Les Tortues Ninja

Whether film buffs would ever admit it or not, the original Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles movie is a classic film, arguably way before its time. Although for the die-hard fans of the comic book this movie did lack the apparent actual violence it did instead have great dramatic scenes blended in with witty comedic lines.

With a dark tone and gritty cinematography filmed with fantastic sets and locations around New York this 90s movie is far from something to be pigeonholed 'just for kids' or a 'family movie'.

The aforementioned 'surfer dialogue' criticised in other reviews can be put down to personal taste, as the majority of fans do find this lingo both entertaining and quote-worthy. Who could forget Splinter exclaiming "I... have always liked... COWABUNGA!!" Casey Jones is one of the greatest characters in film for a long time and the performances given throughout, even though can be labelled slightly b-grade, are lovable all the same from Chief Sterns to Charles and Master Tatsu. The angst of Raphael to the cheekiness of Michelangelo there is nothing not to like about the characters in this movie.

The musical score is great and ranges from intense to comical - very fitting for a movie that is exactly that in its mood, without becoming corny unlike its follow-up films. MC Hammer creates the best songs of his career. Shameless fun.

All of the scenes are special in different ways to different fans of this cult classic; from Casey Jones vs Raphael in the park to the Antique Store battle.

Extremely under-rated. One of the best comic-book adaptations ever made and one of the defining films in a LOT of people's childhoods. A fantastic film for anyone with direction and storyline that remains highly enjoyable through the test of time.

Brilliant.

Forget the "kid friendly" sequels, forget the Michael Bay remakes, forget the CGI experiment. This, right here, is and still remains the definitive Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles movie. This got the vision laid out by Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird most accurately: A dark, edgy, tongue-in- cheek parody to Frank Martin, Daredevil, Cerebus and New Mutants. Sure, you still had some of the cartoon elements thrown in for good measure (the colored masks, the surfer lingo), but compare this one to the other movies and this one followed the closest to the original comic book series, which was written for adults. The violence has been toned down significantly, as has the cursing, but it's there, on a lower level. As a kid, I was confused about why this was so dark and almost scary. Later, reading the underrated comic books, I learned this was what TMNT was originally envisioned as. Eventually, toy sales and Saturday morning TV won over the comic book, but here, for one brief movie, the turtles, as they were meant to be seen by their original creators, got their time in the sun. The writing isn't terrific and the acting not award winning, but still a fun movie to watch from time to time.

On your first read of the title, you may think "Ah...the Ninja Turtles...kid's stuff". That conclusion is partially understandable, considering the fact that most people's minds drift towards the Saturday morning cartoon show, which was made for little kids. But if you are one of the handful of people who remembers the original TMNT comic book and how dark it was, you will probably think more of the name. This live-action version of the Teenaged Turtles reaches back into its comic book origins and sacrifices the kiddie stuff in favor of a darker, more brooding film. This is the key to this movie's greatness. It shows the Turtles how they were meant to be shown. The movie is still fun, though, supplying the viewer with all the early 90's teenager slang and ass-kicking that you can squeeze onto celuloid. The only problem is that the whole Ninja Turtles franchise has come with a love it or hate it tag attached to it, often times giving it a bad rap that it really doesn't deserve. The film is no Blade Runner or Spiderman by any means, but it's still a great little piece of cinema that you can just sit down with a bowl of popcorn (or maybe a pizza) and enjoy without much thought. Sadly, this is as good as the series gets (not that this movie could get much better). The sequels (TMNT 2: Secret of the Ooze and TMNT 3) aren't really that great. TMNT 2 lacks the gritty edge that makes this movie good (having Vanilla Ice on the soundtrack doesn't help much either) and TMNT 3 is obviously aimed directly for the little ones. This is the great little movie. COWABUNGA!!!

A quartet of mutated humanoid turtles clash with an uprising criminal gang of ninjas.

First of all, it is worth noting that the late editor Sally Menke (1953-2010) worked on this film before going on to make some of Quentin Tarantino's best work. When watching Tarantino, it is hard to imagine that the same hand was responsible for the Turtles, and yet this is the case.

Growing up in the 1980s, the two big influences on my childhood were the Turtles and He-Man. Both received feature films. The Turtles received this -- a clever, dark and yet humorous story along with a worthy sequel. He-Man had some bizarre alternate dimension story. (Let us not even talk about Super Mario Brothers.) Not only is this film great, but it is even better when you realize how horribly wrong it could have gone.

Further, for me, this was a defining role for Elias Koteas. He has been in many big films, but this was his breakout role and still the role I picture him in despite the added decades and receding hairline...

There's no CGI in this bodacious, brazen, balls-to-the-wall blast of pure butt-kicking, nineties-slang spewing and turtle-y awesome fun, just pure rubber, rubber, rubber and it is absolutely beautiful. If you don't have a smile on your face from beginning to end, I can't help you my friend, because there's almost nothing more entertaining than these four teenage turtles just doing their thing, even if it is a bit camp and strangely slow on occasion. Mikey loves being a turtle and it's easy to see why; this is simply some of the most fun I've had in a long time (also one of the best comedies I've watched in a while) and it reminds me just how bad the joyless remake really is. It finds a perfect balance between levity and seriousness, meaning that you're constantly smiling and everything just adds to the absolute joy of it all. It's also surprisingly action-packed and well-versed in that area, too. A blast from beginning to end. 7/10