Anthony's Film Review - 3 Ninjas (1992)

The idea sounds like it could kick butt, but it ends up being mostly mediocre...

3 Ninjas, as one critic had put it, is a combination of two movies that came out in the beginning of the 1990s: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and Home Alone. One is a movie about anthropomorphic reptiles with martial arts skills. The other is about a boy who has to fend off burglars by himself. I like both of these movies, as simple as they are. With that in mind, the idea of having boys that do ninjitsu might work. At least, I thought so at the time.

It's not that the idea of 3 Ninjas can't work. It has the potential. It's just that the way it was done in particular didn't live up to my standard of a movie that is entertaining enough. I'm not saying the movie is offensive or painful to watch. Neither am I say it's boring. It just simply lacks the excitement that defines an entertaining movie. Most of the time, the movie feels predictable such that the audience is just going through the motions.

If you're curious, the movie centers on three boys. They are trained by a martial arts master, played by Victor Wong, whom they address as if he was their grandfather. Because they are fighters, the boys are given nicknames: Rocky, Colt, and Tum Tum (because of a love of food). Other than that, these boys are just like any other. They go to school and have typical issues, such as a crush on a girl and tough moments with bullies.

This movie does have a plot with some kind of conflict and a main villain, but it's all mediocre. Once the movie is over, it's immediately forgettable. The only thing that really makes the movie have some entertainment value are the action scenes, even though they still don't save the movie. The three boys are neither the biggest cowards (given their fighting skills) nor the toughest fighters (given their small size), but at least the action is watchable.

But overall, watching 3 Ninjas, like I said above, involves just going through the motions. I knew what the overall direction the plot was going to take, and though the performances were not terrible, they were sub-par. Maybe the filmmakers just assumed that if the first Ninja Turtles and Home Alone movies were good, they could easily have a better movie by combining the concepts. If so, then they neglected to do what any movie should do: have an interesting plot to follow and likable characters to root for.

Anthony's Rating:

For more information about 3 Ninjas, visit the Internet Movie Database.