3 Ninjas Knuckle Up (1995)

User Rating:

2.7/10   

Director:

Sang-ok Shin

Writer:

Alex S. Kim (screenplay)

Release Date:

7 April 1995 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Action | Family

Tagline:

Tum Tum, Colt and Rocky are back for all new non-stop Ninja action!

Plot:

In this movie Rocky, Colt and TumTum must battle an evil wealthy toxic waste dumper in order to save a local Indian tribe and their friend Joe...

Plot Keywords:

Third Part | Sequel | Martial Arts | Child Martial Arts | Children

Cast

Victor Wong	...	Grandpa
Charles Napier	...	Jack Harding
Michael Treanor	...	Rocky
Max Elliott Slade	...	Colt (as Max Elliot Slade)
Chad Power	...	Tum Tum
Crystle Lightning	...	Jo
Patrick Kilpatrick	...	J.J.
Don Shanks	...	Charlie (as Donald L. Shanks)
Sheldon Peters Wolfchild	...	Lee
Nick Ramus	...	Chief Roundcreek (as Nickolas G. Ramus)
Donal Logue	...	Jimmy
Vincent Schiavelli	...	The Mayor
Selina Jayne	...	Jo's Mother
Kait Lyn Mathews	...	Theresa
Don Stark	...	Sheriff

MPAA:

Rated PG-13 for non-stop ninja action.

Runtime:

85 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Certification:

Singapore:PG | Argentina:Atp | UK:PG | Iceland:12 | Spain:13 | USA:PG-13

Company:

Sheen Productions

Trivia:

This film was shot before 3 Ninjas Kick Back (1994), despite not being released until later.

Goofs:

Crew or equipment visible: When colt is on the balcony and the biker puts his foot through the wooden bench you can see a yellow place marker.

Quotes:

Tum Tum: What is this? A Mercedes Benz?
Colt: It means peace, pizza brain.
Tum Tum: Peas? I hate peas...

Movie Connections:

Follows 3 Ninjas (1992)

Vaguely amusing at absolute best but mostly just a poor product with careless delivery in the main

Brothers Rocky, Colt and Tum Tum are travelling with their grandfather during summer holidays when they come across some sort of protest happening with Native Americans. They are protesting against a local businessman dumping toxic waste on their land but, with the protest being violently dispersed by police and thugs, the boys head into town to get pizza. However when those same thugs start picking on people in the local pizzeria, the boys fight back and with new friend (and cutie) Jo, get drawn into the fight against the battle for right.

Despite the fact that I had watched the p1ss-poor final film in the 3 Ninjas film series I found myself watching this one to see if there had ever been any merit in the series. Plus, to be honest, I did have a bit of a childish laugh about the fact that the title seemed to be suggesting that the boys would be entering puberty and perhaps be discovering the weird sensation of "self-love" for the first time (well, what else does the verb "to knuckle up" mean to you?). Anyway this comedy aside, there is not a great deal of value within the film other than that which comes unintentionally. The plot is obvious of course but the delivery tries to be in the style of a live action cartoon. This approach at times makes for some amusing moments but mostly it falls flat because the material is not that good and the comedy is obvious and rather lacking invention or wit.

One can imagine it working for young children but, speaking as someone who used to run a Sunday school class for 3-4 year olds, I have to ask whether or not I would want my kids watching this sort of material; the answer is probably "no". The action is silly and mostly fits in with the very obvious pratfalls that one would find in very basic silent comedy or children's television. I didn't find it exciting or funny and you can just feel the lack of heart or caring in the delivery. Indeed this is all through the film as it looks very cheap and is delivered with the minimum of effort. The direction is obvious and we get lots of "comedy" sound effects throughout as if to tell us to laugh.

The cast is different from the film I say but they are no better. They can move and there is no doubt that they are agile but that is very different from being able to act, which they can't. Treanor, Slade and Power cannot deliver a line for toffee and even during the action I found their constant "hi-yah's" to be endlessly annoying. Looking at them on IMDb I note with no surprise that few have viable careers now. Lightening plays the love interest and is no better than them – and IMDb puts a recent credit in her career as "Scantily Clad Girl #2" which perhaps suggests that she has gotten no better with time. Napier hams it up but looks like Olivier when compared to the lacklustre Kilpatrick. Wong is badly served and not helped by the most obvious use of a stunt body I've seen since the Family Guy movie spoofed Stewie jumping through a window.

Overall then, those looking for entertainment will do best to chuckle about the suggested meaning in the rubbish title but not bother to check the movie out itself. The acting, direction, action and overall delivery is roundly poor and, although the odd bit here and there is amusing, there is little here that I would want my children to take as their entertainment.