14th Nov2013

‘Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Collection’ Blu-ray Review

by Paul Metcalf

tmnt-blu-ray-collection

Growing up in the eighties was an awesome time for kids when it came to cartoons.  One of the best cartoons I remember was Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, I watched the cartoons every change I had and tried to never miss an episode.  I even have the somewhat embarrassing memory of Turtle Power, the theme song from Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles the original movie being the first single I ever bought.  This is probably why I looked forward to reviewing the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Collection which featured all three live action movies.

With production of the remake in full flow it’s good to look back at the original which was quite faithful to the original concept of the turtles.  With a modest budget the special effects, especially around the turtles themselves and Splinter were quite good.  This is of course mostly down to Jim Henson’s Creature Shop who were always reliable and always will be.  Although the story of Shredder and his Foot Clan is somewhat simple in today’s view we do have to remember that this film was aimed at a younger audience, although the use of weapons was something that was frowned on, especially for United Kingdom audiences which resulted in some cuts being made though they are happily reinstated now.

Moving onto the second film Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 2: The Secret of the Ooze things do take a softer turn with more elements aimed at the younger audience, especially with the lack of actual use of weapons.  Rahzer and Tokka as enemies were fairly weak, but for the most part the film is entertaining.  The end of the film is probably the weakest element, especially with the infamous Vanilla Ice scene and “Ninja Rap”.  For trivia fans Super Shredder was played by Kevin Nash which is something wrestling fans always find funny, and it’s a shame really that Super Shredder doesn’t actually seem to do too much fighting.  He plays his part though in a film that may not be as strong as the first film, but still works for the people it’s aimed at, and that is for kids.

When we get to Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 3: Turtles in Time I do feel that this is the weakest of the films but again, it is at least watchable and actually attempts to do something new with the characters.  It could be said though that this was the death of the films, until the animated version and now the remake, so it’s fair to say that this was not the most successful of the three movies.

Looking at the release as a whole the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Collection is a good release, especially on Blu-ray.  There is an element of nostalgia at work when you look back at these movies and have fond memories of them but with a young target audience the simplistic stories and violence that tends to shy away from blood makes it perfect not just for the adults with memories of the past, but also kids now.  Children who watch the cartoons and maybe even watched the animated movies may enjoy watching these movies, and they will acts as a good introduction to the characters, especially with the remake on its way.  Will Michael Bay be able to defeat the ghost of nostalgia and create a better Turtles movie? I doubt it, but there is always a chance.

Review originally posted on PissedOffGeek.com
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