Saturday Movie Review – “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles III: Turtles In Time”

Sorry this is posted later than usual; I can rarely post in the mornings when I have to post from work.

Cast and Crew

Mark Caso and Brian Tochi as Leonardo
Matt Hill and Tim Kelleher as Raphael
Jim Raposa and Corey Feldman as Donatello
David Fraser and Robbie Rist as Michaelangelo
James Murray as Splinter
Elias Koteas as Casey Jones / Whit
Paige Turco as April O’Neil
Stuart Wilson as Walker
Sab Shimono as Lord Norinaga
Vivian Wu as Mitsu

Written and directed by Stuart Gillard

Complete information is available from this IMDB page.

High Point

Hockey: just like you saw on T.V.

Low Point

The new animatronic faces were the worst ones yet.

The Scores

This second sequel shows more originality than the previous entry in the series, if only through working in a new setting and without Shredder. I give it 4 out of 6.

The special effects were just plain bad. The animatronic turtle suits were bad enough, but the other major scenes (including the final end to the conflict and the light show) were also very poor. I give it 2 out of 6.

The story used a flimsy, coincidence heavy setup, but once the “Maguffin” is established to allow time travel, the rest of the story moves along smoothly and consistently, with a convincingly less than perfect happy ending. I give it 4 out of 6.

The acting has also improved over the second movie. There are better voice actors, an improvement in work from Paige Turco, and a dual role to showcase what the returning Koteas was really capable of. If only the rubber faces were movre convincing. I give it 4 out of 6.

The emotional response was okay. The film is amusing, but not enthralling. I give it 4 out of 6.

The production was of a more consistent quality, and with more variety in the locales and lighting choices. I give it 4 out of 6.

Overall, it’s definitely an improvement on the second film, but not as good as the first. I give it 4 out of 6.

In total, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles III: Turtles In Time receives 26 out of 42.