5 out of 5

Director: Steve Barron

I understand that I am bias. But this is still a great film. As it went with the comic, if you can swallow the basic premise as parody, the film treads a pretty respectable line between the more adult-themed action and punny comedy. As Ebert stated in his original review, this “probably is the best possible Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle movie.” Now yeah, he only gave it two stars, but I take his comment as understanding that you couldn’t do a better job than this. All of the characters are spot on (especially April) and while the flashbacks are sort of sloppy, they’re also charming in a late-80s early-90s kind of way. But otherwise, just focus on the visuals: Steve Barron puts in some really impressive camera work (check the swiveling used when Master Splinter talks to Raphael alone) and the costumes still amaze me (although the new blu-ray allows me to see bits that maybe looked better at less resolution). Whatever. Lump it in with childhood fascination if you must, but there’s a reason these creatures have hung around for 25 years: there’s something very satisfying and natural about the odd formula.