Surf Ninjas
Encyclopedia
Surf Ninjas is a 1993 American comedic family film involving martial arts
, directed by Neal Israel
and written by Dan Gordon
. The film stars Ernie Reyes Jr., Rob Schneider
, Nicolas Cowan
, and Leslie Nielsen
. Surf Ninjas follows two teenage surfers from Los Angeles who discover that they are crown princes of the Asian kingdom Patusan and reluctantly follow their destinies to dethrone an evil colonel that rules over the kingdom.
Surf Ninjas was filmed in Los Angeles, Hawaii
, and Thailand
. A video game was also developed and released in conjunction with the film. Surf Ninjas was released in the United States on August 20, 1993, being received generally unfavorably by critics. The film was released on VHS in December 1993 and re-released on DVD in September 2002.
correlates with the events happening around him and that he can control some events through his console. Safely away from the ninjas, Zatch reveals to Johnny and Adam that they are the sons of the king of Patusan
, whose land and monarchy was overthrown by Colonel Chi when the boys were young. Zatch tells them that it is their destiny to return to Patusan, overthrow Colonel Chi, and rescue the population. Zatch takes the boys to the Patusani district in Los Angeles, the home of refugees from Chi's rule. Johnny is introduced to a Patusani princess, Ro-May, who has been betrothed to Johnny since childhood.
Ninjas attack the group again, and Johnny finds his inherent abilities as a warrior prince emerge, successfully defeating several foes. With the ninjas dispatched, Johnny, Adam, Iggy, Zatch, and Ro-May decide to travel to Patusan. They are followed by a detective, Lieutenant Spence, who had been investigating the ninja attacks on the boys. The group reaches Patusan and see the effects of Colonel Chi's rule, including a burned village and a Patusani chain gang monitored by Chi's henchmen. When Adam and Spence inadvertently fall into the sight of the henchmen, the group is forced to fight them. The henchmen are defeated, and the villagers are freed from the chain gang.
Zatch then leads the group to uncover a hidden cave in which the weapons of the Patusani monarchy are stored. Using his Game Gear and being helped by a monkey, Adam is able to uncover the cave for the group. In the cave, Zatch arms Johnny and attacks him in a tribulation to prepare the boy for future challenges. Johnny is beaten down repeatedly, but he is able to achieve the upper hand and disarm Zatch. The group rallies the villagers to overthrow Colonel Chi, and they travel to the shore of the mainland across from an island that is the home to the royal city and Chi's dungeon. Unable to take a boat to the unprotected side of the island due to an impassable reef, Johnny and Adam tell the Patusanis, who are expert at wood carving, to carve surfboards. With everyone equipped with their own surfboard, they swim to the unprotected side.
After landing at the island, Johnny and Zatch lead the attack on the royal city, taking down Chi's henchmen. Johnny and Adam's adoptive father Mac is freed, and Johnny confronts Colonel Chi, successfully defeating him (by falling in the water) with the help of Adam and his Game Gear. With Chi's rule undone, peace is restored to Patusan. Johnny is seated as the heralded warrior prince with Ro-May as his princess and Adam as a prince. Johnny declares for the monarchy to be dissolved and announces that Patusan would operate as a democracy under the people.
and Hawaii
. The second half of the film was shot first, and the crew moved to Los Angeles to film the first half. New Line Cinema
and Sega of America
established a financial relationship in which a Sega Game Gear
video game would be developed for the film. Game designers began developing the video game Surf Ninjas when the film was only in its scripting phase, receiving creative input from director Neal Israel
. In turn, Sega partially financed the film. Screenwriter Dan Gordon
said that he wrote action sequences that would both suit the film and serve as a springboard for the video game. In the film, one of the lead characters is shown playing the Surf Ninjas video game on a Sega Game Gear. The video game was released before the film's release, and it was considered the first movie-based video game to be developed concurrent with the movie and it was also the first to precede the film itself.
released Surf Ninjas two weeks earlier than its commercial release date in Evansville, Indiana
and Lubbock, Texas
as part of a test of regional markets. The early release marked the first time that a major film was released in Evansville before its national opening without any local ties. The president of theatrical marketing at New Line, Chris Pula, selected Evansville for its family-oriented audiences. Pula explained, "Evansville is traditionally a strong family market. Also, we have a strong relationship with the exhibitors in that area." The president said that the studio was testing the film in a larger market than usual due to its uncertainty about the film's reception, and that the studio would measure its marketing success with ticket receipts.
Surf Ninjas was widely released in 1,321 theaters in the United States on August 20, 1993. Over its opening weekend, the film grossed , placing 13th in box office rankings ahead of Manhattan Murder Mystery
. Surf Ninjas ultimately grossed in the United States. The film was released on VHS
on December 29, 1993. It was subsequently released on DVD
on September 3, 2002.
based on 12 reviews. However, the film received a "fresh" score of 63% from the community.
Janet Maslin of The New York Times
called most of Surf Ninjas "only mindlessly watchable" and called the film "another of Hollywood's efforts to prove that the American mall mentality is at home in any corner of the globe". Maslin also found the film to lack in actual surfing content. Lynn Voedisch of the Chicago Sun-Times
described Surf Ninjas as "a marriage of pop icons that simply was fated to be", citing children's love for ninjas, especially the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
, and for the surf culture
. Voedisch considered Rob Schneider
's presence as comic relief unfunny, believing that Leslie Nielsen
should have received more screen time as the dictator. Calvin Wilson of the The Kansas City Star
called the film "a disgrace... even by Hollywood standards", seeing it as a mess of child lead roles, unfunny cameo roles by Schneider and Nielsen, martial arts action, and lame jokes. Wilson considered the story "stale and uninspired" that involved "people we don't care about doing things we can't believe".
Stephen Hunter of The Baltimore Sun
thought the film's lead Ernie Reyes, Jr.
was too old and too muscular to be received believably as a 15-year-old. Hunter otherwise found the Reyes to impress with their fighting skills, though the film's martial arts sequences were "bloodless and absurd". Hunter also criticized the director for depriving the film of personality, with its lack of danger, seriousness, or spontaneity. Richard Harrington of The Washington Post
found the film to be "a harmless summer's entertainment" for young people who enjoyed the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles films and 3 Ninjas
. Harrington enjoyed Reyes, Jr. as the protagonist but found Nielsen to be disappointing. Paul Sherman of the Boston Herald
thought that Surf Ninjas was "little more than a succession of dudespeak, surfing, skateboarding, video games, generic rock soundtrack and strained knucklehead humor". Sherman admired the story arc in which the protagonists learn to accept their destinies, but he thought that "the manufactured thrills along the way get obnoxious". Sherman thought that the film would only appeal to children under 12 years old, though the film's locations in Thailand in the second half added an exotic atmosphere.
Desmond Ryan of The Philadelphia Inquirer
thought that Leslie Nielsen was deceptively portrayed in a major role similar to that of Lieutenant Frank Drebin from the The Naked Gun films
, instead having merely "a running and unfunny gag about his malfunctioning answering machine and generally wasted otherwise". Ryan also found the film's dialogue to be "painful" and considered Surf Ninjas to be "beyond airheaded". Mick LaSalle of the San Francisco Chronicle
considered the story of Surf Ninjas to be "harmless and painfully dull". LaSalle thought that the pacing of the film was too long with only "two smirks over the course of 90 minutes". Sean Piccoli of The Washington Times
thought that the film's "dull stretch" was buoyed by the presence of Rob Schneider. Piccoli compared the martial arts choreography in the film to the "cartoon fantasies that little boys re-enact on neighbors' lawns: The good guys, alone and outnumbered by the charging horde, air-punch their way to glory."
Ron Weiskind of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
perceived Reyes, Jr. as "a likable presence on screen" and Schneider to be occasionally humorous in his series of gaffes. Weiskind thought that even with the abundance of martial arts in the film, the scenes were generally too lifeless. Joe Holleman of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch
thought that Surf Ninjas pushed "the right buttons to guarantee adolescent enjoyment". Holleman acknowledged that the film was "not exactly a milestone in cinematic achievement", but he applauded the acrobatic choreography and the delivery of Schneider's throwaway lines in "the movie's funniest moments". Sean P. Means of The Salt Lake Tribune
described the film as a Toys "R" Us version of Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom
, with "the cartoonish martial-arts sequences [owing] their entire existence to the villains' stupidity". Means thought that the film was ultimately "as silly as it is forgettable".
Martial arts film
Martial arts film is a film genre. A sub-genre of the action film, martial arts films contain numerous fights between characters, usually as the films' primary appeal and entertainment value, and often as a method of storytelling and character expression and development. Martial arts are frequently...
, directed by Neal Israel
Neal Israel
Neal Israel is an American actor, screenwriter, film and television producer and director best known for his comedic work in the 1980s.-Career:...
and written by Dan Gordon
Dan Gordon (screenwriter)
-Career:Dan Gordon graduated from UCLA as a film and television major, and went on to write screenplays including Passenger 57 , Wyatt Earp , Murder in the First , The Assignment and The Hurricane , as well as several novels.His play, Irena's Vow, premiered at the Baruch Performing Arts Center,...
. The film stars Ernie Reyes Jr., Rob Schneider
Rob Schneider
Robert Michael "Rob" Schneider is an American actor, comedian, screenwriter, and director. A stand-up comic and veteran of the NBC sketch-comedy series Saturday Night Live, Schneider has gone on to a successful career in feature films, including starring roles in the comedy films Deuce Bigalow:...
, Nicolas Cowan
Nicolas Cowan
Nicolas Cowan is an actor. He is best known for his role in Surf Ninjas- Early life :Nicolas Cowan was born in 1981 to an Asian mother and Jewish father. At 6 years old, he became interested in acting.-Career:...
, and Leslie Nielsen
Leslie Nielsen
Leslie William Nielsen, OC was a Canadian and naturalized American actor and comedian. Nielsen appeared in more than one hundred films and 1,500 television programs over the span of his career, portraying more than 220 characters...
. Surf Ninjas follows two teenage surfers from Los Angeles who discover that they are crown princes of the Asian kingdom Patusan and reluctantly follow their destinies to dethrone an evil colonel that rules over the kingdom.
Surf Ninjas was filmed in Los Angeles, Hawaii
Hawaii
Hawaii is the newest of the 50 U.S. states , and is the only U.S. state made up entirely of islands. It is the northernmost island group in Polynesia, occupying most of an archipelago in the central Pacific Ocean, southwest of the continental United States, southeast of Japan, and northeast of...
, and Thailand
Thailand
Thailand , officially the Kingdom of Thailand , formerly known as Siam , is a country located at the centre of the Indochina peninsula and Southeast Asia. It is bordered to the north by Burma and Laos, to the east by Laos and Cambodia, to the south by the Gulf of Thailand and Malaysia, and to the...
. A video game was also developed and released in conjunction with the film. Surf Ninjas was released in the United States on August 20, 1993, being received generally unfavorably by critics. The film was released on VHS in December 1993 and re-released on DVD in September 2002.
Plot
Johnny and Adam are teenage surfers who reside in Los Angeles with their father Mac. Two weeks before Johnny's 16th birthday, ninjas attack the teenagers, but they are stopped by Zatch, a warrior with an eye patch. A follow-up attack results in the kidnapping of Mac, while Zatch is able to get the teenagers and their friend Iggy away from the ninjas. Adam discovers that the video game on his Sega Game GearSega Game Gear
The was Sega's first handheld game console. It was the third commercially available color handheld console, after the Atari Lynx and the TurboExpress....
correlates with the events happening around him and that he can control some events through his console. Safely away from the ninjas, Zatch reveals to Johnny and Adam that they are the sons of the king of Patusan
Patusan
Patusan is a fictional country originating in the novel Lord Jim by Joseph Conrad, published in 1900. It has subsequently appeared in various films and television shows....
, whose land and monarchy was overthrown by Colonel Chi when the boys were young. Zatch tells them that it is their destiny to return to Patusan, overthrow Colonel Chi, and rescue the population. Zatch takes the boys to the Patusani district in Los Angeles, the home of refugees from Chi's rule. Johnny is introduced to a Patusani princess, Ro-May, who has been betrothed to Johnny since childhood.
Ninjas attack the group again, and Johnny finds his inherent abilities as a warrior prince emerge, successfully defeating several foes. With the ninjas dispatched, Johnny, Adam, Iggy, Zatch, and Ro-May decide to travel to Patusan. They are followed by a detective, Lieutenant Spence, who had been investigating the ninja attacks on the boys. The group reaches Patusan and see the effects of Colonel Chi's rule, including a burned village and a Patusani chain gang monitored by Chi's henchmen. When Adam and Spence inadvertently fall into the sight of the henchmen, the group is forced to fight them. The henchmen are defeated, and the villagers are freed from the chain gang.
Zatch then leads the group to uncover a hidden cave in which the weapons of the Patusani monarchy are stored. Using his Game Gear and being helped by a monkey, Adam is able to uncover the cave for the group. In the cave, Zatch arms Johnny and attacks him in a tribulation to prepare the boy for future challenges. Johnny is beaten down repeatedly, but he is able to achieve the upper hand and disarm Zatch. The group rallies the villagers to overthrow Colonel Chi, and they travel to the shore of the mainland across from an island that is the home to the royal city and Chi's dungeon. Unable to take a boat to the unprotected side of the island due to an impassable reef, Johnny and Adam tell the Patusanis, who are expert at wood carving, to carve surfboards. With everyone equipped with their own surfboard, they swim to the unprotected side.
After landing at the island, Johnny and Zatch lead the attack on the royal city, taking down Chi's henchmen. Johnny and Adam's adoptive father Mac is freed, and Johnny confronts Colonel Chi, successfully defeating him (by falling in the water) with the help of Adam and his Game Gear. With Chi's rule undone, peace is restored to Patusan. Johnny is seated as the heralded warrior prince with Ro-May as his princess and Adam as a prince. Johnny declares for the monarchy to be dissolved and announces that Patusan would operate as a democracy under the people.
Cast
| Ernie Reyes, Jr. Ernie Reyes, Jr. Ernie Reyes, Jr. , is an American actor, martial artist, action choreographer, director, producer, filmmaker, screenwriter, entrepreneur, singer and stunt performer.-Early life:... |
... Johnny |
| Ernie Reyes, Sr. | ... Zatch |
| Nicolas Cowan Nicolas Cowan Nicolas Cowan is an actor. He is best known for his role in Surf Ninjas- Early life :Nicolas Cowan was born in 1981 to an Asian mother and Jewish father. At 6 years old, he became interested in acting.-Career:... |
... Adam |
| Rob Schneider Rob Schneider Robert Michael "Rob" Schneider is an American actor, comedian, screenwriter, and director. A stand-up comic and veteran of the NBC sketch-comedy series Saturday Night Live, Schneider has gone on to a successful career in feature films, including starring roles in the comedy films Deuce Bigalow:... |
... Iggy |
| John Karlen John Karlen John Karlen is a character actor best known for playing Willie Loomis, Carl Collins, William H. Loomis, Desmond Collins, and Kendrick Young on the ABC serial Dark Shadows, in various episodes between 206 and 1245, which aired from 1966-1971. In 1971 Karlen starred as the male lead in "Daughters... |
... Mac |
| Kelly Hu Kelly Hu Kelly Ann Hu is an American actress and former fashion model. She was Miss Teen USA 1985 and Miss Hawaii USA 1993.-Early life:Hu was born in Honolulu, Hawaii, the daughter of Juanita, an engineering drafter for Honolulu, and Herbert Hu, a salesman and exotic bird breeder; the two divorced during... |
... Ro-May |
| Tone Loc Tone Loc Anthony Terrell Smith , better known by his stage name Tone Lōc, is an American rapper and actor.-Early life and career:... |
... Lieutenant Spence |
| Leslie Nielsen Leslie Nielsen Leslie William Nielsen, OC was a Canadian and naturalized American actor and comedian. Nielsen appeared in more than one hundred films and 1,500 television programs over the span of his career, portraying more than 220 characters... |
... Colonel Chi |
| Neal Israel Neal Israel Neal Israel is an American actor, screenwriter, film and television producer and director best known for his comedic work in the 1980s.-Career:... |
... Mr. Dunbar |
Production
Surf Ninjas was filmed during the summer of 1992. Filming locations included ThailandThailand
Thailand , officially the Kingdom of Thailand , formerly known as Siam , is a country located at the centre of the Indochina peninsula and Southeast Asia. It is bordered to the north by Burma and Laos, to the east by Laos and Cambodia, to the south by the Gulf of Thailand and Malaysia, and to the...
and Hawaii
Hawaii
Hawaii is the newest of the 50 U.S. states , and is the only U.S. state made up entirely of islands. It is the northernmost island group in Polynesia, occupying most of an archipelago in the central Pacific Ocean, southwest of the continental United States, southeast of Japan, and northeast of...
. The second half of the film was shot first, and the crew moved to Los Angeles to film the first half. New Line Cinema
New Line Cinema
New Line Cinema, often simply referred to as New Line, is an American film studio. It was founded in 1967 by Robert Shaye and Michael Lynne as a film distributor, later becoming an independent film studio. It became a subsidiary of Time Warner in 1996 and was merged with larger sister studio Warner...
and Sega of America
Sega
, usually styled as SEGA, is a multinational video game software developer and an arcade software and hardware development company headquartered in Ōta, Tokyo, Japan, with various offices around the world...
established a financial relationship in which a Sega Game Gear
Sega Game Gear
The was Sega's first handheld game console. It was the third commercially available color handheld console, after the Atari Lynx and the TurboExpress....
video game would be developed for the film. Game designers began developing the video game Surf Ninjas when the film was only in its scripting phase, receiving creative input from director Neal Israel
Neal Israel
Neal Israel is an American actor, screenwriter, film and television producer and director best known for his comedic work in the 1980s.-Career:...
. In turn, Sega partially financed the film. Screenwriter Dan Gordon
Dan Gordon (screenwriter)
-Career:Dan Gordon graduated from UCLA as a film and television major, and went on to write screenplays including Passenger 57 , Wyatt Earp , Murder in the First , The Assignment and The Hurricane , as well as several novels.His play, Irena's Vow, premiered at the Baruch Performing Arts Center,...
said that he wrote action sequences that would both suit the film and serve as a springboard for the video game. In the film, one of the lead characters is shown playing the Surf Ninjas video game on a Sega Game Gear. The video game was released before the film's release, and it was considered the first movie-based video game to be developed concurrent with the movie and it was also the first to precede the film itself.
Release
The studio New Line CinemaNew Line Cinema
New Line Cinema, often simply referred to as New Line, is an American film studio. It was founded in 1967 by Robert Shaye and Michael Lynne as a film distributor, later becoming an independent film studio. It became a subsidiary of Time Warner in 1996 and was merged with larger sister studio Warner...
released Surf Ninjas two weeks earlier than its commercial release date in Evansville, Indiana
Evansville, Indiana
Evansville is the third-largest city in the U.S. state of Indiana and the largest city in Southern Indiana. As of the 2010 census, the city had a total population of 117,429. It is the county seat of Vanderburgh County and the regional hub for both Southwestern Indiana and the...
and Lubbock, Texas
Lubbock, Texas
Lubbock is a city in and the county seat of Lubbock County, Texas, United States. The city is located in the northwestern part of the state, a region known historically as the Llano Estacado, and the home of Texas Tech University and Lubbock Christian University...
as part of a test of regional markets. The early release marked the first time that a major film was released in Evansville before its national opening without any local ties. The president of theatrical marketing at New Line, Chris Pula, selected Evansville for its family-oriented audiences. Pula explained, "Evansville is traditionally a strong family market. Also, we have a strong relationship with the exhibitors in that area." The president said that the studio was testing the film in a larger market than usual due to its uncertainty about the film's reception, and that the studio would measure its marketing success with ticket receipts.
Surf Ninjas was widely released in 1,321 theaters in the United States on August 20, 1993. Over its opening weekend, the film grossed , placing 13th in box office rankings ahead of Manhattan Murder Mystery
Manhattan Murder Mystery
Manhattan Murder Mystery is a comedic murder mystery film directed by and starring Woody Allen and written by Marshall Brickman and Woody Allen.-Plot:...
. Surf Ninjas ultimately grossed in the United States. The film was released on VHS
VHS
The Video Home System is a consumer-level analog recording videocassette standard developed by Victor Company of Japan ....
on December 29, 1993. It was subsequently released on DVD
DVD
A DVD is an optical disc storage media format, invented and developed by Philips, Sony, Toshiba, and Panasonic in 1995. DVDs offer higher storage capacity than Compact Discs while having the same dimensions....
on September 3, 2002.
Critical reaction
Surf Ninjas received negative reviews from critics. It currently has a "rotten" rating of 8% on Rotten TomatoesRotten Tomatoes
Rotten Tomatoes is a website devoted to reviews, information, and news of films—widely known as a film review aggregator. Its name derives from the cliché of audiences throwing tomatoes and other vegetables at a poor stage performance...
based on 12 reviews. However, the film received a "fresh" score of 63% from the community.
Janet Maslin of The New York Times
The New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
called most of Surf Ninjas "only mindlessly watchable" and called the film "another of Hollywood's efforts to prove that the American mall mentality is at home in any corner of the globe". Maslin also found the film to lack in actual surfing content. Lynn Voedisch of the Chicago Sun-Times
Chicago Sun-Times
The Chicago Sun-Times is an American daily newspaper published in Chicago, Illinois. It is the flagship paper of the Sun-Times Media Group.-History:The Chicago Sun-Times is the oldest continuously published daily newspaper in the city...
described Surf Ninjas as "a marriage of pop icons that simply was fated to be", citing children's love for ninjas, especially the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles are a fictional team of four teenage anthropomorphic turtles, who were trained by their anthropomorphic rat sensei in the art of ninjutsu and named after four Renaissance artists...
, and for the surf culture
Surf culture
Surf culture includes the people, language, fashion and life surrounding the art of surfing.The culture began early in the 20th century, spread quickly during the 1950s and 1960s, and continues to evolve. It affected fashion, music, literature, films, jargon, and more...
. Voedisch considered Rob Schneider
Rob Schneider
Robert Michael "Rob" Schneider is an American actor, comedian, screenwriter, and director. A stand-up comic and veteran of the NBC sketch-comedy series Saturday Night Live, Schneider has gone on to a successful career in feature films, including starring roles in the comedy films Deuce Bigalow:...
's presence as comic relief unfunny, believing that Leslie Nielsen
Leslie Nielsen
Leslie William Nielsen, OC was a Canadian and naturalized American actor and comedian. Nielsen appeared in more than one hundred films and 1,500 television programs over the span of his career, portraying more than 220 characters...
should have received more screen time as the dictator. Calvin Wilson of the The Kansas City Star
The Kansas City Star
The Kansas City Star is a McClatchy newspaper based in Kansas City, Missouri, in the United States. Published since 1880, the paper is the recipient of eight Pulitzer Prizes...
called the film "a disgrace... even by Hollywood standards", seeing it as a mess of child lead roles, unfunny cameo roles by Schneider and Nielsen, martial arts action, and lame jokes. Wilson considered the story "stale and uninspired" that involved "people we don't care about doing things we can't believe".
Stephen Hunter of The Baltimore Sun
The Baltimore Sun
The Baltimore Sun is the U.S. state of Maryland’s largest general circulation daily newspaper and provides coverage of local and regional news, events, issues, people, and industries....
thought the film's lead Ernie Reyes, Jr.
Ernie Reyes, Jr.
Ernie Reyes, Jr. , is an American actor, martial artist, action choreographer, director, producer, filmmaker, screenwriter, entrepreneur, singer and stunt performer.-Early life:...
was too old and too muscular to be received believably as a 15-year-old. Hunter otherwise found the Reyes to impress with their fighting skills, though the film's martial arts sequences were "bloodless and absurd". Hunter also criticized the director for depriving the film of personality, with its lack of danger, seriousness, or spontaneity. Richard Harrington of The Washington Post
The Washington Post
The Washington Post is Washington, D.C.'s largest newspaper and its oldest still-existing paper, founded in 1877. Located in the capital of the United States, The Post has a particular emphasis on national politics. D.C., Maryland, and Virginia editions are printed for daily circulation...
found the film to be "a harmless summer's entertainment" for young people who enjoyed the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles films and 3 Ninjas
3 Ninjas
3 Ninjas is a 1992 American martial arts comedy film directed by Jon Turteltaub, starring Victor Wong, Michael Treanor, Max Elliott Slade, and Chad Power. It was the only 3 Ninjas film released by Touchstone Pictures, while the others were released by TriStar Pictures...
. Harrington enjoyed Reyes, Jr. as the protagonist but found Nielsen to be disappointing. Paul Sherman of the Boston Herald
Boston Herald
The Boston Herald is a daily newspaper that serves Boston, Massachusetts, United States, and its surrounding area. It was started in 1846 and is one of the oldest daily newspapers in the United States...
thought that Surf Ninjas was "little more than a succession of dudespeak, surfing, skateboarding, video games, generic rock soundtrack and strained knucklehead humor". Sherman admired the story arc in which the protagonists learn to accept their destinies, but he thought that "the manufactured thrills along the way get obnoxious". Sherman thought that the film would only appeal to children under 12 years old, though the film's locations in Thailand in the second half added an exotic atmosphere.
Desmond Ryan of The Philadelphia Inquirer
The Philadelphia Inquirer
The Philadelphia Inquirer is a morning daily newspaper that serves the Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, metropolitan area of the United States. The newspaper was founded by John R. Walker and John Norvell in June 1829 as The Pennsylvania Inquirer and is the third-oldest surviving daily newspaper in the...
thought that Leslie Nielsen was deceptively portrayed in a major role similar to that of Lieutenant Frank Drebin from the The Naked Gun films
The Naked Gun (film series)
The Naked Gun is a series of crime comedy films written and produced by the comedy filmmaking trio Zucker, Abrahams and Zucker and distributed by Paramount Pictures. All three films were based on their short-lived 1982 ABC television series Police Squad!, which was cancelled after six episodes...
, instead having merely "a running and unfunny gag about his malfunctioning answering machine and generally wasted otherwise". Ryan also found the film's dialogue to be "painful" and considered Surf Ninjas to be "beyond airheaded". Mick LaSalle of the San Francisco Chronicle
San Francisco Chronicle
thumb|right|upright|The Chronicle Building following the [[1906 San Francisco earthquake|1906 earthquake]] and fireThe San Francisco Chronicle is a newspaper serving primarily the San Francisco Bay Area of the U.S. state of California, but distributed throughout Northern and Central California,...
considered the story of Surf Ninjas to be "harmless and painfully dull". LaSalle thought that the pacing of the film was too long with only "two smirks over the course of 90 minutes". Sean Piccoli of The Washington Times
The Washington Times
The Washington Times is a daily broadsheet newspaper published in Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States. It was founded in 1982 by Unification Church founder Sun Myung Moon, and until 2010 was owned by News World Communications, an international media conglomerate associated with the...
thought that the film's "dull stretch" was buoyed by the presence of Rob Schneider. Piccoli compared the martial arts choreography in the film to the "cartoon fantasies that little boys re-enact on neighbors' lawns: The good guys, alone and outnumbered by the charging horde, air-punch their way to glory."
Ron Weiskind of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, also known simply as the "PG," is the largest daily newspaper serving metropolitan Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA.-Early history:...
perceived Reyes, Jr. as "a likable presence on screen" and Schneider to be occasionally humorous in his series of gaffes. Weiskind thought that even with the abundance of martial arts in the film, the scenes were generally too lifeless. Joe Holleman of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch
St. Louis Post-Dispatch
The St. Louis Post-Dispatch is the major city-wide newspaper in St. Louis, Missouri. Although written to serve Greater St. Louis, the Post-Dispatch is one of the largest newspapers in the Midwestern United States, and is available and read as far west as Kansas City, Missouri, as far south as...
thought that Surf Ninjas pushed "the right buttons to guarantee adolescent enjoyment". Holleman acknowledged that the film was "not exactly a milestone in cinematic achievement", but he applauded the acrobatic choreography and the delivery of Schneider's throwaway lines in "the movie's funniest moments". Sean P. Means of The Salt Lake Tribune
The Salt Lake Tribune
The Salt Lake Tribune is the largest-circulated daily newspaper in the U.S. city of Salt Lake City. It is distributed by Newspaper Agency Corporation, which also distributes the Deseret News. The Tribune — or "Trib," as it is locally known — is currently owned by the Denver-based MediaNews Group....
described the film as a Toys "R" Us version of Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom
Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom
Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom is a 1984 American adventure film directed by Steven Spielberg. It is the second film in the Indiana Jones franchise and prequel to Raiders of the Lost Ark . After arriving in India, Indiana Jones is asked by a desperate village to find a mystical stone...
, with "the cartoonish martial-arts sequences [owing] their entire existence to the villains' stupidity". Means thought that the film was ultimately "as silly as it is forgettable".
See also
Similar works listed at Allmovie:- Cheerleader NinjasCheerleader ninjasCheerleader Ninjas is a 1998 camp/action film directed by Kevin Campbell. In the film, the internet must be rescued from the control of a religious fanaticism group by four cheerleader ninjutsu students and their geek allies.-Plot overview:...
(2002) - 3 Ninjas Kick Back3 Ninjas Kick Back3 Ninjas Kick Back is a 1994 American sequel to the film 3 Ninjas. It received mostly negative reviews from critics. This is the only 3 Ninjas film with a video game adaptation...
(1994) - Beverly Hills NinjaBeverly Hills NinjaBeverly Hills Ninja is a 1997 action comedy film directed by Dennis Dugan, written by Mark Feldberg and Mitch Klebanoff, and starring Chris Farley. The main plot revolves around Haru , who was found by a clan of ninjas as an infant in an abandoned treasure chest and was raised by them...
(1997) - Teenage Mutant Ninja TurtlesTeenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (film)Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles is a 1990 American live-action film adaptation of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles franchise directed by Steve Barron. The film was followed by three sequels: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II: The Secret of the Ooze in 1991, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles III in 1993, and...
(1990)