During the Cold War, the CIA runs Operation Stay Behind.
That operation stages attacks on neutral and Western-allied nations, frames the Soviet Union, and thus gets the target nation’s populace to accept American control.
Only Commander Arne Treholt and his band of ninjas stands between Norway and Operation Stay Behind!
Verdict
Fervently campy, low-tech, nonsensical – and wildly fun.
There was a time when silly espionage movies were all the rage.
It’s not that the Cold War was funny. I lived through it, and it wasn’t.
It was just that sometimes the politicians and espionage agencies took themselves so seriously that they were begging for us to make fun of them.
We had characters like James Bond, sure, but we also had Matt Helm and Derek Flint.
For every Fail-Safe, we had a Danger!! Death Ray or a Dr. Strangelove.
These movies were full of unrealistic technology, cardboard sets, and main characters that were caricatures of masculinity – and, occasionally, femininity. Bad rear projection was the order of the day.
Then again, this movie has ninjas.
Back in 1981, under Menahem Golan and Yoram Globus, Cannon Films released Enter the Ninja.
The Golan/Globus business model was buying bottom-barrel scripts and putting them into production. Enter the Ninja, filmed in the Phillipines, wasn’t much different, but somehow it sparked the American interest in ninjas. Ninjas became a staple of 1980s action movies from that point.
Kommandør Treholt & ninjatroppen is set squarely in that milieu: Over-the-top Cold War spy movie, with ninjas as the heroes.
One of the things that truly works for Norwegian Ninja (I love typing that) is that it takes itself seriously.
When the movie begins, it seems like the story of a Cold War spy, Arne Treholt, who may have betrayed Norway to the Soviet Union.
When it jumps into a recruiting movie for Norway’s “ninjatroppen,” you suddenly realize just how silly this movie is going to be.
In fact, the transition was a little jarring for me at the time. In retrospect, I think it works.
Forget about realistic characters. These movies are all about context and conflict – with emphasis on the latter.
You can count on throwing stars, explosions, fist fights, and guys with no shirts. Expect exaggeration of technological abilities and ninja training.
If you can accept King Olav V of Norway as an enlightened master, this might be the movie for you. Check your brain at the door, and go along for the ride in a Norwegian flying jet car!