure or another this is actually a good time, imperfect though it may be; don't go out of your way for it, but if you do have the chance to watch, it fits right in with like-minded 80s flicks, and it's worth checking out.
