{"id":40549,"date":"2023-08-03T02:31:52","date_gmt":"2023-08-03T06:31:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.cinema-crazed.com\/blog\/?p=40549"},"modified":"2023-08-03T02:31:52","modified_gmt":"2023-08-03T06:31:52","slug":"ranking-the-tmnt-movies-from-best-to-worst","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.cinema-crazed.com\/blog\/2023\/08\/03\/ranking-the-tmnt-movies-from-best-to-worst\/","title":{"rendered":"Ranking the TMNT movies from Best to Worst"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>Despite being mainly associated with the 1980\u2019s, Eastman and Laird\u2019s \u201cTeenage Mutant Ninja Turtles\u201d is the franchise that has yet to suffer a death of obscurity. It is instead rebooted and revamped every decade for a new generation and they still hold some massive appeal. This week the Turtles make their cinematic comeback with \u201cMutant Mayhem<\/a>,\u201d an animated reboot from produces Evan Goldberg and Seth Rogen. In celebration I thought it\u2019d be fun to rank all of the cinematic outings of the Heroes in a half shell from Best to Worst.<\/p>\n

What are your rankings?<\/strong><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (1990)
\n<\/strong>Steve Barron\u2019s adaptation of the indie comic book is still the gold standard for comic book movies to this day. Barron\u2019s treatment of the source material not just paying respect to the original black and white comics but delivering an action film that\u2019s great for all audiences. It\u2019s action packed filled with some top notch choreography, as well as a great story and some of the best puppetry ever brought to film. Almost thirty five years later, this is still a superb action movie filled with laughs, character focus, and real emotional stakes the drive the Ninja Turtles to be their best.<\/p>\n

Turtles Forever (2009)
\n<\/strong>In honor of the 25th anniversary of the franchise, \u201cTurtles Forever\u201d is a wonderful celebration of the intellectual property. Involving the classic time machine plot devices, \u201cTurtles Forever\u201d takes us down the multiverse to promote positivity in the fan base. There\u2019s no wrong way of enjoying TMNT and the animated movie spans multiple mediums including the comic book to the movies in what is a fun crossover, altogether.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>Batman vs. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (2019)
\n<\/strong>A film adaptation of the crossover comic book miniseries Batman\/Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, this animated movie is a raucous, fun, and exciting meshing of two mega franchises. Batman, Robin, and the Ninja Turtles work surprisingly well off of each other as they\u2019re also forced to contend with each other\u2019s arch nemeses. If you watch this for any reason, watch it for the two part hand to hand fight between Shredder and Batman. It\u2019s absolutely incredible.<\/p>\n

TMNT (2007)
\n<\/strong>I think Kevin Munroe\u2019s interpretation of the TMNT is a very good and painfully underrated. It\u2019s perfectly suitable for what was being approached in the early aughts with the dark and gritty tone that matched a lot with the early iterations of the Ninja Turtles before they became a kids property. \u201cTMNT\u201d isn\u2019t perfect but it\u2019s a lot of fun, garners a ton of great martial arts action, and it\u2019s hard to beat that voice cast. Chris Evans as Casey Jones is absolutely inspired casting altogether.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II: The Secret of the Ooze (1991)
\n<\/strong>I\u2019ve grown less and less fond of this one over the years. Much of the grit and martial arts action is completely side stepped for this outing in favor of a lot more mishaps, pratfalls and physical comedy. The opening scene is about as close as we get to hand to hand combat, and director Michael Pressman makes a conscious effort in downplaying the Turtles\u2019 use of ninja weapons. It\u2019s not too good of a movie, when all was said and done despite the nostalgia value. And I miss Casey Jones.<\/p>\n

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles III (1993)
\n<\/strong>The idea of the TMNT being warped to ancient Japan is a good one, but the third part in the original movie series is just sadly so disappointing. Apart from a dull story and the omission of Casey Jones yet again, the movie feels a lot like they just kind of ran out of ideas. The Turtles just don\u2019t have the same magic that they did in the 1990 original, the voice work is off, and the villains just aren\u2019t as interesting as the Foot Clan. It\u2019s more bland than awful, but this series deserved a much better cinematic send off.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (2014)
\n<\/strong>The Platinum Dunes reboot by Jonathan Liebesman is a mess from head to toe. The Turtles redesigns are horrible, the story makes no sense, and they over sexualize April, and injects a lot of sexually suggestive jokes, including one moment where Michelangelo suggests he\u2019s getting an erection. For a movie intended to be marketed toward young kids, it\u2019s uncomfortable. Megan Fox is easily the worst April O\u2019Neil to date and the Turtles\u2019 whole re-imagined mythology stinks. Also, are we really supposed to believe that four, seven foot tall turtles with massive shells could be decent stealth, swift ninjas?<\/p>\n

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out of the Shadows (2016)
\n<\/strong>\u201cOut of the Shadows\u201d is even worse than the previous film, with Dave Green now directing. Even though they\u2019ve lightened the movie and dialed down the turtles\u2019 size a bit, the movie is still an absolute mess that re-imagines the whole mythology in such a stupid direction. Bebop and Rocksteady are no longer mutants, but are instead repressed animal genes that allegedly every human possesses. I guess that was to reduce the themes of animal cruelty? I don\u2019t know. And Casey Jones is no longer an unhinged vigilante but a vanilla, forgettable, square jawed SWAT officer with a personal grudge with the aforementioned Bebop and Rocksteady.<\/p>\n