“3 Ninjas” is not an original film to say the least but for the most part it is reasonably entertaining, it’s a pity a few things come along a spoil what would be a decent kids’ film.

In “3 Ninjas”, three brothers named Rocky (Michael Treanor), Colt (Max Elliott Slade) and Tum Tum spend their summers with their ninja grandfather Mori Shintaro (Victor Wong “The Last Emperor”). Bad guys get involved with the family so it’s time to use all the ninja skills and “Home Alone” style traps imaginable in an overly goofy comedy that surprisingly features more cartoon sound effects than a cartoon as we see the good guys beat endless onslaughts of puny enemies, that are only there to fall over.

I like the three brothers as they do have some personality to them and while they’re not great they’re decent enough. The other kids are really rubbish though. The grandfather character is pretty dull and the stunt doubles are so obvious even a very young child could spot it is a different person. The worst part of the film though is the three surfing enthusiasts that are used to kidnap the children. They endlessly spout out absolutely nonsense such as “Totally rad” and “Dude”. It becomes very annoying and they’re just awful. They suck a lot of fun from the movie as they’re on the screen for such a long time. None of the adults impressed me at all.

“3 Ninjas” is surprisingly well paced at times with some good moments. It’s over the top and goofy fun and could have got a reasonable recommendation but the kidnappers are so pathetic that they remove lots of fun from the movie. The movie had a good balance of action and comedy for a children’s flick but then these three morons enter the scene and we can’t seem to lose them for a very long time. I’m sorry but I can’t say yes to a movie that features such an a terrible aspect for so long.