Back to trending
Ninja: Shadow of a Tear

Ninja: Shadow of a Tear

Action · Crime · Thriller · 2013

Fight everyone and trust no one: it's the code of survival practiced by martial-arts master Casey Bowman after his life of domestic bliss is shattered by a savage act of violence. Vowing revenge, the fearless American stealthily tracks the killer from Osaka to Bangkok to Rangoon with the help of a wise and crafty sensei. His only clues: a series of victims whose necks bear the distinctive mark of strangulation by barbed wire. Fighting to avenge as well as to survive, Casey must sharpen his razor-like responses and take his battle skills to the next level, even using deep meditation to fake his own death. His target: the sinister drug lord Goro, who is flooding the streets with deadly meth cooked at his remote jungle factory. To prepare for his ultimate confrontation, Casey must finally become an invisible warrior worthy of the name Ninja. But just when his prey is cornered, an unexpected twist shows Casey that his battle is only beginning: he truly can trust no one.

Movie details

Ninja: Shadow of a Tear

“An ancient hero returns with a vengeance.”

2013 Action · Crime · Thriller 1h 35m

Critical arithmetic

One number, for now.

TMDB

6.7 / 10

Community rating

Fight everyone and trust no one: it's the code of survival practiced by martial-arts master Casey Bowman after his life of domestic bliss is shattered by a savage act of violence. Vowing revenge, the fearless American stealthily tracks the killer from Osaka to Bangkok to Rangoon with the help of a wise and crafty sensei. His only clues: a series of victims whose necks bear the distinctive mark of strangulation by barbed wire. Fighting to avenge as well as to survive, Casey must sharpen his razor-like responses and take his battle skills to the next level, even using deep meditation to fake his own death. His target: the sinister drug lord Goro, who is flooding the streets with deadly meth cooked at his remote jungle factory. To prepare for his ultimate confrontation, Casey must finally become an invisible warrior worthy of the name Ninja. But just when his prey is cornered, an unexpected twist shows Casey that his battle is only beginning: he truly can trust no one.

CriticWise case file

What this film says about your taste.

Not a recommendation score. A measure of how closely the film’s taste signals resemble yours.

The archetype split

Who fights over Ninja: Shadow of a Tear?

The split comes from the same five-axis model used by the test, not audience ratings or review sentiment.

Taste neighbourhood

Nearby on the taste map.

TMDB supplies the candidates. CriticWise reorders them by craft, strangeness, prestige, emotion, and pace.

Rise of the Footsoldier

Rise of the Footsoldier

Action · 2007

Carlton Leach rises from one of the most feared generals of the football terraces to becoming a member of a notorious gang of criminals who rampaged their way through London and Essex in the late '80s and early '90s.

Foxy Brown

Foxy Brown

Action · 1974

A voluptuous black woman takes a job as a high-class prostitute in order to get revenge on the mobsters who murdered her boyfriend.

The Shepherd: Border Patrol

The Shepherd: Border Patrol

Action · 2008

A Texas cop battles ex-navy seals who are trying to traffic drugs from Mexico into the USA.

Ninja

Ninja

Action · 2009

A westerner named Casey, studying Ninjutsu in Japan, is asked by the Sensei to return to New York to protect the legendary Yoroi Bitsu, an armored chest that contains the weapons of the last Koga Ninja.

Accident Man: Hitman's Holiday

Accident Man: Hitman's Holiday

Action · 2022

The Accident Man is back, and this time he must best the top assassins in the world to protect the ungrateful son of a mafia boss, save the life of his only friend and rekindle his relationship with his maniacal father figure.

Exit Wounds

Exit Wounds

Action · 2001

Maverick cop Orin Boyd always brings down the domestic terrorists he tracks, but he ruffles feathers with his unorthodox techniques -- and soon finds himself reassigned to the toughest district in Detroit. When he discovers a group of detectives secretly operating a drug ring, Boyd joins forces with an unlikely ally -- gangster Latrell Walker -- to bring down the rotten cops.

American Yakuza

American Yakuza

Crime · 1993

When Nick Davis leaves prison after one year in solitairy, he is hired to operate a forklift in a warehouse in the harbor owned by the Japanese Yakuza patriarch Isshin Tendo. The place is assaulted by the Italian Mafia lead by Dino Campanela and Nick rescues and saves the life of Shuji Sawamoto, who is the representative of Yakuza interests in America. Shuji hires Nick to work for Yakuza and becomes his godfather in the family after his oath to join Yakuza. However, Nick is a lonely FBI undercover agent assigned to penetrate the criminal organization. When the FBI discovers that Campanela is organizing a massive attack to destroy the Yakuza, Nick's boss Littman calls off the operation to leave the dirty work to the Italian Mafia. But the connection of Nick with Shuji and his goddaughter Yuko forces him to help his Japanese family.

Accident Man

Accident Man

Action · 2018

Mike Fallon, the Accident Man, is a stone cold killer. When a loved one is murdered by his own crew, Fallon is forced to avenge the one person who actually meant something to him.

Revenge of the Ninja

Revenge of the Ninja

Action · 1983

A peaceful ex-ninja's life shatters when his son's kidnapping forces him back into violence amid an American-Japanese criminal drug war.

Assassination Games

Assassination Games

Action · 2011

Brazil is a contract killer, willing to take any job if the price is right. Flint left the assassin game when a ruthless drug dealer’s brutal attack left his wife in a coma. When a contract is put out on the same coldblooded drug dealer, both Brazil and Flint want him dead – one for the money, the other for revenge. With crooked Interpol agents and vicious members of the criminal underworld hot on their trail, these two assassins reluctantly join forces to quickly take out their target before they themselves are terminated.

Where it lives

Watch in your region.

Cinema release signals and current streaming, rental, and purchase options for your region.

Streaming availability data supplied by JustWatch.

Names above the title

The people responsible.

Directed by

Isaac Florentine

Written by

David N. White

Scott Adkins

Scott Adkins

Casey

Kane Kosugi

Kane Kosugi

Nakabara

Mika Hijii

Mika Hijii

Namiko

Shun Sugata

Shun Sugata

Goro

Vithaya Pansringarm

Vithaya Pansringarm

General Sung

Mukesh Bhatt

Mukesh Bhatt

Mike

Tim Man

Tim Man

Myat

Court is in session

Put Ninja: Shadow of a Tear on trial.

Two incompatible taste archetypes. One film. Read the arguments, then issue a completely binding cultural ruling.

The defence The Adrenaline Seeker

“Momentum is a formal choice.”

The velocity sharpens instinct and tension, making every beat land before self-importance can settle in.

The prosecution The Auteur Devotee

“Speed as an alibi.”

The film races past its weak spots and hopes acceleration will keep the audience from inspecting the evidence.