They’re the mean green fighting machine. The four turtles in a half shell in their first live-action movie. And not the last one I would say, that’s for another time. This is Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles the movie. Being the fan that I am, I have to say this was a great review for me to give. Our story beings with the foot clan taking it to the city. They have gained the trust of young teens to help them do their work for them. To everyone else they are unknown, their master the Shredder who I have to say is one of my favorite villains. We get a first-hand look at how the turtles become mutant ninjas and their first great battle with Shredder.
One of the best parts of this movie is how well it was done. Some would disagree with me about how the movie was done. I for one thought it was good for what it was. Remember this film was done in the early 90s, this was before computers did most of the work. It’s funny and for me was hit right on the nose as it went for how the movie was about 80% dead on with the cartoon. Which if you don’t know was one of the hottest cartoons in America. Today anime rules the tv airwaves. Such shows as Dragon Ball Z, Gundam Wing, Pokemon, and Yu-Gi-Oh are top dogs in the states. Back in the ’80s and mid 90’s Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles was king of the hill, a green one at that.
Starting Judith Hoag (April O’Neil), Michael Turney (Danny Pennington), Elias Koteas (Casey Jones), Josh Pais (Raphael), Michelan Sisti (Michelangelo), Leif Tilden (Donatello), David Forman (Leonardo), Kevin Clash (Voice/Splinter) and James Saito as Shredder. Also as voices were Robbie Rist (Voice/Michelangelo), Brian Tochi (Voice/Leonardo), Corey Feldman (Voice/Donatello), and David McCharen (Voice/Shredder). Many of these guys are not big-time stars and more of them haven’t been in anything really big. Most of them have been on TV or behind the scenes. Not having an all-star cast doesn’t mean you can’t have a good movie. The fact that most of these actors were unknown to us, as we know this means nothing as look at Star Wars which had mostly all unknown actors. I think the acting was superb for the film and was done very well.
Wellbeing is one of those old-time movies with our many computers. Don’t get me wrong here folks, they’ve been using the computer in movies for years but when most people think special effects these days they think something done on the computer which more or less is fake. This movie use puppet, voice over’s, and some very good camera angles to give you the full story. The costumes of the turtles were very good, to the point as I remember when I was a kid I thought they were real. When you’re a kid you believe anything. But either way, the small puppets and clay effects used were super for a movie of this kind.
Being a big fan of comics and cartoons as a kid, this movie was one of those long-time dues as today I wait for such movies as Spiderman 3 to be released this was just the same then. The story was very different from the cartoon. Many elements had been changed or done differently or removed. Which is alright as the one you don’t want to be cheese or stupid. It’s also Hollywood for yeah, which they never do anything right, to begin with. However, they did a good job with what budget they had and the fact the movie was done to show us if they were real how would the world look. Remember they live in New York and I think you’ll agree that it was right on the money for being a film done in 1990.
Very well. besides a few things, I thought could have been better, it was overall a good way to go. The first 15 min’s of the movie was a bit boring now that I look at it. The movie seems to pick up very well after the first 15 min’s but after a big battle with the foot clan, the movie almost dies. As it tells a good story. I just thought more action could have been placed into it. About midway to the end, the movie gets good and overall does a nice job to make your life and to keep going. The story and action went together perfectly and I for one was happy with what I got.
Remember that this movie was done at the peak of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. So the fans loved it. With the somewhat bomb of the next one and the total bomb of the last one were what killed it. In any case, I have to say that the movie went well with the fans and those who are just movie lovers. Just think about where you were back in 1990, that is unless you were too young or not born yet, do you remember when the film came out? I tell you the fan fair was like Spiderman I tell yeah. It was big and I for one saw it a good 25 times in the theaters. Remember in 1990 I lived not far from the theater plus it was only $2.95 a showing and it was far easier to sneak into shows than it is today.
The final thought on this film is that even now if more money was given for it that it could have been so much better, for what it was and how it was done was perfect for a fan as I was back then. I’m still a fan to this day. Not of the new stuff they’ve done but of the original movie and cartoon series. The Shredder was the number one kick-ass bad guy back then. You didn’t mess with someone who had sexy looking Darth Vader-style helmet and sharp shoulder pads and a two-blade claw and to top it all off a fleet of minions. If it’s not on your shelf already I would head out and pick it up. At least give it a rent if you are one of those people. Chances are to the age of this movie, I bet you have it on VHS just getting dusty. The DVD is out now, not much on it however but well worth $10 bucks.