TMNT III: Anything GOOD In It?
 

I was having a discussion with someone on another forum about TMNT III and whether it has any merits. I didn't enjoy it myself, and he agrees it's not a good movie, but that next to II with Tokka and Rahzar's infantile nature, Vanilla Ice instantly dating the film, and Super Shredder's lame demise, III's not the only movie deserving of shame. He even pointed out that III had some good set up, such as the Japanese setting, the villain being an arms dealer, and the turtles being divided on whether to stay or go back home, in addition to some of the character moments spread throughout the movie.

I'm just wondering if anyone else here has good things to say about III, because the way he explained it, it almost makes me want to give the film another chance.

I quite like Movie III's plot and scenery and action scenes. Also some nice development for Raph/Yoshi and Mike/Mitsu. Leo and Don also have some funny moments in the movie as does Casey.

If the costumes were on par with the second movie and they toned down some of the corny jokes, I'd have no problem with it.

I want to like it, but it's hard the plot is just so generic that I can't find it special in any way but there are plenty of GOOD things in it which is why I want to like it.

- The turtle suits allow for the most movement and they actually use their weapons quite a bit so it's nice and it shows as we see the turtles do things that they couldn't even in the first movie.

-The Time scepter and going to ancient japan/using the Kappas as part of the plot are great ideas that sadly don't have much else in the plot.

-Casey Jones in the present with the samurai added comedy even if it was sad that we didn't see him in action.


The movie needed a better villain and plot and we could've overlooked the dialog or acting like we did in II. It certainly had some things going for it.

Even though the main plot was generic I think it had potential but they didn't do much with it.

Although I did find Raph bonding with that kid sweet. :tsmile:

(Another random thing: the guy who played the villain was in an episode of Space 1999).

Yeah, I'd give it another chance. It has some decent action, too. Especially compared to the totally neutered fights in SotO.

I really wish the Henson people could have stayed for the third one. We wouldn't be having this conversation then.

I stand by my statement that TMNT III would be remembered more fondly if the costumes were still Henson-made.

I totally agree with this. Those costumes were atrocious.

I've always liked the movie. As a kid, sometimes it was even my favorite of the three (usually depending on which one I had watched most recently. It really missed the Henson influence, but the turtle costumes are mostly hidden under the shogun armor suits for a good chunk of the movie.

Well, the theatrical poster was really cool. They never seem to use it for the home video release.

I liked the weapon sparring at the beginning of the movie. Felt good seeing them use their weapons again after the castrated fights in TMNT II

Come to think of it, they really did make a bit deal about "we've got our weapons back" in that opening ZZ Top number. I liked the silliness of it too. And then Raph just has enough of it and throws a fit.

it might not be as good as the 1990 film, but i still really enjoy some things about Tmnt III.

The feudal guard dancing to Tarzan Boy at the bar/club is hilarious and one of the best bits of the movie.
Fight choreography was good.
Sands of time were neat.
Elias Koteas
The TMNT actually talking about being freaks and not fitting into their own times was neat.
ummm No magical 13 monsters?

the Costumes were great !

the actors in those suits must have gone thro Hell and back lol

Tarzan Boy. :-P

The movie had a lot of potential, just poorly executed, IMO.

As a whole, not a great movie.
But there are parts of it I find immensely entertaining.

Though, I totally prefer the original story by Dooney way more.

What works best for the movie is the fact that out of all three films it feels the most epic with it's location scenery. A lot of the film is well directed, the acting is good but the jokes as well as the costume heads are pretty bad. While I understand setting it in Japan was a nice idea the reason we like the Turtles is their interactions with New York City. This is why people point to Tarzan Boy being one of the better moments in the movie because it has a scene set in a New York club/bar. It's a glimpse at a different sequel.

The technology under the unfortunate looking costumes was great for its time.

I know I'm in the vast minority here, but TMNT III remains to this day my personal favorite of the movies. Does it have issues? Oh Yeah, it certainly does! But as a kid especially I loved time travel stories and its Japan setting definitely helps I think. But I definitely agree that the costumes are sub-par at best.

The conflict is well developed and the human characters are pretty complex and well developed also. The main cast all act like caricatures of themselves though-- especially April, who is like the worst of the Judith Hoag version of the character combined with the worst of the Renae Jacobs version of the character. The Mirage influence is there, enough that Mitsu, Yoshi, and their grandfather become justified cameos in the Secret Origins arc of the 4Kids show.