Marval Movie

Like Batman, Spider-man or Archie Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles is something that I am convinced will never end. These characters are now immortal. But like those other characters when certain of their products are released they will still, in some ways be products of its time.

So there came a time when an independent comic that gained a cult following was decided to be adapted into a kids cartoon show. That cartoon became one of the most popular franchises...ever. The Turtles were everywhere and so as with anything that's popular it was made into a movie. I can only imagine what it was like to those children that loved the Turtles on the small screen and were promised them in the flash (so the speak) on the big screen.

The build-up for the reveal of the Turtles themselves is positively brilliant. First we get some exposition with the crime situation currently happening in New York, then we see a series of crimes happening, later on April O'Neil (Judith Hoag) leaves work and runs into muggers but a Sai takes out a light (a Sai that we know belongs to one of the Turtles), the lights go out and we hear the fight and a voice, then the lights come back and the fight is over and the bad guys are down, a sewer crate lifts slowly and we see dark eyes staring back at us, there's a little detail in there but its hard to make out, cut to the sewer home of the Turtles and we can hear four excited voices conversing and we see shadows across the wall, one jumps and right before they are in view the title "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles" stops everything. And then finally we see our Turtles. 

The Turtles costumes were created by the late great Jim Henson, master of the Muppet's. They look great they are designed to look like the cartoons and comics that they are based on, but also their skin has texture. Looking at them now with a sharper eye I can see that the lip synch is not as great as I remember, but the expressions on their faces ring clear with surprising effectiveness. Also they don't all have the same faces, like people, each Turtles has their own face. The more I think about it the more I appreciate the effort that was put into these Turtle costumes.

As well as looking great the stunt people inside those costumes are also amazing. All the things that these actors are able to perform in these thick rubber suits is still incredible. In an age where we have lifeless, weightless CGI its still such a breath of fresh air to see something real hit something else that is real. The height of their work comes when Michelangelo gets into a nun-chuck duel with another ninja, the amazing skill and speed the actor is able to execute within such thick rubber is still so impressive and it ends with a really hilarious punchline.

The Turtles themselves are Leonardo (Brian Tochi), Michelangelo (Robbie Rist), Raphael (Josh Pais) and Donatello (Corey Feldman). We don't get truly in-depth character development but we do get their personalities in primary colors, there's a leader, a fun one, a more neurotic smart guy and the strong moody loner type. Its a tried and true method of characters that works and I like it with my Turtles.

The dialog...ouch! Well its mostly the obrolan from the Turtles themselves where it becomes painfully dated. They keep needing to shout out classic one liners to illustrate their mood to their situation. Words line tubuler, righteous, narley. Then again they are teenagers and being a teenager is a very dated time in someones life. To be honest the obrolan from all the non-mutants is fine, not award winning but fine.

This is the first movie so there is an origin to the Turtles. Its so bizarre and crazy but then again the title of the movie doesn't really give off the impression that this will be something at ground level. But it is still their origin and it is delivered as seriously as it could be.

After looking more deeply at this movie I realized that the Shredder really isn't much of an engaging character. He's a bad guy to be sure but if you would look under his spikes you wouldn't find much.I realized I don't know much about what exactly his goals are, just spread crime because...I dunno, I got nothing.

After re-watching the movie again I actually saw that Elias Koteas as Casey Jones gives a good performance. He's that loveable meat head that you could never discuss a book with but will always be there to fix your engine or beat-up a few Ninja's together.

Being that this came out during the run of the original cartoon its interesting that they decided to go in a more dark direction with it. Sure the original comics had a more darker tone but it was the cartoon that was in the public mind. But this is a rather dark movie, the streets are the darker seedier streets of New York and the Turtles yell "Damn!" (frequently). It is still a movie for kids but a movie for kids in the double digits.

 This movie gives you the Turtles origin and the world they live in. If you know and are a fan of the Turtles (like I am) I'm sure this movie will be something you'll find time for over the years. If you aren't a fan however this is a harder sell. Will it turn you into a fan? I cant say but if your interested in the Turtles then I guess this is the best place to start.

This movie stands as an example as something that came out in the nineties but even with that the movie stands even now. There are solid performances, the visuals still can intrigue the eye to this day and its still appreciated to see real body suits instead of CGI.

Rating: 3 stars out of 4