Every time I see a new film come out that purports to be a martial arts comedy, I should learn my lesson.
This film stars Sam Manu as the Tongan Ninja of the title, who was one of two kids who survived a plane crash years earlier and ended up training in Ninjitsu in a temple (the other kid was Marvin, played by Jemaine Clement). However,
when our Tongan hero is picked by the teacher to help out the daughter (Miss
Lee, played by Linda Tseng) of an acquaintance of his, Marvin is determined to get his vengeance.
Unfortunately, the whole film falls flat. The plot is very similar to Bruce Lee's self-directed 'Way Of The Dragon' ('Return Of The Dragon' in some parts of the world), right down to the threatened restaurant idea, and as a comedy it is not even remotely funny; it's just plain pants. The bad dubbing idea is somewhat
dated now that foreign-language movies get released in their original language with subtitles, and the fight scenes are so dumb even for a comedy (and most of the people don't seem to be real martial artists).
'Way Of The Dragon' itself was, and still is, more amusing for the right reasons and is much better as a whole (and the fight sequences are still awesome). Or, in a nutshell, why have cotton when you could have silk?
Avoid 'Tongan Ninja' like it was about to strike you down with its five fingers of death; you'll be wishing for that fate if you watch it. If you must watch a martial arts action comedy, you'd be better off going for 'Beverly Hills Ninja' or a vintage Jackie Chan or Sammo Hung film; either would be much more satisfying.
This film stars Sam Manu as the Tongan Ninja of the title, who was one of two kids who survived a plane crash years earlier and ended up training in Ninjitsu in a temple (the other kid was Marvin, played by Jemaine Clement). However,
when our Tongan hero is picked by the teacher to help out the daughter (Miss
Lee, played by Linda Tseng) of an acquaintance of his, Marvin is determined to get his vengeance.
Unfortunately, the whole film falls flat. The plot is very similar to Bruce Lee's self-directed 'Way Of The Dragon' ('Return Of The Dragon' in some parts of the world), right down to the threatened restaurant idea, and as a comedy it is not even remotely funny; it's just plain pants. The bad dubbing idea is somewhat
dated now that foreign-language movies get released in their original language with subtitles, and the fight scenes are so dumb even for a comedy (and most of the people don't seem to be real martial artists).
'Way Of The Dragon' itself was, and still is, more amusing for the right reasons and is much better as a whole (and the fight sequences are still awesome). Or, in a nutshell, why have cotton when you could have silk?
Avoid 'Tongan Ninja' like it was about to strike you down with its five fingers of death; you'll be wishing for that fate if you watch it. If you must watch a martial arts action comedy, you'd be better off going for 'Beverly Hills Ninja' or a vintage Jackie Chan or Sammo Hung film; either would be much more satisfying.