Stephen Hunter of "The Baltimore Sun" thought the film's lead, Ernie Reyes, Jr., was too old (20) 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.