Review of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Double Feature (2 Discs)

Introduction

Review of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 3:

A few years back, a cartoon about four turtles who were dropped into a sewer and accidentally became life-size, living in the subways of New York was aired. The four turtles - Leonardo, Raphael, Michalengelo and Donatello - abide by their master named Shredder who just happens to be a life-size rat. Oh, and of course, they all talk, and are great friends with local news reporter April O`Neill.

This is the third film to be made, each one live-action. This time around, the turtles get transported back to Japan in 1603 after discovering a time-travel sceptre. Upon arrival, they find themselves in a bloody battle for survival...

Video

It is presented in 1.85:1 Anamorphic Widescreen, and the visuals are defined fairly well, but some of the lines are slightly fuzzy, and there is some grain on the print from time to time, but this was made back in the early 90s so a little leeway is needed. Fortunately, there are no compression signs visible.

The one thing that will turn your nose up when you load up the disc is the actual Turtles themselves. They are (bad) actors in tacky suits, and from the lack of facial expressions to the literal plastic-covering, it makes you wonder why the hell the principal attraction of the film wasn`t given more attention.

Audio

A DD 2.0 track is all we get, and it is a bit disappointing to be honest. Although the audio stream is crisp, use of the surrounds would have upped the ambience levels considerably - after all, this is a Hollywood motion picture from recent times.

The script is weak to average, and really offers just enough to keep the kids entertained - and pretty much sod all for the rest of us. It has `trademark` dialogue which was used in the cartoon (and gets more and more annoying each time they`re said), and yes, their love of pizza is evident. Worth the price of the DVD alone...

Features

This is one of those 20th Century Fox `Two Films, Two Discs` releases, and like the others, its only extra is a measly trailer.

The menus are completely static, just like the other releases.

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles is presented in a clear Amaray case, with 2 disc holders, and a leaflet containing chapter listings.

Conclusion

This is a film about four giant turtles who go back through time after a Japanese warrior arrives in their sewer. I am not making this up...

Yes, this really is for the little kiddies, a film that they can watch, point out to their friends their favourite Turtle, their favourite part et cetera. So for people who are supposed to dissect films, it can be rather tricky. First thing though that will put you off, is the complete lack of attention to the one thing that will no doubt be the main pulling power: the four Turtles themselves. At best, they are `actors` (no surprise to see the four aren`t major Hollywood stars) in plastic suits engaging in a poor script and dodgy set-pieces.

But, surprisingly, the film isn`t bad all the way through. If you forget the presence of the amphibians, and focus on the Japanese story, then if your kid drags you along to this, then you won`t be slashing your wrists straight away - in fact, you might just survive.

Disc wise, the presentation is OK, but the word `extra` just does not come into the equation. Yet again.

So what does one make of this? Well, it seems they ran out of ideas, and some guy high on caffeine came up with a Japanese premise. Thing is, it worked. Kind of. If there really is nothing else to watch...