We’ve had a bit of a break but we’re back! Today we’re going to learn which movie is the runner-up for Andrew and Jason. If you’ve been with us for all the installments I guarantee, you’re more excited than you should be! If you have yet to read the previous rankings, you can find them here: Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3
Now let’s pass it to Andrew to kick off the battle for number two!
Andrew: Before getting to my second-ranked movie, I feel safe saying that these last two films are a cut above the rest of the series. The story, the dialogue, the animatronics – this is where all the elements came together and create two films that I will watch and enjoy until the day I die. When trying to pick a favorite, I was sure that the first movie would be my clear winner. But as I rewatched them, it was Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II: The Secret of the Ooze that ended up snagging my first-place vote. So without further ado, let’s talk about my runner-up: the original Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.
Objectively speaking, this was probably the best film of the bunch. The origin story, the “wow” factor of the puppeteering, strong casting – it had all that. And the Shredder, I was terrified of him as a kid. I couldn’t wait to see the Turtles kick his tin-can ass. It was everything that I wanted the movie to be and to this day; I will sit in front of the screen, eating a slice of pizza, and quoting things like, “wise man say, ‘forgiveness is divine but never pay full price for late pizza.'”
Now don’t get it twisted, this is not a “great movie” by any means. For those who are not fans of the lean, green, fighting machines – not a quality film. My biggest complaint is really an April O’Neil issue, she’s useless. She tries to act tough but there’s no real depth or strength to her character. There’s one point in the movie where she tries to push away Casey Jones giving her a shoulder rub (sorry, no clip available but trust me, it’s just a step below rape) and he just forces it on her. Of course, she gives in. Click here to read a far too in-depth review on this movie and the depiction of April as a leading lady.
So there you have it. My vote for second-place is the original. I don’t know about you, but I’m surprised by my choice. This was my favorite one growing up and I figured things would pretty much stay the same. It held up well but comes up just short of the sequel in my opinion.
Jason: I have to admit that you’re right; the last two films are head and shoulders above the rest. Although, I am pretty surprised that this is your choice for your second favorite film. I would have to disagree with you While April does lack character depth, the film represents the turtles personalities at the best. Well at least the important ones, Leonardo and Raphael.
And now all is right in the world. We are disagreeing again. My second-ranked movie is the The Secret of the Ooze. This is by far the most likable movie – with the slap stick comedy, the expressive faces for animatronics, Tokka and Rahzar, and of course “Ninja Rap.” It’s almost too unbelievable that Vanilla Ice could just come up with “Ninja Rap” off the top of his head, but here we are. Of the five movies, The Secret of the Ooze is one of the most enjoyable to watch. As a kid I watched this movie and my number one choice a lot, probably a disgusting amount of times, and now as an “adult” I can see myself doing the same thing.
As a movie you see that the turtles have established their identities when they discover the truth of their origins. In this movie they have also dropped Casey Jones and added a more attractive version of April O’Neil. As Andrew said earlier, this character was pretty much useless and I think just a plot point to show the connection between humans and the turtles.
It is actually really hard to find negatives with the top two movies for me. I think there is a lot of childhood nostalgia, mixed in with the fact that there are some really terrible movies in this franchise. I would have to say that the main reason why I would chose this as my runner-up is because the mood in film seems too slapstick. Also, there were questions that were unanswered like, what the hell happened to Freddy? Why is Tatsu such a bitch? And of course how the hell did The Shredder mutate so quickly? Okay, admittedly, these aren’t complaints. I think my childhood nostalgia won out over my better judgment.
This installment of the franchise was the most fun to watch. That does not vault it to my number one, but it certainly is a movie that I would watch multiple times in the future. I would probably watch it a disgustingly large amount of times in the future. So with that, The Secret of the Ooze is my second-ranked movie. Let me leave you all with this image. Ninja Rap Forever!!!
As always, thanks for reading. If you’d like to go back for a refresher, here are links to previous posts from the rankings: