3 Ninjas: High Noon at Mega Mountain is a 1998 American martial arts film, and the fourth and final installment in the 3 Ninjas franchise.
High Noon at Mega Mountain starred only three of the original actors and was directed by Sean McNamara. The film grossed US$375,805 domestically,[1] making it the least profitable of the franchise by far.
Plot
The film opens as normal while the boys are at their Grandfather Mori's home for the summer to perform their ninja training. After being put to an obstacle course test and failing, he overhears the eldest Rocky and Colt talking about no longer returning since they are older and have more adult things to do, depressing Mori. After they return home from their vacation, they meet Amanda when their heads are almost buzzed off by her out-of-control radio controlled helicopter. After making amends, she is invited to Tum-Tum's birthday party the following day at Mega Mountain, a theme park much like the Six Flags franchise, which she accepts. Tum-Tum is also very depressed when his favorite action hero Dave Dragon is set to retire and end his television series, and even concerns his mother when she offers him food, to which he's "not hungry"
The following day, the boys and Amanda are dropped off at Mega Mountain, and Rocky disappoints the group by opting to spend the day with his girlfriend Jennifer than spend it with Tum-Tum and his wanting to see Dave Dragon who is performing live for his final performance. Colt and Tum-Tum both admit the admiration toward Dave Dragon and remember how cool he had been previously. During these goings on, a seductive, yet vicious woman Medusa, her right hand man Lothar, her three idiot nephews; C.J., Eric, and Carl as well as a small group of mercenaries infiltrate the park, take over its operations and attempt to take out Dragon after his performance (interrupted by Tum-Tum and Colt who seek him out for an autograph). After fending off the thugs and rejoining Rocky who had spotted them while away from his girlfriend, they wake up Dragon and become suspicious as a great deal of the park is closed off and several rides begin to go crazy. Amanda utilizes a hand held computer and is able to hack out some of the programs, however Medusa quickly has her access locked out, and suspends a roller coaster full of people at the top of a loop, threatening to the owner of Mega Mountain with their deaths if he does not pay her a large sum of money. Dragon tries to infiltrate their operations, and is captured while Colt, Rocky, Tum-Tum and Amanda continue to evade Medusa's henchmen and her nephews. She manages to kidnap Jennifer and use her as bait to keep the kids from interfering by tying her to the roller coaster tracks and threatening to release the cars, causing the people to run over her. Rocky battles with Lothar when attempting to free her, and causes him to literally bounce out of the park and into the hands of the authorities. Amanda uses her helicopter to destroy the bags of money being dropped, but misses one when she is taken by a vengeful Medusa who obtains the final bag and attempts to flee. The trio manage to overcome their inability to see in the dark (the problem with their obstacle course at the beginning) and save Amanda, but her computer breaks down and she can't disarm the bomb she was attached to. Thinking quickly, they attach the bomb to an oxygen tank on rollers and attempt to break the tank's valve to send it away. With Dave's help they are able to break it, and send it like a torpedo, directly toward Medusa's escape route.
The explosion draws the authorities' attention, and they quickly are able to capture Medusa who is the only one of her henchmen to make it out, still clutching to her bag of money, she pouts and seats herself with it, surrendering to the FBI, and the boys father who had been the head of the operation all along. Later, the boys assure Mori that they are not going to give up their summers with him for anything, enjoying learning to be ninjas, and even recruit Amanda to join them next time, which she accepts graciously.
Cast
Development
Filming began in 1996. Hulk Hogan, wrestling in World Championship Wrestling at the time, underwent a temporary hair loss treatment for the film which resulted in Hogan with a different hairstyle than his traditional bald look. As a result, he is seen in Halloween Havoc 1996 with a similar hairstyle as he had in the film. Elitch Gardens, the park where filming was located, underwent a complete remodel, with all the signs for the park and for the rides being changed and renamed for the film. However, there are a few times when the real signs for the rides and park are seen in the background.
Criticism
There is some criticism surrounding the continuity of certain characters and events throughout the film. In the final scenes for example, a yo-yo is wrapped around one of the character's legs, which is not present seconds later when he falls from a roller coaster. It is also criticized for its poor special effects and campy acting in comparison to its previous installments.
References
External links
