3 Ninjas Kick Back
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| 3 Ninjas Kick Back | |
|---|---|
 US movie poster |
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| Directed by | Charles T. Kanganis |
| Produced by | Martha Chang James Kang Arthur Leeds |
| Written by | Sang-ok Shin Mark Saltzman |
| Starring | Victor Wong Max Elliott Slade Sean Fox J. Evan Bonifant Caroline Junko King Dustin Nguyen |
| Music by | Richard Marvin |
| Cinematography | Christopher Faloona |
| Editing by | Jeffrey Reiner David Rennie |
| Distributed by | TriStar Pictures |
| Release date(s) | May 6, 1994 |
| Running time | 93 min. |
| Country |  United States |
| Language | English |
| Preceded by | 3 Ninjas |
| Followed by | 3 Ninjas Knuckle Up |
| Allmovie profile | |
| IMDb profile | |
3 Ninjas Kick Back is a 1994 sequel to the film 3 Ninjas. Loosely based on the British sitcom "Ordeal of a Traveler." ,It received mostly negative reviews from critics, but fared much better with fans. This is the only 3 Ninjas film with a video game adaption.
Contents |
[edit] Plot
The story begins at Grandpa Mori's cabin, where the boys always take ninja lessons. After he teaches them all the techniques, he announces that he is going back to Japan and he has arranged for them to study there with the Grand Master. Then Grandpa pulls out an old dagger he had won in a ninja tournament 50 years ago and tells the boys about a legend about the dagger and a samurai sword opening the door to a cave of gold. Then he says that Koga, the young boy he defeated to obtain the dagger, was one of many who believed the story and tried to take the dagger from him, but he accidentally scarred his face. Tum-Tum asks if they could visit the cave of gold when they go to Japan, but Colt tells him he needs the sword to get in too, but Grandpa says the cave of gold is just a legend and nobody knows where the sword is. Meanwhile, Koga breaks into the Tokyo History Museum and steals the samurai sword, but the alarm sounds and he knocks out every guard that stops him and escapes by a hang-glider to his ninja compound, swearing revenge against Mori.
Back in America, the boys are being taught control, strength, concentration and unity, before they go to Japan, at a championship baseball match. Tum-Tum grabs a couple hot dogs: one with the bun and one without the bun, then he meets Rocky's girlfriend, Lisa DiMarino. When it comes time to play ball, Tum-Tum's wiener flys into the air and so does the ball, then he catches the wiener, but before he can take a bite, he is hit in the head with the ball, but not hurt badly. Then Colt strikes out and while Rocky is pitching, he daydreams about Lisa DiMarino on the bases and at bat and he throws it to her and she hits it, but it is really an opponent from the other team, which is no good. Then an opponent from the other team is up to bat and has a gas problem. Then Colt is up to bat and Grandpa coaches him from the stands, throwing off his concentration, and gets hurt badly by being hit in the head with the ball, that he begins to fight, until Tum-Tum sounds the alarm "SCRAMBLE!!!" and all the teammates and the crowd rush onto the field wrestling each other. As a result of this, the umpire announces that until everyone calms down, the game is suspended until the next week, then Sam, the boys' father and baseball coach, reprimands them for their behavior and they begin arguing on the way back to the cabin.
Meanwhile, at a bar, three guys are playing in a band very loud, throwing off a phone call to the manager, and he tells one of the members to do his job at the bar and tells him that the phone call was for him from his uncle Koga, Grandpa's ancient enemy, who sends pictures of him and the dagger, offering $20,000 to steal it for him. Back at the cabin, Grandpa is ordering the airline tickets to Tokyo and asks the boys who's going, but then he orders one ticket because they decide they want to play baseball. Before he goes to the airport to pick it up, Tum-Tum tells him that he voted to go, not only to continue ninja, but to be a sumo wrestler, because they eat a lot, and he promises to have dinner ready as soon as he comes back. But the moment he leaves, the three band members arrive to steal the dagger, and one of them says that they should steal some T.V.'s and stuff. The boys overhear this and get into their ninja gear and Tum-Tum prepares some eggs and banana cream pie as ammunition. Koga's nephew, Glam, keeps a lookout, while the other two guys, Vinnie and Slam, break into the house and Slam sees a desk and mistakes a letter opener for the ancient dagger, but Vinnie asks him, "Were you hatched from a moron egg? Does that look like this?" Then while Glam is waiting outside, Rocky, sitting on a tree branch, throws something at him. Vinnie goes upstairs, while Slam goes into the closet, where Tum-Tum throws the eggs and pie at him. Slam tastes the pie and thinks it's lemon meringue. Upstairs, Colt kicks Vinnie down the spiral staircase and he and Tum-Tum use the same oil trick they used with Fester, Hammer and Marcus in the previous movie, sending Vinnie and Slam flying outside into Glam! Then Vinnie asks, "What are you guys? Teenage mutant wannabes?" Then Rocky replies, "NOT!!!" and knocks them down, and they all reply, "WE'RE THE 3 NINJAS!!! AI-YA!!!" Vinnie and Slam flee the place, but not Glam. He goes into the cabin and slips on the oil, but spots the dagger and while he reaches for it and the car idles, Colt and Rocky grab a long rope and Colt ties one end around Glam's ankles and Rocky ties the other end to the back of the car, as it starts up and drags Glam along. Colt waves to them and says, "Come see us again!" Vinnie and Slam remember that they forgot Glam and as soon as they stop the car, they look back and see him pasted on the window, and they finally drive away. As soon as Grandpa comes home, he notices the mess and they tell him about the 3 guys who tried to rob the cabin and that they used everything he taught them, but Grandpa tells them from now on, they should call the police if it happens again. Back at the night club, Glam, Vinnie, and Slam tell Koga that they forgot the dagger and he tells them to get the dagger and be at his office in Tokyo or they will receive no pay. Meanwhile, Sam and Jessica arrive to pick up the boys and drop Grandpa off at the airport, and Sam tells them that they can learn everything they need to know about life on the baseball field the way he did at their age. Tum-Tum finds his Good N' Plenty licorice gone and puts a mouse trap in his bag to protect it. Grandpa remembers the dagger and Glam and Vinnie, unseen, watch him put the dagger in his bag and they follow their car driven by Slam, who, in turn, is following the family to the airport. As soon as they get there, Sam asks Mori which bag is his, and he says the one without the sticker. Sam takes out a bag and we hear the sound of Velcro ripping and Sam knows it's the one. While they say good-bye to Grandpa, Glam, Vinnie and Slam watch him take the bag and get on the plane and follow him on, hiding in the lavatory throughout the flight. In Tokyo, Grandpa is in a taxicab, still being followed by Glam, Vinnie and Slam, who crash into the back, bruising Grandpa's neck. Vinnie diverts the cabbie by paying him for the damages, while a wounded Grandpa looks back and sees Glam through the window, taking the bag. They get back in the car and go to Koga's office and when Vinnie presents him with the dagger, it's not Grandpa's bag, it's Tum-Tum's bag, because the mouse trap snapped his hand as soon as he reached in there. Glam tries to explain that Grandpa took Tum-Tum's bag by mistake, but Koga tells him that he has failed him and signals to his big bodyguard, Ishikawa (reminiscent to Rushmore from the previous movie), to deal with him by putting him on a treadmill and putting it on full speed, but Koga prepares to give him another chance by instructing him to keep an eye on Mori Shintaro, and bring him the dagger. Back in America, the boys read fortunes. Colt's says, "Love will appear on a journey", but Rocky voted to stay too, and Tum-Tum points out that "all love fortunes are for Rocky." Rocky tries to read his fortune, which is Colt's, but he has a slight astigmatism and Colt and Tum-Tum tell him to put on his glasses and as soon as he does, Tum-Tum says, "AAAH!!! THE FOUR-EYED BEAST!!!" And Rocky makes up a fortune, "I have an insect for a brother and I should squash him!" He wrestles Tum-Tum until the opposing baseball team comes along. The leader, Darren, says that Rocky does look like a four-eyed beast, but Tum-Tum says only he can call him that. Rocky tells everyone to go inside and Darren calls out, "See ya Sunday, Dragons!" As soon as they go in, the phone rings and it's Grandpa in the hospital because of the accident and he's "at the mercy of a witch posing as a nurse who doesn't speak English" and he tells them his luggage, even the dagger, was stolen by "a Japanese guy with long, white hair." Then he says he's in Tokyo General Hospital. But the nurse says, "Some people here do understand English, Mr. S-h-i-n-t-a-r-o!" Colt asks who hit him and Rocky says the Japanese guy with the long white hair and Tum-Tum asks if it was Glam, the jerk-o-metalhead at the cabin. Then they realize those guys are in Japan and they were after the dagger the whole time, which Tum-Tum had found in his bag (actually Grandpa's). They decide they have to go there and help Grandpa right away. First, Rocky takes care of the tickets by calling the airport for 3 children's fares to Tokyo, but they need Mori Shintaro's authorization, so Colt gets Grandpa's message from the answering machine ready and they play random words over the phone and when they're done, they have to get a lot in gear. Rocky writes a note to their parents, Colt finds all the money in the house and Tum-Tum calls the shuttle. Tum-Tum doesn't want to leave Sam and Jessica, but then he realizes it's for Grandpa, so he takes a picture of them along. Rocky asks how fast the shuttle driver can get them to LAX, and he goes really fast, and they get on the plane. But Jessica comes home and calls for them, but then Jessica sees the note and screams! At the Tokyo International Airport, a mugger steals a lady's notebook and Colt tosses Rocky a baseball and he throws it right at the mugger's head, knocking him out. The limo driver who happens to the lady's thanks them for her and the boys ask them if they could take them to Tokyo General Hospital to see their grandpa, and they are happy to oblige. The boys are amazed by the sights and sounds of downtown Tokyo. They arrive at Tokyo General and the boys thank the lady and the driver for everything. Grandpa is so happy to see them and he introduces them to Nurse Hino and he tells her to leave and Colt says Grandpa's more important than the baseball game. They think he is in danger because of Glam, the Japanese guy with the long white hair (blond, actually) who tried to rob the cabin and that those guys were after the dagger and the boys present it to him and Tum-Tum realizes that that those guys took his ding-dongs. Grandpa calls home and Jessica tells Tum-Tum to set the beeper on his watch and call her every day at 2 p.m. Tokyo time. Meanwhile, Grandpa makes a plan for them to present the dagger to the winner of the ninja tournament in Koga, his hometown, and he promises to meet the boys there. Nurse Hino comes back and he asks a favor of her: to make sure the boys are on a bullet train to Koga. As soon as they get there, they see great ninjas, especially a white one who screams a lot, and in the final event, Colt gets an idea: to pose as the blue ninja against the white ninja. The boys realize the blue ninja is Colt, because he's a hot-head and Rocky thinks this is the lesson Grandpa had in mind. Colt gets beaten badly and the white ninja turns out to be a girl named Miyo. They try to present the dagger to the winner, but Miyo steps in to help translate because she speaks some English. The Grand Master says he wants to wait until Mori Shintaro arrives. Miyo introduces herself and her mother. Their next stop is at a baseball game - hers. They come across a very old and deserted Castle Hikone, where, according to legend, the cave of gold lay beneath. Miyo explains that because of ninja, she is good at swinging her "butt" (bat). Then Rocky has an idea: She teach them ninja and they teach her baseball. After that, Miyo gives them special ninja uniforms for training with the Grand Master.
Meanwhile, Glam, Vinnie and Slam, who had heard everything in the van outside Tokyo General, present Koga with a tape... of rock n' roll music! But they explain that they have the wrong tape and put the other one in of Grandpa telling the boys to present the dagger to the winner of the ninja tournament in Koga. He learns of the plan and signals to Ishikawa to take care of them by throwing them in the pool for bringing him 2 tapes instead of a dagger! At Miyo's house, Rocky compliments the dinner in Japanese and Miyo compliments his Japanese and suggests that he learn something to say to the Grand Master. So she shows him a book that helps her learn English. Again, Rocky puts on his glasses - only to read the English half and the Japanese half, but then, Colt and Tum-Tum crash through the windows just before they are about to kiss. Love did indeed appear on a journey! The next day, the boys are ready for their training with the Grand Master. Miyo wishes them luck and they thank her for everything. As soon as they enter the dojo, the boys stand before the Grand Master who asks if they are the grandsons of Mori Shintaro -- in English! He explains that he didn't speak English at the tournament in front of the other people, because it would be rude. He asks for the dagger and Colt thought the ceremony was to wait until their grandfather arrived, but he changed his mind. Miyo goes to the Grand Master's house and sees him tied up and Tum-Tum notices that the other one is taller and Miyo warns them that it's Koga, who wants his revenge! They run out and are chased by his henchmen. Tum-Tum trips them with the jellybeans and while they fight, one of the ninjas pulls out a phone. The beeper on Tum-Tum's watch rings and Rocky tosses the phone to Tum-Tum, so he can call Jessica as they agreed. Jessica asks what's going on there and Tum-Tum says not much because it's just a small town in Japan. She wants to talk to Colt and Tum-Tum gives him the phone and instead of Jessica, Colt is talking to Sam, who thought there wasn't gonna be anymore ninja stuff for a while and says that as soon as he gets home, they are gonna have a long and serious talk about responsibility. But Colt explains that they're just seeing the sights and meeting the people. He gives the phone to Rocky who says that the karate shouts are just from some kung-fu movie on T.V. Then Rocky covers up Grandpa's predicament by saying that he's out fishing with friends and hangs up. Then Rocky, Colt, Tum-Tum and Miyo pull down the ninjas' pants and they run out in their underwear! Then Miyo shows the boys a secret passageway to the outside, but Koga waits for them there and takes them to his army's ninja training compound. He locks them in a cell and Tum-Tum is carried in there by Ishikawa, who he calls a "big, hairy ape". Then he knows he shouldn't have voted to go to Japan in the first place and wishes he was in his own house with Sam and Jessica and to eat a real cheeseburger with real cheese, which Colt knew he'd say. Then Rocky remembers what Grandpa taught them about a ninja's heart, mind, body and spirit. Back at the house, Sam thinks they don't seem to care what he thinks anymore, but what their grandpa thinks and he wishes they could be more like him, but they can't, because they're Rocky, Colt and Tum-Tum and wishes they'd come home. Meanwhile, Koga goes into the empty combat room where Glam, Vinnie and Slam are tied to the rope climbing walls and offers his nephew one last chance. The dagger and the samurai sword tell him nothing and Mori Shintaro knows the secret. Glam, Vinnie and Slam dress up like nurses and go to Tokyo General to look for Mori and kidnap him and they find him in a wheelchair. They take him to the elevator and he suspects that he has never seen them before and Vinnie explains that they've been on holiday. Glam takes off his hat to swat a fly that landed on Mori's head and he recognizes him as the Japanese guy with the long blond hair who got him into that mess and stole Tum-Tum's bag! He escapes with the thugs in hot pursuit, but then Nurse Hino rolls a gurney across the hall, throwing them off and she tells them, "You're on the wrong floor, girls! MINE!!!" And with that, she karate chops them out the window and onto three gurneys below. Soon Glam, Vinnie and Slam are taken by paramedics into an ambulance for surgery, while Mori rolls out of the hospital and is kidnapped by Ishikawa, who takes him to a chamber and dresses him up in ninja clothes. Then Mori comes face to face with a boy from his childhood - Koga, his ancient enemy!
He and Ishikawa and the ninjas take Mori to the boys' cell and they are reunited. He sees Miyo in there and Tum-Tum tells him that she's Rocky's girlfriend, but Rocky says "She's not my girlfriend, I mean...". Then Koga forces some information out of him about the cave: the entrance is down an old well by Castle Hikone and the samurai sword and the dagger are the keys. As soon as they leave, a guard enters the cell, they knock him out and take the keys, locking him in. Tum-Tum finds his bag and Miyo says the bad guys are heading to Castle Hikone and she knows where it is. On the way out, they fight ninjas and go into the combat room, where they get chased by ninjas up the climbing wall and up a staircase blocked by a sumo wrestler, but Tum-Tum slips under him and kicks him in the derrière, knocking him down and doing the same to all the ninjas like dominoes. As soon as they get to the roof, they come face to face with a sumo wrestler and a yakuza. Tum-Tum does the leg lifting preparation with the sumo wrestler and everyone begins fighting. The two guys are knocked out, but the sumo wrestler falls on Tum-Tum, and Rocky, Colt and Miyo help move him. Miyo shows them Castle Hikone and says they'll get there "on the wings of eagles" with hang-gliders. Rocky and Miyo take one and Colt and Tum-Tum take one, but Tum-Tum isn't enjoying it. Then Grandpa, Koga, Ishikawa and the ninjas go down the well and come to the door where Koga sees an outline of a long scabbard where the samurai sword goes in and another outline of a short scabbard where the dagger goes in. The door opens at last and as soon as they go in, Koga tells Ishikawa to wait there. Then the kids go down the well and spot the dagger and the samurai sword, but Rocky takes the dagger out and thinks they might need it and without the dagger, the door seals shut. They explore the cave and come face to face with Ishikawa! Mori hears the kids scream and Koga sends his ninjas after them. Instead of a cave of gold laden with riches, the two enemies come across skulls and bones of ancient samurai warriors! Mori now knows Koga was chasing old fairy tales because he is greedy and Koga is frustrated that it is not a cave of gold, but then he pulls off a curtain and finally sees a cave of gold! Mori knows the legend was true, and Koga points a gun at him, preparing to shoot him, and the two enemies once again break out into a fight. "I beat you once, Koga!" he says, but Koga replies, "That was a long time ago, Grandpa." The kids are fighting with Ishikawa who is swinging Tum-Tum around and throws him into the group. Miyo taunts him in Japanese and he charges toward her, but she opens a door and he bangs into the wall and is locked in a room. Then they are chased by ninjas, but they knock them out and Colt goes down an old chute, and the kids follow him down. Then they fall into the chamber, throwing off Grandpa and Koga's fight. Koga points his gun at all of them and Colt throws his ninja ball at the gun's muzzle, knocking some sense into him. The explosion causes an avalanche and Mori tells Koga that it's not worth it and he joins them in evacuation and quickly, Tum-Tum digs into his bag and tries to find the dagger and he does and puts it in the slot on the door. Then Rocky takes the dagger back out and Koga takes the sword out and the cave is sealed forever. As soon as they exit, they once again come face to face with the ninjas, but Koga stops them "Mateh" (Which is is Japanese for wait or halt) and teaches the kids that a true ninja is free from all desire and tells Mori that it took him a long time to learn that, from their days in Koga to this moment, then he walks away. The kids introduce Miyo to their grandfather and he presents the dagger to her for achieving the highest ninja level. Miyo states that this is better than winning the World "Cereals" (She's trying to say "Series"). Then they know it's Sunday and that it was a bad idea coming to Japan and missing their baseball game. But Rocky points out that it's Saturday in America and they can make it if they catch a plane now! The team is about to forfeit because there are only six players, but then the kids arrive and they are reunited with their father and the team. The big question is: Will this be a baseball game or a wrestling match? It starts out to be a fair game until Colt strikes out again. Then the gassy guy from the other team is up to bat, but Tum-Tum sprays some air freshener. So far, so good... until when a team player slides onto third base, an opponent from the other team punches him in the chest, but the game continues. Then Miyo leaps against the fence and catches the ball. Then Sam takes the boys aside and tells them he's really, very proud of them, whether they win or lose. And he was right about the boys learning about life through baseball - with a little bit of ninja thrown in. Then when Colt is up to bat, he hits the ball, but it's a foul. Miyo offers him her bat, with her name carved on it for luck, strength and control. Colt remembers Grandpa's advice and hits the ball, and the Dragons win the championship! Rocky tells her that she's gonna show them she can catch when she gets back to Koga. And she says that she'll also tell them how she kicked "bat" (butt). Then the other team tells them that they won the first round, but "the game ain't over yet". Then Colt challenges Darren to pick any one of them to fight against, and he picks Miyo, because she ruined his home run and if she plays on a guys' team, she plays by guys' rules and Tum-Tum tells him she's just a girl who's just visiting and that he'll fight Darren. But he challenges her anyway and she leaps into the air behind him and when he turns around, Miyo screams and beats him senseless!!! Although you don't see her beat him, since the screen turns black after she jumps over him, you hear Darren scream. Then the movie ends with a snapshot of the family with a trophy. Then Tum-Tum says, "I hope there's more food in our next adventure." And Tum-Tum pulls up his mask and winks, then the picture freezes with a voice-over of Tum-Tum saying, "See ya next time! Bye!" and the picture disappears and "The End" appears in the middle of the screen.
