3 Ninjas: Knuckle Up

As a rule, sequels are never as good as the originals. Once in a while, we get AMAZING movies like "The Empire Strikes Back" and "Godfather II". However, comparing this movie to those two classics would be a great injustice to Mr. Lucas and Mr. Coppola.

I saw the first one as a nine-year old kid, and perhaps seeing this one eight years later detracted from me taking interest in the film, but nonetheless - this film is bad.

Eighty-five minutes of "non-stop ninja action" (they're not exaggerating when they say that) put together to form a weak plot. The Bruce Lee movies (which I am not really a fan of) at least have a sense of class in the way they show the martial arts as, well . . . an art! This is just pure violence. The film is obviously meant to be a flick for teenage girls with overactive hormones to come drool over Treanor and Slade (now 16 and 15 in this movie I believe) as they kick the living daylights out of everyone they meet.

This movie isn't entirely bad. The plot does try to tie in some interesting topics about Native American culture, however, the inaccuracies and stereotypical portrayal of the culture detracts from admiring this aspect of the movie too. Another good aspect is that I guess the moral of the story is humility, but it's hard to pick that up with all the "bad motorbike guys" flying all over the place, getting their butts kicked by some five foot ninja.

In the end, this is an incoherent, trashy, unwatchable film that plays at a much lower level than the original. Perhaps now that I'm 17 I should watch the original again and wonder why I liked it in the first place. Perhaps it was learning the lessons of obedience, patience, and of course getting a good laugh or two out of it. But nonetheless, this is not a trilogy worthy of sitting next to the "Star Wars", "Godfather" or even the "Ninja Turtles" Trilogy for that matter!

Best of luck to Treanor, Slade and Power. I do hope that they may land roles in the future that don't require them to jump up in the air, make a 360, and kick a massive biker guy (who weighs at least 200 pounds heavier than them) in the face and knock him out cold.

3 out of 10 . . . The last time I went that low was "Starship Troopers" (it got a 1)! Yikes!!

One would think that after the previous two adrenaline-soaked installments in this series that the franchise would run out of steam, but instead of moving forward at the breakneck speed one would expect, instead it slows down and looks inward, finding fertile new ground to explore. One such example is when the boys first meet their native american uncle, and are illuminated to the ecological problems in our consumer specific culture. Not since "Fire Down Below", has their plight been so real that you cannot ignore it, and must hold yourself to blame. Another prime example is when Tum Tum runs afoul of the Yakuza, and his brothers steadfast protection of him in the face of danger. A bold, artistic statement, Three Ninjas Knuckle Up gives up the way of punches and kicks, and chooses the love of family over blitzkreig martial arts shenanigans in what is the most refreshing film of the year, and a prime candidate for film preservation. (All things said, I must admit that my review may be a little biased, being that I played "Ninja who gets hit in the crotch #3", so I hope you'll bear with me)

well, again, I'm in love with this movie to. It's a little different b/c it has a little more to do with the guys helping people outside of their family. I'm glad that they brought the first two ninjas back, even though I liked the other ones to. it's really neat that even though two of them were not in the second one they still can come back in the third one and, again, make it seem like they had been there all along. I love the relationship that they have with each other as brothers, and that they have with their Grandfather. it shows respect and that they care for each other and have fun with each other. All the characters have wonderful qualities and they bring it all together very well, again I thank God for this movie, I think that a lot of familys will enjoy it as I have growing up with it and all the characters:)

It's not supposed to be anything top of the line. And compared to "High Noon at Mega Mountain", this one deserves an Oscar. It's my most favorite out of the whole franchise, and it's the one that I've seen most. I think it's more-or-less because of the environmental aspect of it. It kind of has a message, yet it falls irritatingly short, and comes second to the fighting. It tries a little too hard to be more edgy, and in the end, looks more cheesy than anything. The fight scenes are......err......there. They're one part convincing, and one part cringe. You gotta think that, A. either these adults are severely dimwitted, B. have never fought in their entire lives, or C. they deliberately hold back because these are just kids. I can't decide whether the Native Americans portrayed were played for laughs, or if they were trying to evoke sympathy. But like I said before, this movie isn't meant to be top of the line. It's purely nostalgia, and if you enjoyed this movie when you were younger, chances are, you look back on it fondly. I know that I do, and I was ecstatic when I found it online, and ordered it. If you look at this movie expecting anything more than a children's (and I use that term loosely) movie, then you're going to be sorely disappointed. If you throw all your expectations out of the window, you're in for a joyfully silly, cringey, nostalgia ride.

As a kid, I loved Three Ninjas and the second one. I ended up renting this movie, and all I remember is how long this movie was. With a dragging, almost non-existent plot, the movie relied on a barrage of unnecessary fight scenes, and the longest, most pointless chase scene ever. I finally turned off the movie when I watched a scene where Rocky is fighting some thugs. But it wasn't the child actor, it was an adult stunt double crouching to look smaller, doing all these complicated spins and kicks. I wouldn't have minded that scene, if they hadn't done it in SLOW MOTION. Now that's a bit too amateurish for me to handle.