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Directed by: Steve Barron Starring: Judith Hoag, Elias Koteas, Corey Feldman, among others... This is probably the first movie I ever went to see in the theaters. I honestly can't be certain, but it's definately the earliest that I remember seeing. I was about 6 or 7 when this movie came out in 1990, and I loved the hell out of it. For a good while, it was the coolest movie I had ever seen, as was the opinion of many of my friends at that time. It was officially dethroned in 1993 when I saw 'Jurassic Park', but for a while, this movie was king in my eyes. The thing about 'Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles' is that, even 15 years later, I still find myself enjoying it, and not just in a nostalgic way. It's a genuinely good movie, and I honestly think my generation really won out. I mean, I've seen the Power Rangers movie, and god it sucked. After Power Rangers it was Pokemon, then loving Yu-Gi-Oh. I realize that I may be looking at things through rose-tinted glasses, but c'mon, you gotta admit that TMNT is a way more awesome concept than any of those. And this movie shows just how awesome they can be, what with its dark and gritty atmosphere, intense violence, fatherhood themes, and well-paced and solid storyline. Christ, this movie loving kicks those other movies' asses. With ninja moves, too. This movie could have been so much shittier, as all movies are capable of being. Although it drew very strongly from the original comic (which was significantly more adult-themed and serious than the cartoon), most people didn't know that. The comic was more or less an underground hit before the cartoon came out in 1987, and when this movie debuted, I'm sure the vast majority of people rolled their eyes and went "Oh lord." Because of this expectation from most parents, the moviemakers could have very easily made a lovely movie that kids (my generation, admittedly) would have eaten up, and still made a nice profit. But no, they went all out. They decided they wanted to make a geniunely good and well-made movie. They set out with this goal in mind, and made the most of their material. The result is that 'TMNT' is a loving sweet movie even if you're over the age of 10. The story revolves around, well, the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. For those who grew up in some dirty communist country and don't know what the poo poo they are, the TMNT are a group of mutated turtles who are teenagers and also ninjas. They are led by Splinter, an elderly mutant rat who is their ninja sensei. Splinter taught them the ways of ninjutsu since they were hatchlings so that they may become awesome ninja warriors. But how does a mutant rat even know ninjutsu to begin with? And how did they get mutated? Well, that's all part of the backstory, and I don't want to reveal it here in case you haven't seen it. But when the Turtles are taken in by Splinter, he names them the following: Leonardo, Donatello, Raphael, and Michaelangelo. Leonardo's the serious, teacher's pet and self-appointed leader; Donatello is the intellectual; Michaelangelo is the wisecracking party dude; and Raphael is the angry hothead. Each wielding a different ninja weapon and possessing a distinct personality, they collectively make up the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. During the movie, our heroes meet the lovely April O'Neil (Judith Hoag), who is covering a story on the recent crime wave that has been sweeping New York City. Apparantly, a worldwide ninja organization known as the Foot is recruiting local teenagers to commit crimes. Shoplifting, smuggling, drug-dealing, that sort of thing. The Foot is lead by a shrouded figure known as the Shredder (voiced by David McCharen, acted by James Saito), a high-ranking ninja master and criminal overlord. He rules over his flourishing criminal empire, serving as a father figure for the disenfranchised and misguided teens. In addition to his cartel, the Shredder also has legions of trained ninja warriors to carry out his orders. When April O'Neil starts getting a little too close to the story, Shredder orders his ninjas to "silence her". Luckily for April, the hotheaded Raphael rescues her from an attack on the subway and takes her to the Turtles' lair. Once there, April learns of the Turtles' existance and, after getting over her initial and understandable shock, takes a liking to them and becomes their friend. However, things go to poo poo when the Foot also learns of the Turtles' existance! After Splinter gets kidnapped, the Turtles use the help of April O'Neil, as well as the aid of Casey Jones (Elias Koteas), a rugged vigilante and would-be superhero who starts out on the wrong foot with Raphael after a run-in in Central Park. Together, they retreat to the countryside where they regroup their strength and prepare to rescue their master. Meanwhile, Shredder tortures and interrogates the gently caress out of Splinter. Finally, the heroes go back to the city for the final confrontation with Shredder, culminating with an awesome showdown on a rooftop. After an awesome battle, Splinter himself appears and we learn the final truth that connects them all. Besides this main story, there is also a side plot that concerns April's boss, Charles Pennington, and his son, Danny. The two have a rough relationship, unable to relate or understand one another. As a result, Danny drifts away and ends up joining the Foot, the closest thing to a family that he recognizes. As the main plot progresses, this storyarch likewise develops and reaches its conclusion at the end. It fits very nicely with the themes of fatherhood that run deep in this movie. Technically, 'TMNT' looks great. The animatronics are very lifelike and expressive. Each of the Turtles' have their own face; they aren't just identical models with different colored bandanas. The way they make facial expressions is amazing. Splinter looks a bit shittier, but is still well-crafted. The sets, props, and wardrobe all look very nice. Shredder's outfit looks badass, and the Foot ninjas look like actual ninjas (or how I'd imagine a real ninja would look like; I've never seen one  ). As for the acting, it was legitamately very good, as was the fight scenes. The actors and stuntmen actually knew martial arts, it looked like. Raphael's solo fight with the gang of ninjas is particularly awesome, and quite violent.As I said earlier, given the popularity of the TMNT franchise, the moviemakers could have very easily gotten away with making a lovely movie and still would have made a bundle. But instead, they went ahead and did a great job. This movie is great because it doesn't talk down to kids, and sure as gently caress doesn't pander to them. Hahah, I remember there was some poo poo because Raphael said "drat", and also because of the violence. It makes me happy that the director and studio didn't pussy out on this film, and despite the whiny soccermoms, they put together and released this sweet film. And the kids LOVED it, as did many, many adults. This movie gets a drat 5.0. It's not the absolute most fantastic and perfect movie ever constructed by man, but it definately ranks up there as a drat fine movie. gently caress Harry Potter and the Balls of the Gaylord, show your kids this instead. RATING: 5.0 PROS: Very suprisingly well-done, doesn't talk down to the audience, very dark and gritty CONS: Some of the Turtles' catchphrases do not age well at all ADDITIONAL INFORMATION: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0100758/ The Kung-fu Yeti fucked around with this message at 07:08 on Aug 4, 2005 |
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Aug 4, 2005 06:57
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| # ? Apr 26, 2024 10:54 |
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The Splinter vs. shredder battle alone makes this movie gold. 4.5
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Aug 5, 2005 00:40
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The thing I liked about this movie is how dark it was for a childrens movie. Recently watched it again though I lost all of my VHS tapes of these, but I immediately recalled everything because I probably watched it 70 times as a kid. 5 because as a kid, it didn't get better (though part 2 was pretty silly and radical)
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Aug 7, 2005 23:25
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I didn't want to make another thread, so I found this one. ITs old yeah, but the Ghostbusters thread too has been around since '04, so I figure its alright to bump this one. Anyways, I caught this movie again today. It seems like only yesterday I was 5 years old and my older brother took me to watch this on my birthday. I was an enormous fan of the Turtles around that time, and I was 5, so pretty much this movie could've been the poorest piece of poo poo ever and I would've loved it either way. Now that i'm older and well versed in the ways of the movie business, I really begin to appreciate how loving great this movie was. It could've been SO much worse, it could've been terrible. But it wasn't. It was a good movie that still manages to hold up today. They've managed to make the turtles timeless, and that--right there, I have to hand it to the director and writer, because it is so easy to mess up a childrens franchise. This could've been another Pokemon or another Yu gi Oh, where you'd forget about it the next couple of years, but gently caress that, this will be forever remembered as one of the greatest childrens movies---up there with The Lion King, the Iron Giant, and other classics. Unlike the TV series, TMNT: The Movie borrows heavely from its comic origins, making it grittier, darker, and more mature than it'll ever be (and let me tell you, thats a feat in itself.)The movie has very few stints where actual sunlight is shown---for a kids movie, thats amazing. Most of the sets in the movie are dark as hell, with rain and thunder, and the dominant color throughout it is black. The theme of fatherhood is prominant. From Shredder to Splinter to Dannys father, it stresses the need to be around a father figure. Instead of having poo poo special effects, the director and producer hired the Jim Henson company to masterfully animate the Turtles suits, and let me tell you, the puppetry is amazing. From a movie like this that had its main audience aged 5-10, you'd expect it to be animated. But no oh no, this is all live action. All the martial arts, the weapons, everything is all acted out, and done quite well for its time. The stuntman do a good job of making the turtles feel real, and it doesn't seem like their suits are too constricted, in fact they seem quite flexible, like the cartoon. Which is good, because a 20-30 pound turtle suite on you isn't exactly an easy prop to use, especially when they look so bulky. You're basically watching Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles on screen, and thats exactly what it looks like. The dialogue is great for a kids movie. Sometimes the catchphrases are a little out there (Tubular, Radical, awesome, cowabunga  ) but its all in good health. Hell, I counted a few times where the Turtles said "drat" and I went to myself "Thats pretty extreme for a kids movie." Anyways, this gets a 5/5 from me. I can't believe me being 20 years old now, still being able to enjoy a childrens film. This along with Ghostbusters are movies i'll never forget as being enormous parts of my childhood  COWABUNGA! Ramseyk fucked around with this message at 10:54 on May 14, 2006 |
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May 14, 2006 10:50
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I remember seeing this in theatres as a young larf, and it rocked my tiny rear end. To this day, i love this movie just as much as i did then, but i don't spend as much time mimicking moves after I finish watching it. I dont remember when, but i actually found this as a dvd being given away in a box of cereal. There wasn't anything edited out as far as i could tell, so that became the best goddamn box of cereal i'd eaten in a good while. This movie is a perfect score IMO, not just for nostalgia, but because, as its already been said, it's a kick rear end movie right to the bones.
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May 20, 2006 01:55
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I remember when I watched this in the theater. I was about five, and went to the Hilltop Mall movie theater. God, those were the days. Back then, I remember thinking why the hell they made Raphael the main protagonist. Even though Raphael was my favorite, I kept thinking about why they didn't just go ahead and make Leonardo the focus since he was the leader. As I got older, I realized one of the most important aspects of telling a story: the most interesting stories are the ones where characters are flawed and conflicted, and who grow throughout the story. Raphael had the most potential out of the turtles to grow, and he had the most conflict. This is EXTREMELY well illustrated in the scene after he gets his rear end kicked by Casey Jones and has the talk with Splinter. Raphael is the loner full of anger, and by the end of the film, he learns to work with his brothers instead of going off alone. I never realized that until I watched it again when I was older. Voted 5.
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May 20, 2006 08:21
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I loved this movie as a kid, as I think everybody who was young in that year would have. It does have great nostalgia, but if it came on the TV right now, I would not have any complaints about sitting through every minute of it, and I'd enjoy every minute. It's a film for all ages, and I'm sure at the time parents were reluctant about taking their kids to see it, but must have come out of the theatre feeling entertained. It's got kick rear end action for the kids, a little bit of totty for the fathers, and a rugged rebel by the name of Casey Jones for the mothers. Just thinking about it makes me want to watch it again. 5/5
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May 21, 2006 16:24
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TMNT is an example of taking a hokey premise and making it work right. Seriously, try to explain the concept to someone who knows nothing about it. You'll get plenty of blank stares and perhaps a "you like that? man, grow up". However, the movie is just plain good for being about giant reptiles that act like teenagers that know ninjitsu. If you take the concept for what it is, this movie is a ball.
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May 25, 2006 01:33
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I watched it recently too and have to 100 percent agree on how well this movie aged and how well it was done. I cannot imagine a movie based on a kids cartoon being made like this now. Also, RAPHAEL CURSES!! I couldnt believe that. His first line in the movie is "drat it" Man, our generation really did luck out.
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May 27, 2006 07:39
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It was a pretty good movie, even today. The only cons would be that a select few lines are really cheesy and dated and I think the Shredder's costume could have been designed a little better, red sparkling jumpsuit with spike pads just didn't cut it. 4/5
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May 29, 2006 11:38
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I have always liked....cowabunga. 5/5
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May 30, 2006 20:02
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I have to agree with everyone here that it's definitely not nostalgia. I remember not caring too much about the movie as a kid (having seen it probably just once or twice), but really liking the second one. Seeing the movie recently, I now like it much more. Really, the only thing I don't like about it is that the ending part feels a little rushed, and you don't get to see some of the (presumably) good fighting. But really, that's just a small argument that doesn't really hurt the movie. 9.95/5
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Jun 27, 2006 09:47
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Ramseyk posted:Anyways, this gets a 5/5 from me. I can't believe me being 20 years old now, still being able to enjoy a childrens film. This along with Ghostbusters are movies i'll never forget as being enormous parts of my childhood I just recently rewatched the film and was suprised by how much fun I had watching it all over again. Even if you've already seen the film when you were younger, I would suggest viewing it again to pick up anything new that you missed. I didn't really understand half of the finer points of the plot when I was 10, but it seems like all the scenes I didn't like when I was younger (because I loved the action action action!) have become gold. Also, that antique store fight is probably my favorite fight committed to film. 5/5
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Jul 4, 2006 09:24
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| # ? Apr 26, 2024 10:54 |
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I watched these again for the first time since middle school very recently. I have to say they're at least as funny, if not funnier than they were when I was younger. Definitely 5/5 and not just for nostalgia or retroism. I just love awesome 80's movies that get me pumped up to kick some rear end. Usually after watching these I'll go outside and do a few uppercuts and high kicks just to mellow out. Yeah... a little too Raph...
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Jun 7, 2009 02:56
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