Sadly Over-hyped

This is one of the few movies I've ever seen where the whole audience broke into spontaneous, loud applause a third of the way in.

There's a more than satisfactory amount of boom-boom in the movie's trim running time.

It is a whirlwind of delight --- attractive actors, stunning couture, spectacular sets and outrageous parties.

It might be a very cheesy movie but it's still good.

The Douglas boys spend their summers and weekends with their grandfather Tanaka, a martial arts expert who, despite his age is still very able and is teaching the boys ninja skills. Their father is an FBI agent, currently trying to capture the criminal giant that is Hugo Snyder. However Snyder is also a former partner of Tanaka and uses this relationship to get close to the his foil's three sons. With Snyder planning a large missile sale to the Middle East, he gets associate Brown to use three lackeys to kidnap the children just in case. However, he doesn't reckon on the skills of the kids and the stupidity of his men.Call me a sucker for punishment but after watching two of the later 3 Ninjas films I figured that I should at least get myself some explanation as to why more than one film had been made. I assumed that the first film must have been good enough to be successful and by extension have made enough money to have justified sequels to a fan-base loyal enough to cover the costs regardless of the product. However watching the first film left me all the more mystified because it turns out that this film series was cheap and poor quality from the very start. The plot is the usual stuff where the boy use their skills to help foil some criminal adults, in this case a criminal that their fed father is chasing. It is predictable fare and all it does is produce some Home Alone style fights.If these were funny and exciting then the film would have its salvation but sadly this is far from the case. The fights are poorly put together with simple moves and nothing in the way of imagination about them. The comedy is basic as well, which is a shame because good physical comedy tends to cover a large age range of viewers but here it is nothing more than simple pratfalls. Turteltaud's direction is a matter of stringing together static shots while the use of music to convey danger or, more often, "wackiness" is just painful. I would lay into the acting of the children but suffice to say that they delver just as much as you would expect. The adults are no better with Wong taking it too serious and McRae and Franco offering nothing. If nothing else at least Kingsley and Swetow have the good taste to be hammy fun.Overall then, few people will be surprised by the quality of this film. It is cheaply done with unimaginative writing and action. The only surprise is that despite this the film managed to churn out some sort of puerile franchise out of these distinctly inauspicious beginning.

Oh my gosh, as a kid I watched this movie EVERY day with my best friend!!!! We loved Colt and Rocky so much!! It was by far our favorite movie. I was looking for it today because I used to own it, but I can't find it. I will probably buy it along with the two sequels, 3 Ninjas Knuckle Up and 3 Ninjas Kick Back. I have not seen the sequels but I imagine that they are just as good as the first one. It's a great movie for kids, however adults might find it childish. I am 13 now and I still want to watch it. It is a humorous movie with lots of ninja action. "Tum Tum" was funny. These movies are similar to The Ninja Turtles movies except with kids instead of turtles. And I would much rather watch this series than the Ninja Turtles series.

I just have one thing to say..."LIGHT UP THE EYES BOYS!! LIGHT UP THE EYES!!!" ehhehe Such an awesome kids film... great childhood memories of this one! But its really disappointing that they don't include this in the 3 ninjas box set in Aus... its the best one!! Also be sure to see the next 2 of the 3 ninjas movies .. but i advise u to miss the 4th.. completely new kids and a very big waste of time! Favourite character is Colt, so I'm so glad they used the same actor for all 3 of the films, and prefer the actor who played tum tum in this one than the 2nd... but i think i preferred the Rocky in the 2nd one than this one.Overall, an excellent kids movie!!