Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (1990)
★★★
Cowabunga, nostalgia.
Rewatching this live-action classic was like opening a time capsule made of pizza grease and childhood joy. I can’t count how many times I watched Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles as a kid, and somehow, after all these years, every beat, every line, every smoky rooftop fight scene came rushing back like a sewer surfboard to the face.
Let’s be honest—it’s super 1990. The jokes are cheesy, the action is clunky in the most lovable way and the fashion? Iconic. But Jim Henson’s Creature Shop gave us something enduring. The practical effects—those weird, wonderful turtle suits and Splinter’s soulful eyes—still carry more charm than a lot of modern CG-heavy fare. There’s something magical about that old-school puppetry that just feels more real, even when we’re talking about four ninja turtles raised by a giant rat in the sewers of New York.
Watching it now with my youngest daughter, I saw how quickly it pulled her in. That’s the magic: it still works as a fun family movie. Maybe not flawless, but full of heart—and that’s what sticks.
Oh—and the biggest surprise of the rewatch? SAM. ROCKWELL. Somehow, in all my movie trivia geekdom, I had no idea he was in this. Wild. Definitely not demo reel material, but still… an Oscar winner once peddled cigarettes to Foot Clan teens in a warehouse rave.
Final thought: It’s not just a goofy action movie, it’s about family—chosen or mutated—and that’s why it still resonates.
