Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (1990)

Long a cultural icon of classic American craziness, the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles were popular enough a comic series and a cartoon series to warrant a live-action movie. The crazy thing is, it's only after 3 more movies, a couple more shows and comics, and even a crossover with the Power Rangers, did I finally see the first movie. (I blame my parents, they said it was too violent for me as a lad.)
In my opinion, "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles" is one of those rare films that blends story, heart, characters, comedy, ACTION (yes, in capslock), and special effects to extreme efficiency. Not only that, but it includes homages to prior incarnations that makes it that much more a well-blended, well-rounded film. The story is pretty simple and what most fans already know:

• Crime wave in New York city caused by mysterious ninjas.
• April O'Neal gets too close to the truth and almost gets offed if not for the 4 heroes in a half-shell.
• The backstory involves rat that knows ninjitsu finding 4 turtles in a green mutagenic goo that makes them more humanoid with time. They are, for some reason, named after great Renaissance artists...probably to associate these artists with martial artists?
• Mentor rat is kidnapped by evil ninjas, making the green boys live with April.
• The evil ninjas discover her home and pretty much give the turtles and their human companion a solid whuppin'. The heroes must retreat to the country and regain their faitingu supirito after spiritual soul searching.
• They face off against the leader of the evil ninjas, the Shredder...and are routinely thrashed. Mentor rat then faces the Darth-Vader-lookalike and...beats him in an anticlimactic scene.
• They slink away in the night to right wrongs, eat pizza and yell out (outdated by our standards) gnarly catchphrases.

Overall, great film with amazing story, likable characters with effects beyond compare (God rest your soul Jim Henson).

Raticate taught them to be ninja teens (He's a radical rat). Wartortle leads, Tirtouga does machines (that's a fact Jack!), Grotle is cool but rude (gimme a break), Torkoal is a party dude!