April O'Neil (Paige Turco) buys a magic scepter that somehow manages to send her back in time to 16th century Japan. So, her friends, the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, use the scepter to go back in time to rescue her.<br /><br />Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (1990) was entertaining--the animatronics were good, excellent fight choreography, it had a nice film noir look to it, and it was fun watching a live action Turtles movie with guys in rubber costumes. It marked the end of the '80s, and the beginning of the 1990s. The second film, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II: The Secret of the Ooze (1991) was a bad movie, but entertaining in its stupidity.<br /><br />The third film, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles III (1993), is horrible. The Turtles look like sock puppets with teeth. Splinter is much worse (Why does it look like only the upper half of his body was completed?). Even the jokes, the one-liners, the editing and the voice acting are horrible. And let's not forget the annoying pop culture references.<br /><br />One thing I liked about the first two films were the opening sequences, which were nice suspenseful build-ups. When the Turtles made their first appearances during the pre-credit sequences, you felt like cheering. Not this time...<br /><br />The movie opens with a fight in 16th century Japan that doesn't make any sense, then what we get is the Turtles dancing to ZZ Top. No creativity, no suspense, no thought. The same thing goes for the ending. You'd expect a big climactic fight sequence but no. The villain turns out to be a complete wimp.<br /><br />I would have enjoy it more if the movie continued with the Turtles still fighting crime in New York. And don't expect another villain from the comics or the cartoon. Instead, make way for Walker (Stuart Wilson) and Lord Norinaga (Sab Shimono), two clichéd, over-the-top characters who look like they belong in a bad TV show. Does anybody remember them from Ninja Turtles? I don't. Paige Turco is annoying this time around as April. She spends most of the time in Japan yelling, complaining and being angry.<br /><br />The only fun I can get out of this watching this is watching the 16th century Japanese guys in modern-day New York dancing to Tarzan Boy and playing hockey.<br /><br />Like the Home Alone movies, death isn't really a strong reality in the world of the Ninja Turtles as villains survive being beaten up, and shot at.<br /><br />Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles III is just a big insult to the the fans who had been waiting two years after the first sequel for another Turtles adventure. Sure, young kids will probably enjoy this, but hardcore Turtles fans may be disappointed. It's definitely a bad sign when a low-budget sequel moves away from its original roots and goes in a different direction.