Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 1990 is actually one of my very favorite movies. Not because I grew up with it (though I did) or because I just really like the Ninja Turtles (though I do). Honestly, I liked 2 and 3 more as a kid, because well, I was a kid and didn't know any better.
No, the movie is one of my favorites
because it's a good-ass movie.
In fact, the few things I don't absolutely love about it I actually wouldn't even notice if I weren't already a fan.
Almost everything about this film is perfect. Every line of dialog has a clear purpose. It knows which characters to make flat and which to make round. And it knows how to get them there. It balances wildly different tones like a pro, and actually capitalizes on the contrast.
The audio is top notch, from the OST to the stingers and even the dang Foley has standout moments. That's on top of some
crazy
impressive tricks like evidently unloading an entire cargo truck off screen in seconds, or perfectly timing movements when the actors can't even see each other.
The one complaint I can even come up with is literally that the four Turtles don't share the role of protagonist. Which, honestly, if it weren't a Ninja Turtles movie, just means that it picked a protagonist like virtually every other movie or story ever. Raphael totally gets the spotlight, with Leo in distant second, while Mikey and Donatello are almost entirely comic relief. Which, honestly, in a conventional narrative makes perfect sense anyway. One protagonist, his sorta-major character brother and his two goofball brothers. (Michelangelo does have about a two-second shot that shows he has real growth, but Donny gets pretty much nothing.)
Seriously, if you haven't seen it or it's been a long time, you should check it out. It's absolutely phenomenal.