As a rule, sequels are never as good as the originals. Once in a while, we get AMAZING movies like "The Empire Strikes Back" and "Godfather II". However, comparing this movie to those two classics would be a great injustice to Mr. Lucas and Mr. Coppola.
I saw the first one as a nine-year old kid, and perhaps seeing this one eight years later detracted from me taking interest in the film, but nonetheless - this film is bad.
Eighty-five minutes of "non-stop ninja action" (they're not exaggerating when they say that) put together to form a weak plot. The Bruce Lee movies (which I am not really a fan of) at least have a sense of class in the way they show the martial arts as, well . . . an art! This is just pure violence. The film is obviously meant to be a flick for teenage girls with overactive hormones to come drool over Treanor and Slade (now 16 and 15 in this movie I believe) as they kick the living daylights out of everyone they meet.
This movie isn't entirely bad. The plot does try to tie in some interesting topics about Native American culture, however, the inaccuracies and stereotypical portrayal of the culture detracts from admiring this aspect of the movie too. Another good aspect is that I guess the moral of the story is humility, but it's hard to pick that up with all the "bad motorbike guys" flying all over the place, getting their butts kicked by some five foot ninja.
In the end, this is an incoherent, trashy, unwatchable film that plays at a much lower level than the original. Perhaps now that I'm 17 I should watch the original again and wonder why I liked it in the first place. Perhaps it was learning the lessons of obedience, patience, and of course getting a good laugh or two out of it. But nonetheless, this is not a trilogy worthy of sitting next to the "Star Wars", "Godfather" or even the "Ninja Turtles" Trilogy for that matter!
Best of luck to Treanor, Slade and Power. I do hope that they may land roles in the future that don't require them to jump up in the air, make a 360, and kick a massive biker guy (who weighs at least 200 pounds heavier than them) in the face and knock him out cold.
3 out of 10 . . . The last time I went that low was "Starship Troopers" (it got a 1)! Yikes!!
