Three American brothers, taught Martial Arts and Ninjitsu by their Japanese grandfather (Victor Wong), go up against kidnappers in this cartoonish Home Alone-esque family action-comedy. Never quite funny enough, but innocuous and harmless enough to rent.
i remeber this from when i was lil it was entertaining and it had some.......90's style martial arts....(the kind where the actors should've trained a lil more...kinda like the old power rangers)
I pick my movies to review by what Yahoo Movies says I would like based on what I have rated on the site. So, today, I see that "3 Ninjas: High Noon on Mega Mountain" is on Starz Kids and Family, and checked Yahoo Movies, which says I would probably like it based on what I've rated. So I set a reminder on my Comcast Digital Cable box, and the movie comes on. However, it turns out to be the original "3 Ninjas", and not the one I expected to see.
So, I checked Yahoo Movies again, this time for "3 Ninjas". And the site says, based on the movies I've rated, I probably wouldn't like it. It's actually not bad, but not good either.
Brothers "Samuel Jr." (Michael Treanor), "Jeffrey" (Max Elliott Slade) and the always snacking "Michael" (Chad Power) are training to be martial arts experts by their maternal grandfather "Mori Tanaka" (the late Victor Wong, who is the only person to be in every movie in the "3 Ninjas" franchise). "Grandpa", as the boys call him, is a master ninja training the boys, despite their father (Alan McRae) being completely against what he says is nonsense.
During down-time in their training at their "Grandpa's" place, he gives them their "ninja names" (nicknames). "Samuel Jr." is named "Rocky", "Jeffrey" is named "Colt" and "Michael", thanks to his love for snacking, is named "Tum-Tum" (for "tummy).
Their father, "Samuel Sr.", is an FBI agent after a criminal "Hugo Snyder" (Rand Kingsley), who was taught the martial arts by "Tanaka".
The three boys, along with "Samuel Jr's" best friend/girlfriend "Emily" (Kate Sargeant) have to deal with typical schoolyard problems -- including a group of older, larger bullies.
However, the "3 Ninjas" have a bigger problem when "Snyder" sends three bumbling kidnappers to grab the boys to get "Tanaka" to agree to work with him.
Now, the boys need to use their martial arts skills to get away from the kidnappers, and "Snyder".
OK< so I was a little mad that Comcast sent out the wrong information through the on-screen TV Guide. But, since I was pretty bored, I decided to watch the movie.
The movie was definitely targeted to kids. The violence, all in the martial arts hand-to-hand combat, is used mostly for physical comedy. There is also a little gunplay, but no blood. Much of the physical comedy will make kids laugh, and will give a good chuckle to the adults who watch.
The three title actors are good in their performances. The jokes they say are pretty typical for brothers to throw at each other., and are worth some laughs. As for the adults performances, we mainly see Wong and the three actors who portray the three dope-heads. Sadly, "Tanaka" is portrayed more as a tough Sensei than a loving grandfather, but he does have a few moments where he does act like a grandfather. The rest of the adults are barely used in this film. "Samuel Sr." is seen at the start to introduce "Snyder" and at the end, but that is it. And all we know about the "3 Ninja's" mother (Margarita Franco) is the least used of the entire adult cast. Franco is seen in three scenes and does absolutely nothing to advance the plot of the movie. All we really know about the mother is that she is the daughter of "Tanaka".
As for the music, I don't really recall it that well. So, it isn't really worth talking about.
Like I said, kids would like this more than adults. If you ask me, this movie is good to watch on television when the weather is poor. I wouldn't put it on the "Must See" list.
Jon Turteltaub's marital arts action flick centers on three boys who are given martial arts powers, and who at one point are running around in the Santa Cruz mountains, (in disguse), trying to fol the plot by an evil but silly bunch of bad guys trying to get their secrets.
Samuel Douglas Jr. (Michael Treanor), Jeffrey Douglas (Max Elliott Slade) & Michael Douglas (Chad Power) visit their Japanese grandfather, Mori Tanaka (Victor Wong) is highly skilled in the fields of Martial Arts and Ninjutsu to train the boys his techniques. Mori presents the boys' ninja names: Samuel Jr. is Rocky wears green, Jeffrey is Colt wears blue, & Michael is Tum-Tum wears gold.
having actually studied marshall arts as a child i grew up wanting to meet these kids so i could kick there heads in. This is why martial arts is unpopular among many children becuase of the negative stupid portrayl it is given by fucking pricks like the makers of this.
This movie was wicked fun when I was a kid. I know that if I were to watch it now I would be rolling my eyes at the corniness. I will rate it on the fact that I loved it when I was younger.
The film centres on three young brothers-- thirteen-year-old Rocky, twelve-year-old Colt and eight-year-old Tum-tum-- who have been studying martial arts since they were toddlers, under the tutelage of their sensei grandfather. The boys' father, an FBI agent, doesn't approve but he is too pre-occupied with catching bad guys to stop them. Then the boys find themselves at the centre of a kidnapping plot by one of their father's perps Snyder, who incidentally was also trained in martial arts by their grandfather. This is an enjoyable film for kids, especially those interested in martial arts.
Anyone who doesn't have the fine taste of laughing at unintentionally bad/corny/cliche scenes could and should not watch this film. Classic crap, as I like to call it.
Awesome movie! Yes, it was funny, but the martial arts was out of this world. Ive been look'n for it on dvd just can't seem to find it. I know i'll find it some day. Its just waiting for me to pick it up. It was one of the shortest movies ive seen, but it was entertaining and fun to watch.
Call me biased... but I love this film. I staked so much of my time as a child in watching this movie that watching it now I still love it. Yes, it's poorly scripted, poorly acted and poorly directed, but it, for me, echoes of easier times.
So I can't write anything constructive about this... all I can say is that I love it for what it is. This is my childhood right here...
Three young brothers, who have been trained in ninja techniques from an early age, learn that they possess powers which evil crooks would like to control. When a kidnap is attempted, they must defend themselves using all their skills.
Three young brothers, who have been trained in ninja techniques from an early age, learn that they possess powers which evil crooks would like to control. When a kidnap is attempted, they must defend themselves using all their skills.
Painful kids movie that follows the ridiculous "Home Alone" notion that a child could easily outsmart a dim witted adult...and "beat them up" as well...
I remember loving it as a kid. After watching it a few years later I realized how ridiculously cheesy and badly made it is. Although I am gonna give it the score based on what I enjoyed about it when I was a kid.
MCT:October 10, 2008
MCT:September 3, 2008
MCT:August 12, 2008
MCT:July 14, 2008
MCT:June 3, 2008
MCT:May 26, 2008
MCT:May 11, 2008
MCT:March 10, 2008
MCT:December 18, 2007
MCT:December 13, 2007
