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Tongan Ninja

Tongan Ninja (2002)

November. 08,2002
|
6
| Action Comedy

The Tongan Ninja is dispatched to the island nation of New Zealand in order to help a brother of his master with his floundering Chinese restaurant. But the mysterious Mister Big stands in the eatery's way as he sends numerous villains such as Knife Man, Gun Man, and the super-sexy Action Fighter who may know a lot about the hero.

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Reviews

ActuallyGlimmer
2002/11/08

The best films of this genre always show a path and provide a takeaway for being a better person.

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Jonah Abbott
2002/11/09

There's no way I can possibly love it entirely but I just think its ridiculously bad, but enjoyable at the same time.

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Deanna
2002/11/10

There are moments in this movie where the great movie it could've been peek out... They're fleeting, here, but they're worth savoring, and they happen often enough to make it worth your while.

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Jakoba
2002/11/11

True to its essence, the characters remain on the same line and manage to entertain the viewer, each highlighting their own distinctive qualities or touches.

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siderite
2002/11/12

This New Zeeland movie is about a boy trained as a ninja on one of the isles of the Tongan archipelago. One he grows up he must save the girl, defeat his archnemesis and face his fears. It is a spoof of (bad) Asian kung-fu movies and sometimes is it hilarious. Most of the time, though, it is plain boring. And it is strange, because both in montage and directing, the people involved show a lot of talent. The actors are clearly having a lot of fun, too. By all means, this should have been great, but it was only marginally funny.A highlight of the movie is the presence of Jemaine Clement, one of the funny guys from Flight of the Conchords, also a writer for the movie, as the psychopathic Action Fighter. That's a bunch of laughs. Unfortunately for the movie, he is the only funny thing in it.Bottom line: Had potential, but it ultimately failed as a comedy.

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DICK STEEL
2002/11/13

Watching Tongan Ninja is like watching a movie so deliberately bad, it's good! Which is not surprising, given that the creative brains of Jemaine Clement and Bret McKenzie behind Flight of the Conchords, had a hand in crafting the zany scenes, crazy dialogue and mind- boggling tongue in cheek action sequences. It's like watching a kid's cartoon come alive, though it comes with a tinge of unexpected violence as well to make it more adult.The basic structure follows that of Bruce Lee's Way/Return of the Dragon, where a martial arts practitioner get sent to protect a restaurant from thugs who come asking for protection money. Sam Manu plays Sione Finau aka Tongan Ninja the titular character, whose tragic background of his father being killed by a fish haunts him into adulthood. Growing up in a Pacific island where he learns his ninja skills, he gets sent by his master to New Zealand to help a friend in need, represented by Miss Lee (Linda Tseng) whom he falls in love with.You know it's gonna be mindless fun with slapstick humour when the villains are caricatures such as Kinfe Man, Gun Man and his arch-nemesis Action Man (played by Jemaine Clement himself) with whom is under the same ninja tutelage. The fights don't take themselves seriously, as it really hammed up every cliché you can find in bad action movies. From funny character names to funny action moves coupled with cheesily bad special effects, everyone's acting is really over the top, and therein lies the fun factor when watching the movie, complete with spaghetti western styled dialogue and dubbed voices that are never in sync.What also worked here are the zany song and dance sequences, which acted as a precursor of the later collaboration between Clement and McKenzie. In fact, if you pay attention to the lyrics that are sung during these sequences, that's half the fun already as you're likely to have been chuckling along.So don't expect quality production values with polished acting. You can tell these folks had a lot of fun spoofing the genre and probably had a great time on set, and this shows up in the product in all honesty. It doesn't bite off more than it can chew, and provides for some really enjoyable entertainment.

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zellwood
2002/11/14

I own the DVD. I had to have it. It is just unfortunate that this piece of cinematic brilliance (Use your own judgment) only screened once in New Zealand (and as an ARTS film ?!?) when it received accolades in countries such as Finland and Bulgaria! I recommend it to anyone with a NZ sense of humor and also anyone who liked Kung Pow. I recommend it to all my friends. Then I hear that they recommended it to all their friends as well. I am still waiting for someone to tell me they did not like this move.Be sure to check out the special features too. Lord of the Ring's Peter Jackson displays a rare view of his acting talent. If he is for this movie - you should be too!

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imdb-12718
2002/11/15

You are pretty sure you are onto a winner when the person at the video store can't help telling you how fantastic a movie is.Another good sign is when the missus, who generally loathes both chop socky films and goofy brainless humour, is choking for breath halfway through because she is laughing so hard.As other reviewers have said, see this with a bunch of like-minded friends in a happy mood if you want a joyful evening. The fights! The dialogue! The car chase! The special effects! And make sure you watch the extras on the DVD. Not yer average "Making Of", trailers or TV spots...

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