3 Ninjas Knuckle Up (1995)

It is a performances centric movie

It was OK. I don't see why everyone loves it so much. It wasn't very smart or deep or well-directed.

While it is a pity that the story wasn't told with more visual finesse, this is trivial compared to our real-world problems. It takes a good movie to put that into perspective.

It's the kind of movie you'll want to see a second time with someone who hasn't seen it yet, to remember what it was like to watch it for the first time.

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.

The plot's structure is half-copied from Bruce Lee's WAY OF THE DRAGON:1)arrival of the heroes in an unknown town; 2)they discover that a bunch of bullies are molesting a group of pacific people; 3)they show their martial arts skills and defeat the bullies more than once; 4)the bad guys send the same thugs back with more decision, and they fail again; 5)the bad guys call the "profesionals", and problems increase ; 6)good guys,filled with more decision, defeat the professionals and save the day.Of course there are variations, but the structure is similar. The characteristic is funny,since in this way,too-young kids can be introduced to classical martial arts movie plots. One of the first problems is that there is no official "final boss", unlike in the previous "3 ninjas" movies, making audiences feeling like something is missing. O once again, the plot is not original, but that was never meant to be the final goal. And probably, this is what makes the film not completely enjoyable by older audiences. Despite the plot, however, the fight choreographs are the most amazing in the series, but sometimes they get unnecessarily acrobatic(like the brawl in the Indian village). The fight with the motor bikers resembles, at first, the warehouse fight scene with Bruce lee's Lookalike in GAME OF DEATH, but then it evolves and amazingly becomes something like a copy of the chase from ALTRIMENTI CI ARRABBIAMO(WATCH OUT, WE'RE MAD!)with Terence Hill and Bud Spencer, which is quite enjoyable. Another funny scene is the fight in the abandoned bar, in which Rocky and Tum Tum change their "fighing styles" according to the goofy changes of music coming from a nearby jukebox. Unfortunateley, this scene is too similar to the fight scene from PIU FORTE RAGAZZI(ALL THE WAY BOYS), again with Bud Spencer and Terence Hill. The booby traps prepared by the kids are always a trademark of the series, but once again, the concept is not original. So almost nothing in this movie is original, but since is a movie meant for kids, it probably could not have been done better. Younger kids would enjoy this movie, but older ones would be bored: they will probably enjoy themselves more watching a traditional martial arts movie starring Jackie Chan. And in the end, this episode was the perfect way to end the series, since the final message concerns most of the main character's personality. However, somebody decided to make another sequel in 1998...

I think Stuart Proud Eagle Grant not is a very handsome man but very a talented actor. I commend him. He is wonderful in Geronamo , Murder She Wrote, most of the movies I have seen him in. I have spoke to Mr. Grant on several occasions and believe he is a honest man with a big heart. One who is not afraid to hummble himself. I believe Mr. Grant will be successful in his filming career, more than ever before. I am just proud to say that I am a friend of Mr. Grant, and can only wait for him to blow us all away with his new up coming production that he spent so long writing. We all need to help him if we can, we all deserve to be successful . Sincerely, A friend

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.