Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (1990)

The once-very-popular Turtles, who are trained in the martial arts courtesy of their master, a rat named Splinter, are duty-bound to save the city from a group of youths that are known as The Foot, who have been stealing and committing crimes within the area. They end up befriending a young reporter named April O'Neill, who reads the news on the local TV station, after she is rescued from an attack from The Foot. Once she is home our shelled friends find that The Foot has captured Splinter, and so must rescue him and face the might of The Foot's leader -- Shredder! I was already familiar with the cartoon series (that had apparently been censored somewhat on its arrival in the UK for fear that children would copy the martial artistry), so I was a little dubious as to whether this would work in live-action. Strangely enough, even when I saw it for the first time in 1991, aged 18, I enjoyed it! It was brilliantly done, Shredder looked particularly menacing (as did his right-hand man Tatsu), and Splinter's voice sometimes moved you almost to tears, especially with the charming musical score. The martial arts action is quite well done (although Michelangelo did not have his Nunchaku weapon that his comic-book and video game version does), and the dark look of the whole thing suits it perfectly. This is certainly worth a look.

Fmovies: Ninja Turtles. Anyone born in the 1980's remembers the phenomenon that swept the country during the late 80's and early 90's. And this movie proves what was once a big icon fad that was the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. This movie is well made for a kids movie, and it is my favorite of the series of films. I even like this more than the TV show. It has more drama and action than the other parts. And it's dark, I like that in a kids movie.

I recently bought an old VHS copy of "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Movie" and I must say that this movie is still great even after 14 years. Now first let me that this is the only faithful film in the "TMNT" trilogy of movies released during the early '90s.

This film, released at the height of "Turtlemania" in the summer of 1990, raked in $133 million at the box office, quickly making it the highest grossing independent film of all time. That's good considering it also faced heavy competition from another comic book adaptation that year, "Dick Tracy," which was directed by Warren Beatty and was quite groundbreaking, on its own terms of course.

Though the film is more in touch with the toned-down animated series of the same title, its roots are squarely in the original comics created by Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird. This film is violent (it DID push the limits of its "PG" rating in some spots, especially with some intense moments, many of which dealt with teenage crime and alienation, and some particularly brutal fight sequences) and is quite dark and actually kind of scary. This is by far the most mature, moving, and tense film in the series and we should thank director Steve Barron for making sure his vision of the Turtles did not stray off course (unlike the sequels).

I was a huge Turtle freak growing up, and I still have many of my original action figures and other memorabilia. I only recently purchased Eastman and Laird's line of graphic novels from First and I must say that they're quite excellent and they take me back to the Turtles' roots. It is quite obvious that this line of graphic novels served as the main source of inspiration for the film. One particularly big difference between the comics and the film is that the literary source material is quite violent (and not to mention very bloody in some spots).

Many people may look at this film today (in 2004) and they might say this film has not aged well. All I can say is that they did not have CGI taking control of every single action sequence to make up for lack of real stunt work. The performers inside the Turtle costumes acted quite excellently considering what they went through to become our four, high-kicking reptilian heroes.

I remember reading a little while back that Hong Kong director John Woo had expressed interest in remaking the Turtles movie. I hope not for two reasons: 1) If the Turtles were to be remade, it would most likely be based off of the current running "TMNT" cartoon series, which is crap and 2) The original 1990 film is fine the way it is and does not need to be touched by the greasy hands of today's Hollywood.

"Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Movie" is the best adaptation of the comics so far, and I loved it. It is one of the best comic-to-film adaptations of all time and should be preserved. "TMNT" forever!

10/10

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles fmovies. I dare anyone to hate this movie. Come on. I triple dog dare you. Sit in front of the TV with a bunch of your friends and just try not to like it. You can't. It's impossible. I was a full fledged turtle fan back in the day (I don't think the fad lasted long enough for us to earn Trekker-type names) and of course at that point, I thought it was the Gone With the Wind of our time. That, obviously, it's not. But there is something just incredibly charming about a bunch of giant turtles acting like typical sit-com kids. One even gets yelled out for sneaking out past curfew to see Critters 2. If it comes on TV, even my dad has to pause to watch at least one fight scene. If someone in a college dorm pops it in, legions of kids will exclaim "Holy sh*t! Is that Ninja Turtles?" and then plop right down in front of the TV to watch. You have to give a lot of credit to the guys who made this film. It was released in the height of the craze so they could have thrown anything on the screen and it would have been a hit. (See Ninja Turtles 2). But instead, they tried to make it the best film they could, despite the subject matter. They came up with an almost relevant, after school special type plot. The jokes and references range from Moonlighting to John Steinbeck, and the fight scenes are done in the spirit of a Jackie Chan flick. Add the fact that there are giant turtles doing the fighting, and you get a funny, imaginative, and just plain likeable movie no matter what your age. Sure, it's about pizza loving ninja turtles. But it is the best movie that could ever be made about pizza loving ninja turtles. That has to count for something.

I speak out on behalf of all fans of the TMNT!

This is not a bad movie!

You might say it has no storyline but I say it's kept simplistic for all the comic book fans. You don't want to confuse people with a massive complex tale. No one argues with 'Enter the Dragon' having a bad storyline!

The characters in this movie are wonderfully set up. Right from the start we see that Raphael has issues. This anger forces him to distance himself and in the process we feel his fury. We immerse ourselves in the character and see how deep he can go. From woefully staring into New York from a rooftop or letting out a frenzy upon the gang that has literally knocked April to the ground we are getting to know the character inside and out. This is the hero of the movie. As for the comedic cheek of Casey Jones or the light-hearted double wisecracks of Michaelangelo and Donatello, I'd love to see the reason behind this movie having "no character study" as some people might say.

The action scenes are set up within the constraints of a normal fun movie with great camera angles just dying to be put on an advert or poster.

The turtle effects by the Jim Henson creature shop don't disappoint even though Splinter looks like he walked straight off the set of 'Labyrinth'. The turtles are so good you shouldn't care anyway. The animatronics are fab and the voice characterisation is well chosen.

As for the main blessing, Steve Barron has chosen a dark tone for his movie. The original comic book would have been made proud by this attempt at making the movie more adult than people could believe. The crime-filled backdrops of New York make a great battleground, and the whole mythological element that all crime is ruled by a master ninja adds to the drama. The soundtrack couldn't be better for the beginning.

This is a fantastic movie and horribly underrated. With so many great elements this goes down as one of the all time great fantasy adventures. 10 out of 10 and a cowabunga to boot!

I was just a little kid when I first started collecting turtle stuff, Comics, figures, and trade cards, as well as many other things.. I remember one day I came home to find that my mother had thrown out every action figure and card I had, as well as most of my comics.. She replaced them with a phone and a fish tank.. She said I was getting too old for kid toys, and that I would grow out of them any way.. I was about 9... So when the movie was released I was the first one there on the first day it was released to theaters.. I collected some of the figures later on, but I never had a collection that was even close to my first.. I have almost every cartoon movie made on tape, several copies of all three live action movies, and this one on DVD... I never grew out of the turtles, and I know I never will.. I know all three movies word for word... When every one grows up, a part of them, a big part dies, and we forget what we loved so much as children.. Our Imagination dies, and an adult is born.. I simply refuse to let my heros go.. While the years pass and the turtles are forgotten, they will forever be a reminder to me of the times I could spend hours on end with nothing but myself and my action figures that came to life right in front of me with nothing more than my imagination....