15 Most Underrated Movies Of The 90s

9. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles

In an age where every year is dominated by the comic book movie cycle, and debates rage regarding the superhero genre’s onscreen genesis, all too many seem to overlook Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, a film based on the Eastman and Laird comic released during the height of Turtlemania as the eighties drew to a close.

Directed by Steve Barron and featuring the talents of Corey Feldman, Judith Hoag, and a young Sam Rockwell, the original TMNT film sits on a measly 40% on Rotten Tomatoes, despite its impressive puppetry courtesy of Jim Henson’s Creature Shop. The film also went on to become the highest grossing independent film at that point in time, and though its box-office success was all but assured by the Turtles’ cartoon popularity, there’s a surprising amount of depth to the feature too - not to mention a stellar (if not inaccurate) rap from Partners in Kryme.

The film has everything you could possibly want from a Turtles story, from sibling rivalry, to pizza chomping, nunchuck-ing and more. Future Turtles movies would fail to capture the spark of the original, sadly, but it stands on its own well enough, replete with a bonanza of puns, ninja combat, and brilliant practical effects.

[Ewan Paterson]