The ninja kids in question are descendants of the Ming Dynasty who wear a talisman of their origin. The Ching want to kill them to remove all trace of their heritage. Just about the entire film is spent by the young martial artists in training with stone benches that will come in handy for the film's climax when they must do battle with the evil emperor in a giant spinning top. You couldn't make this up, so I'm wondering how they got that into the film.
The movie mildly explores the relationship of an overbearing master who relentlessly trains his protégés, punishing them when they misbehave or don't perform to perfection. The scene when Wu Chan slaps the youngest boy changed the entire flavor of the story for me, especially since he didn't redeem himself in any way later on.
The attempts at humor generally fall flat, like the pair of lanky warriors who might have been the two stooges of kung fu. There is one comedic scene done particularly well though. A few of the boys come upon a young female martial artist taking a bath in the river and one of the boys remarks - "Brother, why doesn't she have this?", while another checks his own anatomy for reassurance.
I was perplexed by one scene near the end of the movie when the ninjas were working out in the cave. There on the floor in rather bold relief and colored in red was a large swastika. No mention of it was offered in the story, but it sure looked strange.
Not being a big fan of the genre, I was intrigued enough to pick up this DVD when I saw the title in a bargain bin at a local store, especially since it was paired with another flick called "Little Mad Guy". It only cost a buck, and to be honest, it was worth every penny, which is to say, about fifty cents worth.
The movie mildly explores the relationship of an overbearing master who relentlessly trains his protégés, punishing them when they misbehave or don't perform to perfection. The scene when Wu Chan slaps the youngest boy changed the entire flavor of the story for me, especially since he didn't redeem himself in any way later on.
The attempts at humor generally fall flat, like the pair of lanky warriors who might have been the two stooges of kung fu. There is one comedic scene done particularly well though. A few of the boys come upon a young female martial artist taking a bath in the river and one of the boys remarks - "Brother, why doesn't she have this?", while another checks his own anatomy for reassurance.
I was perplexed by one scene near the end of the movie when the ninjas were working out in the cave. There on the floor in rather bold relief and colored in red was a large swastika. No mention of it was offered in the story, but it sure looked strange.
Not being a big fan of the genre, I was intrigued enough to pick up this DVD when I saw the title in a bargain bin at a local store, especially since it was paired with another flick called "Little Mad Guy". It only cost a buck, and to be honest, it was worth every penny, which is to say, about fifty cents worth.
