I watched four Ninja Turtle films in less than two days. Six of approximately thirty-six hours of last weekend given over to karate-men in suits with animatronic faces (well, to be purely honest, eighty-seven of those minutes were CGI animation….but, well y’know…) I’m not sure any review I could give this Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Film Collection Blu-ray box would be fair or sane under those circumstances. But I’m about to give fairness and sanity a good old college try here.
Right off the top, I’ll tell you the two things you really want to know (I’m making assumptions about your desire to see these films, based on the fact that you’ve already read down this far):
#1 – Yes, the fourth film, disc four in the set, the 2007 Imagi animated film, TMNT is presented in exactly the same way as on the Blu-ray disc previously released that year by Warner. Same transfer. Same extras.
#2 – And, yes. All the films look like a million bucks on Blu-ray! If you like these movies, you’ll love this box set! Amazing to see the original Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles from way back in 1990 looking so good. So detailed and fresh!
Whew. Got that out of the way. Let’s get on to the good stuff. I remember these first three, live action films being much better than they actually are. Granted, I was very young a the time I watched them but wow. They really haven’t aged well. Okay, I shouldn’t make a blanket statement like that. Certain elements (*cough*…THE MUSIC!!…*cough*) really stink. A lot of stuff is actually quite good. Take the first film, for instance. It’s really not that bad! A bit corny and clearly made for children. But I’ve got to say, Elias Koteas rules the planet as hockey-mask wearing vigilante, Casey Jones. He really grounds the film. Just about every scene he’s in is a delight to watch. And the Turtles themselves are quite charming, bristling with personality that sometimes feels forced but other times comes off as surprisingly natural. I can honestly say that there are moments here that feel more genuine than some of the dramas I’ve been forced to sit through in the past year.
Sadly, it’s all down hill from the first film. The sequel, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II: The Secret of the Ooze finds Koteas M.I.A. (sniff!) and replaced with martial arts wunderkind, Ernie Reyes Jr. The kid’s not half bad! He’s a kick-ass martial artist and fairly fun to watch in action but his acting chops and his character are no replacement for Koteas as Casey. This film also introduces us to the Ninja Rap, as “sung” by Vanilla Ice. Groan. ‘Nuff said. Also bad, the giant mutated snapping turtle and wolf the Turtles have to fight at the climax of the film. Oh crap. Did I just spoil that for you? Sorry. One more point against: this is the weakest and softest of all the transfers. Still, pretty decent looking, all things considered.
I barely have anything to say about the third film, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Turtles in Time, other than it sported a great, clean transfer that let me see clearly that the filmmakers made a critical error by not continuing their relationship with Jim Henson‘s creature shop. The animatronic Turtles look like ass in this movie. Dirty ass. It’s really tough to watch. My personal opinion? The cheap looking, poorly puppeteered Turtles in this film single-handedly killed the franchise. Despite the return of Koteas as Casey Jones and Corey Feldman as the voice of Donatello, this movie is really hard to sit through. Then again, it’s possible that I hit critical mass at three hours of Turtles viewing. We’ll never know…
The animated film, TMNT is pure delight. The best fight scenes in the set. The best script. The best (and only) Patrick Stewart appearance. Awesome. Great disc. Great Transfer. Did I say that already? Did I really just watch, like six hours of Ninja Turtles? Uhhhhhh….
All four films aside, the real deal-breaker here for those interested in film or the history of the franchise, is the sorry lack of bonus content. I feel like there’s nothing on these discs outside of the films! I know, I know. That’s not entirely fair. The animated TMNT film disc sports all the extras from the previously available release (commentary, animation tests, deleted scenes…some pretty good stuff!) But what about the other three films?! Y’know, the ones that started it all!? There’s pretty much nothing on those three discs outside of the trailers. I guess it’s cool for the kids that the box set comes in a neat-o faux-pizza box that opens up to four Blu-ray discs designed to look like pizzas. Also inside, a comic book, a sketch, character cards and a “radical” beanie. But I would gladly trade all of that swag for a single sixty-minute doc about the franchise and how the films came into being. Hell, even a ten-minute featurette on Henson and the puppeteering of the Turtles would have been welcome. Sigh…Have I lost my mind yet? I can’t tell. I’m seeing green…
what was the secret of the ooze? tell me the ending, i don’t think i’m going to watch it.