THE WARRIOR AND THE NINJA
aka JAKA SEMBUNG & BAJING IRENG
aka BAJING IRENG & JAKA SEMBUNG
aka BAJING IRENG DAN JAKA SEMBUNG
aka THE WARRIOR AND NINJA
aka SOTURIN NINJA
aka WARRIOR 3
Indonesia 1983
Directed by: H. Tjut Djalil.
Cast: Barry Prima, El Manik, Rita Zahara, Syamsuri Kaempuan, Tizar Purbaya, Piet Pagau, Terry, Zurmainy, Fatima Maria, H. Syamsudoin Syafei, H. Kosim Betawi, Hassan Dollar, Djair, Andi Maragau, Donny Sabella, Metty, Alex Kalangi...
Running Time: 94 min. (Malaysian VCD)
Tagline
(taken from the British tape) The most violent duo ever to join forces Tagline
(taken from the German tape) The three artful fighting machines against the rest of the world Tagline
(taken from the Dutch tape) Meer spektakel dan ooit tevoren Tagline
(taken from the Malaysian VCD) Satu lagi karya monumental Djair Covertext (taken from the US (?) tape) Because once he has been defeated in a battle, Balung Wesi is seeking revenge from Ki Sapu Angin who is the teacher of Jaka Sembung, The Warrior. The Dutch colonial administration under de Koning cooperates with Demang Asmara Cakradiningra: to abuse the abilities of The Warrior and also assisted by other fighting champions such as Dewi Permoni and Ki Maruta, Demang Asmara and colonial soldiers in suppressing the people of Pasundan (West Java). In mobilising power to fight the Dutch, The Warrior makes the acqaintance of a woman champion martial art practitioner Bajing Ireng (Black Ninja). Bajing Ireng is known as a Robin Hood. She steals from the Dutch colonial troops and distributes the loots to the people. The alliance between The Ninja and The Warrior angers Demang Asmara and the colonial troops. They try to kill the two heroes. The Warrior is caught after he has sent the head of Balung Wesi to Demang Asmara. They celebrate the capture. They are attacked during the celebration and The Warrior is set free. The Warrior and The Ninja kill Captain de Koning, Demang Asmara, Ki Maruta, Dewi Permoni and the other evil-doers.
My Thoughts
From the director of such cult favorites as MYSTICS IN BALI (1981), LADY TERMINATOR (1988) and DANGEROUS SEDUCTRESS (1992) comes the third entry in the popular Jaka Sembung series. Time for a flashback (and a flash-forward respectively)! The first adventure with the Indonesian freedom fighter Jaka Sembung (wonderfully portrayed by Barry Prima in all five films) was directed in 1981 by Sisworo Gautama Putra (who is (or should be) best known for PRIMITIF (1978), SUNDEL BOLONG (1981), plus countless others). It was followed by three sequels in 1983. The best one certainly is SI BUTA LAWAN JAKA SEMBUNG (THE WARRIOR AGAINST THE BLIND SWORDSMAN), directed by Dasri Yacob, an irresistible fantasy epic spiced up with some jaw-dropping gore. Beside the one under review there’s the little known BERGOLA IJO, made by action specialist Arizal (who also is responsible for the unforgettable actionfest THE STABILIZER (1984)). And in 1990 Atok Sugiarto came up with the rather obscure JAKA SEMBUNG DAN DEWI SAMUDRA, an okay but extremely cheap flick that sadly is lightyears away from the first entries in the saga. But now let’s get back to THE WARRIOR AND THE NINJA. While H. Tjut Djalil’s Jaka Sembung version is very good too it can’t keep up with its wonderful predecessors. But as compensation it’s got a Ninja in it, and that’s something too, isn’t it? Back to the roots seems to be the motto of the day, as the supernatural elements of the second part are strongly reduced and the dark aspect of the story comes to the fore a bit more. Not much has changed since Jaka Sembung’s first appearance… the Dutch are still ruling over their colony Indonesia, suppressing and exploiting the poor population for all they’re worth. There are traitors in the own ranks (like a rich politician who has made a deal with the Dutch), but there also is a crippled wizard who stands by the Dutch (who of course aren’t portrayed the least bit positively) with his tremendous talent. But at night a mysterious Ninja walks the town, and the Ninja steals from the rich in order to give it to the poor people (the shining examples seem to be Robin Hood and Zorro). But one night, when the Ninja is surrounded by the soldiers, Jaka Sembung intervenes and helps the black-clothed unknown person to escape who – surprise, surprise – turns out to be a female! As can be expected the two join forces and fight side by side against the oppressors. Worth mentioning is also a subplot about an Iron Man who once was defeated by Jaka’s master and who is burning with revenge now. And then there’s an old witch who obviously has bathed a bit too much in virgin’s blood as she still looks fresh and young. THE WARRIOR AND THE NINJA is great, action-packed entertainment, nothing less and nothing more. After a rather slow beginning (there doesn’t happen much in the first twenty minutes) the flick increases the pace and there’s fighting a-plenty. The action choreography is quite remarkable if not overly realistic. The best of the bunch is probably the Ninja who shows off some fine and acrobatic kung fu skills. But don’t worry… she also uses shurikens as weapons. Although the on-screen violence can’t be called restrained there isn’t as much splatter on display as in the first two entries of the Jaka Sembung series. One of the weird highlights in that department is most certainly the imaginative sequence where a scroundrel has her face pulled off from her head, with the eyeballs dangling from their sockets. There also are a few funny scenes of the unintentional kind… mostly because of Barry Prima who pulls faces and grimasses much to the viewer’s delight. To sum things up THE WARRIOR AND THE NINJA comes highly recommended even if it’s neither as great nor as gory nor as imaginative as THE WARRIOR and THE WARRIOR AGAINST THE BLIND SWORDSMAN. Still, it’s a whole lotta fun and definitely well worth tracking down.
© Copyright 12/2005
All text by myself (except for some quotations where mentioned)
All photos are copyright their respective owners and are reproduced here in the
spirit of publicity. All screenshots are by myself.