Scott Adkins grew up in a family of butchers, got mugged as a teenager and learned how to kick people really hard. That’s an origin story. He got his start in films with the Hong Kong movie Dei Seung Chui Keung and now you can see him in his own starring direct to streaming movies and also in big action movies like John Wick 4.

Directed by Isaac Florentine and produced and written — with Michael Hurst — by Boaz Davidson, this is as close to a Cannon movie as you’re going to get these days. I mean, it does exactly what Cannon did with Enter the Ninja, placing a gaijin as the best ninja ever. That movie does not, however, have its hero kick a man so hard that he flies out the window of a train and get run over by another train.

Casey Bowman (Adkins) is the best ninja in the dojo of Sensei Takeda. Or he’s close to it, if Masazuka (Tsuyoshi Ihara) has anything to say. He’s angry that the sensei’s daughter Namiko (Mika Hijii) is becoming friends with an American, so in sparring he throws a katana right at our hero, who dodges it and scars the angry young man below the right eye.

Years after leaving the dojo, Masazuka has become a killer and wants to steal the ancient ceremonial weapons of his old dojo. He kills his old master, but Casey and Namiko have taken the treasure the whole way to New York City to keep it safe. The evil ninjas catch up with them and frame them for the murder of Takeda’s professor friend. Then, Masazuka kidnaps Namiko right out of a police station and demands that Casey fight him for the rights to her life and the dojo’s weapons.

Of course, no matter how many battles there are in this movie, it has to come down to Casey and Masazuka, which involves ninja magic, the healing power of a sword and someone’s head getting sliced off their shoulders. No spoilers, but seeing as how Casey is in the sequel Ninja: Shadow of a Tear, you can figure it out.

I love that Masazuka has embraced technology in his journey to be an evil ninja. Night vision goggles? A suit with glider wings? More of this in ninja film. Also, more action. This movie never stops. Even the exposition is action.

Plus, this is really Snake Eyes vs. Storm Shadow. Or, again, Enter the Ninja. It’s really a million times better Snake Eyes movie than any Hasbro-produced Snake Eyes, even if it was made for literally 10% of the budget of that last G.I. Joe movie.

When can I get a Scott Adkins action figure?

You can watch this on Tubi.