Movie Review: The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (1990)

The last week I sat through the week during my free time lunch breaks and when the little one was asleep. Netflix had an old childhood gem The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FMJPwRWaZBI

This for me was the first time I remember watching a TMNT movie in 1990 a movie that was long-anticipated and wanted after the successful Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles animated series.

Watching this after a Wowzzer 31 years is amazing in itself but you can tell the movie has not aged well in regards to the quality of filming and sound etc.

The fight scenes are fun and funny and no blood scenes so its PG 13 suitable for the young kids and when I mean young 10+

The story is about an old rivalry that was between two masters of Ninja and a girl that they both loved and The evil Master later known as the Shredder kills them both and then the pet rat defends his masters honour very early on and I am not going to spoil it more just to say you have to watch it to see how this all plays out.

The movie although if you are analytical and critical about it has not aged well after 31 years but I can tell you that when you go back to watch this it’s not about what’s wrong with the film but the feels it gives you the memories that you get when watching this 1990 film.

You cannot compare the new version of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles to this one although its the same story its different and special effect helped the new version over the old one more than anything and for me the fewer special effects to tell a story the better means its actually based on the performers and the storytellers.

What was the coolest thing about this film? Well for me just going back and re-hashing the childhood memories but within the film, the 1990 slang language was the cool language of the time. Words like Radical Bodashas and my personal Favourite Cowlabanga.

Sit down with your pre-teens and teen and even adult kids and share a childhood memory with them even if they are like this is a really bad quality movie make them understand the enjoyment of the basic imagination you get watching this.

Hopefully, it brings you closer to your kids and gives your kids an understanding of the time you grew up in.

6/10 something fun and a great start in the trilogy film set and I will get a chance to watch the others and after reviewing the last film I will give it an overall rating.