The Turtles are transported to ancient Japan
​where they must rescue April O'Neil. 

ACTION/FAMILY/SCI-FI

Teenage Mutant ​​
​Ninja Turtles III (1993) 

Written and Directed by Stuart Gillard

Starring Paige Turco, Stuart Wilson, Sab Shimono, Vivian Wu,
Elias Koteas, Eidan Hanzel, James Murray, Corey Feldman,
​Robbie Rist, Brian Tochi, Tim Kelleher

Sequel to 1991's Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II:
The Secret of the Ooze

Based on characters created by Kevin Eastman ​and Peter Laird

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Caleb Leger

March 7, 2015

6/10

The third installment in this incredibly successful franchise falls incredibly short of the previous two. While the plot is actually quite intriguing and the Turtles are as great as they've ever been, the decision to not include any of the Turtles signature villains is a big letdown. 

The plot involving the characters going back to feudal Japan is a neat idea that leads to some generally funny moments. The actors playing the Turtles continue to do a great job of bringing these iconic characters to life. Besides that, the rest comes off as a missed opportunity. Characters like Casey Jones and Splinter are severely underused, coming off more as extended cameos than anything else. Also, the decision on the filmmakers part to not use any iconic villains like Shredder or Krang is a pretty big mistake. The villains used instead are very bland and uninteresting. 

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles III ends up being mostly a letdown  . While the plot works and the Turtles are still loads of fun to watch, reducing some iconic characters roles and bland villains hurt the film. Fans may want to look elsewhere for their Turtle entertainment.