Where to watch 9 1/2 Ninjas!
1 Star
Joe Vogue, a ninja, butts heads with a real estate tycoon who has hired assassins to eliminate him. In addition to that he has to also protect and train a woman in the arts of ninjutsu.
I had the unfortunate timing of revisiting The Naked Gun 2 1/2 last week a few days before I screened 9 1/2 Ninjas, and while it’s not a fair comparison, I couldn’t help but notice how flat the latter film played out. The zaniness of the Zucker, Abrhams, and Profit productions is the obvious inspiration for this spoof comedy that parodies romantic thrillers more than martial arts movies. For me, the most obvious comparison is to the similarly silly Ninja Academy, but that movie has a story and sustained laughs. 9 1/2 Ninjas is a mostly laugh-less experience, save for a very amusing interlude in which the lead character references the death of his obese wife. The script needed more of that outrageous humor, less outlandish sight gags, and movie satirizing.
Directed by: Aaron Barsky
Written by: Bill Crounse, John Morrissey, Don Pequignot
Starring: Michael Phenicie, Andee Gray, Robert Fieldsteel