TMNT: User Review Thread.

[Quasimod0]

Little April mentioned it when she was filming. She could've just been saying that. Or it really could be from an alien planet

 

[LostSon88]

Didn't Sachs say that

Spoiler

the ooze was from another planet

Or did I hear him wrong?

It wasn't Sacks that said that, it was Young April.

Could chalk it up to a kid just being a kid...

 

[WoodyROM]

Ahh, that's right.

 

[nightwing06]

The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles return to the big screen with a flashier style,a good amount of humor and some standout action sequences.The script is grating at times,most of the scenes with the human characters conjured up eye rolls from me,but Megan Fox and
Wil Arnett do their best with what they have to work with.Shredder looked like a rejected Decepticon design from the Transformer films,he was at his best and far more intimidating without all of the thousand pounds of metal.He was still surprisingly agile with all of it on though.

Scale of 1-10 a 7

 

[roach]

I thought it was ok...I went in with lowered expectations...but then again the TMNT will never be what I want them to be

 

[justanotherguy]

More holes than a doughnut shop. A comedy of errors. 2 out of 10.

 

[Jplaya2023]

this movie was awful, so dissapointed in this.

They managed to mess everything up for me in 2 hours.

Don't understand why they didn't stick with source material.

Why would april name them, care for them, LMFAO!!!!

Splinter somehow reading a karate book in the sewer now he can teach them ninjitsu. LMAO

No connection between splinter and shredder in japan. No yoshi or saki.

Mikey lusting after April who is suppose to be a classy well informed reporter. Not to mention she's in her mid to late 30's not a teeny bopper.

Splinter looking like a mutated goat

Shredder looking like wovlerine with silver samurai body armor.

The turtles looking like the rock while he's cycling his HGH.

The only thing that was decent was the fight/action scenes. Paid extra money for a 3D movie without 3D.

 

[Juha]

Hands down my least favourite TMNT experience to date. This entry was just so...well, 2014. The movie lacked depth and charm. Pretty much every human character was miscast. Megan Fox and her porn star face kept pulling me out of the movie. Every scene felt rushed and the third act was just lazy. The Shredder and The Foot were terribly mistreated. The voice acting was mediocre at best.

Surprisingly enough I was kinda okay with the motion capture turtles. Although there definitely was something off-putting about them. Can't quite put my finger on it.

My rating...maybe 2 out of 10.

 

[Nathan]

Why would april name them, care for them, LMFAO!!!!

The IDW comics actually did that first. But it was handled so much better there.

 

[FrostBite]

Surprisingly enough I was kinda okay with the motion capture turtles. Although there definitely was something off-putting about them. Can't quite put my finger on it.

The human faces are pretty ****ing creepy for them. Took me awhile for it to grow on me, but man is it off-putting. I guess mutants kind of would be, but still.

The turtles looking like the rock while he's cycling his HGH.

Don't be a fool, he eats clen and trens hard.

 

[Marvelocity]

This movie just sort of happens. It's not really as funny as it should be, but it isn't facepalm-worthy with its comedy either. The fights are decent but never great. The personalities of the turtles were pretty spot-on, and I thought Shredder was pretty good as well. But nothing stood out to me as overly good or bad. Well, Splinter was pretty terrible. For the most part though, the movie just sort of exists.

I did like all the nods to the original 1990 movie. Raph saving April in the subway. Leo cutting the pizza and having it land on Splinter's head. Taking turns fighting Shredder on top of a building. Shredder calling Splinter "the rat." Stuff like that was cool.

 

[def28]

7.5

Solid Turtle flick. They got the personalities down really good, and it was entertaining throughout. Splinter VS Shredder was awesome.

Got a decent round of applause on a later Monday showing. That really doesn't happen here, or is very rare. The kids in the theater were going crazy for it. Don't think I've seen another live action franchise this year hit the family and younger demo as much as this flick did. Maybe Malificent.

 

[agentorange]

It was a good movie IMO, way funnier than the last movie tbh, I think the 1990's costume's would work in this era with a bit of CGI rather than a full CGI'd character. I agree with def28 tho they definitely got the personalities right.

 

[Airnick]

Saw it last night. Loved it, favorite turtle film.

They got the turtles personalitys spot on. Megan fox was actually pretty decent.

The acition was awesome. the splinter vs shredder fight, snow chase, etc.

Also got a big round of applause at the end.

9/10

 

[NinjaTurtleFan]

Glad I didn't spend a dime on this and watched it online. Here's my review. Spoilers ahead.

Let me first start off by saying I was hesitant about a new live-action “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.” Over a year, I've received a lot of backlash on here for my comments and concerns about this reboot film. I'm sure I'll receive more for my views on this new film.

I love the 1990’s film. It still holds up to this day. It’s gritty, challenges conventions and norms (what big Hollywood blockbuster would get away with kids smoking cigars or stealing TVs), it was funny, heartfelt, and had good action. It also, I argue, is one of the best comic book adaptations ever. Some people would say I am being too sentimental or nostalgic by saying that, but from the Turtles designs, the Foot Clan, the Shredder, and the overall scope and feel of the movie fit with the original Mirage comics. Even, if the 1990’s film wasn’t as violent as the old Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird-written and hand drawn Mirage comics, it still pushed the boundaries of what a PG movie could do. Plus, it is still known for being one of the biggest independent moneymakers in cinematic history. Also, I feel the Jim Henson suits will never be unmatched by today’s state of the art computer graphics. What Henson did with those suits, breathed a lot of realism into those bipedal bandana-wearing, butt-kicking reptiles.

As the sequels continue, I still have a warm soft spot for them. Even the 2007 “TMNT” has its moments. This however is one I cannot recommend. This isn’t my personal bias towards the old films or cartoons coming out, I am first and foremost speaking as an audience member and a cinephile. It just is crappy cinema and where does crap belong… in the sewers.

Pros:

-The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles’ personalities are intact. Leonardo is the leader, Michelangelo the jokester/goofball, Donatello is the brains, and Raphael is the grouchy, hothead.

-The Turtle Van shows up at the end. You’ve seen it in the TV spots and trailers. It’s a fun little moment where you hear the old “TMNT” cartoon theme song.

-The references to the old show and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles lore. Shredder says, “Tonight I shall dine on turtle soup”, Vernon Fenwick calls the Turtles ‘heroes in a half shell’, Baxter Stockman shows up in a blink-and-you-might-miss-it cameo, and William Fichtner’s Eric Sacks subtly makes a quip about ‘not using rabbits.’ For those who understands this reference, he is referring to Usagi Yojimbo.

-The opening credits are pretty cool. Done in the style of the old Mirage comic books. It was unexpected but sadly the film has a hard time deciding what origin it wanted to tell as well as what Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles story or mythology it wanted to tell too.

Cons:

Sadly, this is where things go downhill. This film has an innumerable amount of problems. Logic being its biggest foe. Several times logic is contested. Continuity mislaid.

For example: April’s father we are told, by Splinter, dies from smoke inhalation but later we’re told Eric Sacks shot him. I don’t know if this was due to rewrites or reshoots but it doesn’t make sense.

Another example is Raphael has a fight with Shredder. Before the fight, we clearly see Raph’s shell has been bandaged with duct tape. As Shredder fights Raph, he cracks his shell. Raph then tells Donnie he can’t help his brothers on a truck skidding out of control on a snowy hill (probably the most memorable and best action-sequence in this film) because his shell is cracked. He tells Donnie to tape him up (even though we can clearly still see he has tape on his shell.) During the snowy hill scene, Raph tells Donnie to slingshot him into Karai’s Humvee. Raph collides into the Humvee like a massive cannonball; imploding it with his shell. Wouldn’t such force and friction shatter his shell even more? The same tommyrot and incompetence is applied when the Turtles find out their shells are bulletproof. Bullets bounce off of Raphael’s chest like if he was Superman and shell but yet Shredder can easily crack it with his foot? WTF?!?

- The plot doesn’t make sense at all. Shredder, the Foot Clan (which are treated like a paramilitary group than ninjas), and Eric Sacks want to create a poison to disperse across New York and hold the city ransom. On top of a rooftop, they’ve created a cannon to shoot the poison into the air and let it spread across the city. With the Turtles’ mutated blood, Sacks can create an antidote and save the people of New York as long as they gave him money to do it because Sacks, while already being a rich man who owns his own castle in upstate New York that looks more like Canada, says he wants more money to be ‘stupid rich.’ If you can afford your own castle and compound, you’re already stupid rich, sir. The end battle is reminiscent of Amazing Spider-Man. The Turtles’ magic blood needed to save a life is reminiscent of Amazing Spider-Man 2. Substitute Harry for Splinter and it’s the same. (Except Splinter doesn’t don a green suit and glider and kill Peter Parker’s girlfriend but one’s mind instantly goes to ‘Where have I seen this before?’ immediately.)

Also, by losing the connectivity between the Ninja Turtles, Splinter, and Shredder ala Hamato Yoshi and Oroku Saki— the rich rivalry is lost and Shredder is only treated as a man with a ridiculous-looking Silver Samurai robot suit that looks like Megatron and Edward Scissorhands had a one nightstand and gave bird to it. He can shoot out retractable boomerang knives from his wrists and be an imposing figure, but other than that the old Shredder, especially in the 1990’s film when he first arrives onscreen, carries with him an aura of intimidation and ponderosity. The long cape, the use of silhouettes, the music, and his voice all gave me chills as a kid. Here Shredder has a few fight scenes with Splinter and the Turtles, but he’s incomparable to the 1990’s Shredder.

-William Fichtner’s Eric Sacks telling April and Vernon that they’re so cute he just wants to pinch their chicks. Ugh.

-The Foot Clan. With their 300 Immortals masks to their Blackwater or Al Qaeda-looking clothes, there’s nothing ninja-like about them. Hell, there’s no real ninja-fighting in this movie. The Turtles fling people around like Nerf footballs and come off more like the Incredible Hulk than creatures that ‘vanish into the night’ and practice the Art of Invisibility.

-The Turtles and Splinter’s designs. These were very off-putting. Leo and Donatello’s faces are probably the closest to the original Turtles’ looks from before; they’re cheeks are round, they have the familiar beaks (with added nostrils), but they have recognizable look to them. Unfortunately, when you add the clothes and armor, that’s as far as it goes. Splinter looks like a Shaolin monk with a knot top and Fu Manchu. (Eat your heart out, Mandarin.) He learns ninjutsu from a book he finds in the sewers and decides to teach his “sons” to defend themselves. Their lair happens to have a skatepark and dojo built into it too. Again, logic out the window. Yeah, it’s that stupid. Also, I find it slightly racist that an American born rat would just suddenly decide to become a sensei or let alone talk and dress Japanese. But that’s Michael Bay for you… anyway to insert racism into any of his movies whether directed or produced? By the way, Mikey sounds like a cross between a California surfer, a Jersey Shore juicehead, and an Eminem-wannabe. Annoying as hell.

I thought I would hate Johnny Knoxville’s voice as Leonardo but it wasn’t too bad. Tony Shaloub on the other hand didn’t work for me. All I heard was Monk and nothing more.

-Megan Fox as April O’Neil. Her acting isn’t as repellent as others made it to be, but her April isn’t given much to do and she’s very uninteresting. What I loved about the old April O’Neils played by Judith Hoag and Paige Turco was they were strong, beautiful, hardworking, sassy newswomen who didn’t take **** from men. This April jumps on a trampoline being ogled by her cameraman Vernon Fenwick (Will Arnett) and constantly hit on by him and Michelangelo, who I will add, act like perverts/creepers. Mikey constantly makes inappropriate jokes and advances towards April and she just takes it. The old April would give him a talking to. Plus, this April is suppose to be connected to the Turtles since their birth. It’s sick to think about because they see her as their owner/mother. Yeah, Mikey is Oedipus. Yuck!

-Raph has no arc. One of the things I loved about the 90’s film is Raphael goes from being the pissed off member of the group and the loner, to getting his butt kicked by the Foot, and later, at the farm after he heals, realizes he needs his brothers more than anything and that they’re a family. Raphael for the most part of this movie is Mr. Grumpy Turtle. Only when his brothers are captured does he show some care or depth. When he is about to die he delivers a cliched and predictable speech about how much he needs his family complete with tears and all, and then the others mock him for it. It just feels out of place. I would’ve rather they all hugged or high five one another in a resounding “Cowabunga!”

-The origin story is too much like Amazing Spider-Man. Scientist tries to do right for the world, finds out his research will be used for harm, destroys his research, but gets himself killed over it. How many times will we see this same story play out in future comic book movies? And why do the Turtles need to be treated like superheroes and Shredder a supervillain? This whole universe was created solely to parody the stuff Frank Miller did with Daredevil and everything that was being dished out in the 1980’s with comics. Why do we have to make the Turtles all-powerful? I liked in the 1990’s movie when they took hits and got cut by the Shredder. You could see the bloody bruises on their arms and legs in that final battle. There are moments where they almost die. Here, while the Turtles do get shocked with electro-sticks and Splinter gets his furry ass handed to him, I never felt scared for them as say the old Henson suits or watching the apes in Dawn of the Planet of the Apes. I don’t know if the movie didn’t sell it that well or was it because of my own personal bias towards a lot of the things this movie got wrong that made me not care.

-The jokes fall flat at times. One of the best things about the old cartoons and 90’s films were there was a wisecrack or quip a mile-a-minute. I get it that they don’t want to be too goofy or campy, but really… this film has a hard time embracing the silliness of the concept. Also, can we PLEASE get rid of fart jokes in kids’ movies? Enough already.

-Whoopi Goldberg as Burnadette Thompson. Why was she in this? Why did you change the race and sex of April’s boss?

-Last but not least, I am sick and tired of slow-mo Transformers-style fight scenes. Enough already with this Hollywood. Even the imitators of the 300 films have taken this to the point of ridiculousness. Same goes for lens flares. Lens flares aren’t cool. They aren’t appealing either. They’re gimmicky like 3D.

Overall, I give the film a 4/10.

 

[The Guard]

I liked it.

Was it perfect? No. But it was fun, solidly put together, and very entertaining. And they got a lot right in terms of the mythology. The turtles are almost note perfect in their personalities and their interactions with each other, their mentor, and their foes. The actors really inhabited their characters and breathed life into them physically and in some cases, with the voicework. I thought Knoxville was fine as Leo. Ditto Splinter. Megan Fox really does give a good effort in this role, and it shows. She makes a solid, proactive April with real issues, flaws and reactions to things, and a much better character than many female action heroes of late. Most of the humor lands, and this really was a pretty funny movie, with great action, and some really imaginative action and origin sequences. I'm not sure if people watched this movie if they didn't see some of the serious ninja action that was going on. The CGI is generally very solid to excellent.

Villanwise, yes, Eric Sachs is yet another corporate baddie, but he's also, by virtue for Fichtner's take on him, not your typical one, either. He's more a sociopath of sorts VS your typical evil corporate villain. I don't really care whether he was Shredder originally...he's not here, and it doesn't really ever seem like he is.

Speaking of The Shredder, as underdeveloped as he is, is pretty much also an complete iron-clad badass. The quiet, somewhat mysterious engine that drives the Foot Clan, and occasionally cleans up their messes, but takes point and does his own dirty work. He had some pretty decent dialogue in places. And they've left themselves room to reveal any of the existing Shredder origins and portrayals down the line. I think that's a smart move, frankly.

Karai doesn't really do much of anything, and several key elements of the plot are generic, yadda yadda...I'm honestly just past caring about some of those things in a blockbuster movie. I don't think any movie is immune to that kind of thing anymore, and it doesn't exactly drag the movie down or stop the ride.
The cliches are just changing from what they used to be. I care about their execution and the execution worked rather well. I thought there was enough done with the various plot points that it worked fairly well. For instance, we don't usually get the "deathbed confession" in the typical "gas the city" plot.

I'm honestly not understanding some of the complaints here. People keep talking about the turtles being supporting characters, and it really didn't feel that way at all by the time they show up. It felt like they were co-leads with April from that point on.

Other odd complaints:
-The Foot Clan as generic terrorists. Ok...as opposed to generic ninja terrorists? I mean, they're terrorists. That's what they've always been. Chemical-weapon utilizing terrorists in this film, but criminals/terrorists nontheless.

-Shredder having a somewhat limited presence in the movie. Well, he usually does, doesn't he? He gives orders from the shadows and comes in and cleans up when The Foot can't get the job done.

-Splinter learning/teaching martial arts from a book.
1. That's how a lot of people learn things.
2. How is that any worse than watching someone and imitating their movements, as in other popular versions of the story?
3. How do you know he didn't just become AWARE of ninjitsu from a book and seek out more information on the subject?

 

[The Guard]

Sadly, this is where things go downhill. This film has an innumerable amount of problems. Logic being its biggest foe. Several times logic is contested. Continuity mislaid.

For example: April’s father we are told, by Splinter, dies from smoke inhalation but later we’re told Eric Sacks shot him. I don’t know if this was due to rewrites or reshoots but it doesn’t make sense.

Nope. April knows her father died, and thinks he died in the fire. Splinter thought this is what happened. Since Splinter wasn't also there dying of smoke inahalation, how would he know? It's not like Sachs TOLD people he killed April's father (well, until he told April).

Another example is Raphael has a fight with Shredder. Before the fight, we clearly see Raph’s shell has been bandaged with duct tape. As Shredder fights Raph, he cracks his shell. Raph then tells Donnie he can’t help his brothers on a truck skidding out of control on a snowy hill (probably the most memorable and best action-sequence in this film) because his shell is cracked. He tells Donnie to tape him up (even though we can clearly still see he has tape on his shell.) During the snowy hill scene, Raph tells Donnie to slingshot him into Karai’s Humvee. Raph collides into the Humvee like a massive cannonball; imploding it with his shell. Wouldn’t such force and friction shatter his shell even more? The same tommyrot and incompetence is applied when the Turtles find out their shells are bulletproof. Bullets bounce off of Raphael’s chest like if he was Superman and shell but yet Shredder can easily crack it with his foot? WTF?!?

Raphael seems to have had a rougher time in general. He's got more bandages and such than the other turtles, probably because he's the scrapper out of the four of them. The tape on his shell was probably already there, and he's just used to "taping up", so he used more tape to do so. You know, like a boxer or a cage fighter.

There's a world of difference between a bullet and a mechanized pressure being applied.

- The plot doesn’t make sense at all. Shredder, the Foot Clan (which are treated like a paramilitary group than ninjas), and Eric Sacks want to create a poison to disperse across New York and hold the city ransom. On top of a rooftop, they’ve created a cannon to shoot the poison into the air and let it spread across the city. With the Turtles’ mutated blood, Sacks can create an antidote and save the people of New York as long as they gave him money to do it because Sacks, while already being a rich man who owns his own castle in upstate New York that looks more like Canada, says he wants more money to be ‘stupid rich.’ If you can afford your own castle and compound, you’re already stupid rich, sir. The end battle is reminiscent of Amazing Spider-Man. The Turtles’ magic blood needed to save a life is reminiscent of Amazing Spider-Man 2. Substitute Harry for Splinter and it’s the same. (Except Splinter doesn’t don a green suit and glider and kill Peter Parker’s girlfriend but one’s mind instantly goes to ‘Where have I seen this before?’ immediately.)

What exactly doesn't make sense about that plot?

Yes, there are similarities to recent Spider-Man movies. It's also similar to STAR TREK INTO DARKNESS, and a number of other films dating back to before any of those, since nothing under the Sun is new and science fiction tropes get used over and over again.

So?

Also, by losing the connectivity between the Ninja Turtles, Splinter, and Shredder ala Hamato Yoshi and Oroku Saki— the rich rivalry is lost and Shredder is only treated as a man with a ridiculous-looking Silver Samurai robot suit that looks like Megatron and Edward Scissorhands had a one nightstand and gave bird to it.

Right, but that's partly because this is the beginning of that rivalry.

He can shoot out retractable boomerang knives from his wrists and be an imposing figure, but other than that the old Shredder, especially in the 1990’s film when he first arrives onscreen, carries with him an aura of intimidation and ponderosity. The long cape, the use of silhouettes, the music, and his voice all gave me chills as a kid. Here Shredder has a few fight scenes with Splinter and the Turtles, but he’s incomparable to the 1990’s Shredder.

Well, he's not supposed to be compared to 1990's Shredder. They did something different. The whole movie and approach to the characters should make that clear.q

-The Foot Clan. With their 300 Immortals masks to their Blackwater or Al Qaeda-looking clothes, there’s nothing ninja-like about them. Hell, there’s no real ninja-fighting in this movie. The Turtles fling people around like Nerf footballs and come off more like the Incredible Hulk than creatures that ‘vanish into the night’ and practice the Art of Invisibility.

Because any character that is strong is like The Incredible Hulk? That's a bit much.

Their lair happens to have a skatepark and dojo built into it too. Again, logic out the window. Yeah, it’s that stupid.

Pretty sure they built those things INTO their lair, and didn't just find it that way.

Also, I find it slightly racist that an American born rat would just suddenly decide to become a sensei or let alone talk and dress Japanese.

Because no real person would ever choose to honor another culture or adapt its ways.

Oh wait.

That actually does happen in the real world.

-Raph has no arc. One of the things I loved about the 90’s film is Raphael goes from being the pissed off member of the group and the loner, to getting his butt kicked by the Foot, and later, at the farm after he heals, realizes he needs his brothers more than anything and that they’re a family. Raphael for the most part of this movie is Mr. Grumpy Turtle. Only when his brothers are captured does he show some care or depth. When he is about to die he delivers a cliched and predictable speech about how much he needs his family complete with tears and all, and then the others mock him for it. It just feels out of place. I would’ve rather they all hugged or high five one another in a resounding “Cowabunga!”

So you say he has no arc...and then you describe his arc.

You seriously can't see how this has some similarities to the 1990 film in the way Raphael behaves?

And really? You think the "falling to our deaths on the toppling spire" was predictable or cliche?

-The origin story is too much like Amazing Spider-Man. Scientist tries to do right for the world, finds out his research will be used for harm, destroys his research, but gets himself killed over it. How many times will we see this same story play out in future comic book movies?

You know, literature and movies existed before 2012. You should read and watch some of those pieces. This isn't a new sci-fi trope or story.

And why do the Turtles need to be treated like superheroes and Shredder a supervillain?

Because they are?

This whole universe was created solely to parody the stuff Frank Miller did with Daredevil and everything that was being dished out in the 1980’s with comics.

And it's just stagnated in concept for decades, eh?

Nothing has changed about the content of the mythology?

Why do we have to make the Turtles all-powerful?

They're not. Dunno if you noticed, but they could get hurt and had trouble with some of the heavy lifting.

The rest...I just can't.

 

[Human Torch]

Just got back from seeing it,and on the whole,I enjoyed it.


Thankfully,they really captured each turtle's personality.The voices all worked out pretty well.Perhaps I'm blessed in that I don't know Johnny Knoxville (who voices Leo) from a hole in the ground,but he sounded like the typical Leo.Tony Shalhoub (TV's Monk) however,
was somewhat less convincing as Master Splinter.All the Turtles got a chance to shine.I don't really feel that one stole the spotlight more than the others.Mikey's wisecracks probably came closest.And Raph's "angry loner" routine got a somewhat truncated version this time as opposed to the earlier films.

The biggest gripe I have against the film are in the changes to the origin.Now granted,with the TMNT being around,what 30 odd years now,they've seen their share of changes.You can basically pick and choose what you want from past incarnations.For the most part,that I can live with.The problem however comes to the Shredder.He has no relationship to Splinter in the least.Splinter seems to magically know that Shredder is evil and needs to be stopped,but there is no real rivalry which was always at the heart of the story previously.My favorite incarnation is where Splinter is really the mutated human Hamato Yoshi and is a trained ninja who has a lifelong rivalry with Oroko Saki,who eventually becomes the Shredder.But here,they meet,they fight (and it's a great fight.Magnificent fight.) but there's no real weight behind it.And for me that was sorely disappointing.

Megan Fox does a good job as April O'Neil.For whatever reason,she seems outright despised,but lets be honest.April isn't exactly a role on par with Lady Macbeth.It's basically tailor made for her.I was happy that April actually gets something to do in this film.In the previous live films (OK,the first two.I've blanked the third from my memory) April pretty much disappears for the second half.But here,she's a valuable aid to the lads.Some may complain that she gets the honor of landing the "killing" blow on Shredder,but it was just a technical victory.In all honesty the only one who SHOULD be able to beat the Shredder is Splinter.(Who was pretty much taken out of the story in way that was less than satisfactory)

All in all,a good time.With some improvements,the sequel could be outstanding.
4/5 Stars

 

[NinjaTurtleFan]

@ The Guard- Am I not entitled to my opinions with my review? I didn't go and critique yours. So I didn't like the film and you did. Great. Move on.

Some people defend this new movie like your badmouthing their mother or something.

 

[StevenSeagal]

@ The Guard- Am I not entitled to my opinions with my review? I didn't go and critique yours. So I didn't like the film and you did. Great. Move on.

Some people defend this new movie like your badmouthing their mother or something.

He's the type who can't handle other's opinions, everyone has to agree with him or he will be upset. Seriously guard, stop whining.

 

[StarLord]

I saw it earlier and thought it was alright.

I'm still not a fan of the design for the turtles, but I did like their personalities and I would certainly like to see a sequel. 6.5/10

 

[PWN3R]

What I liked (SURPRISINGLY): The Turtle designs. I hated them right up until the movie started. Body building Shreks? But man, I felt like it worked in the film. A lot of personality with the accessories and it echoes the film's strongest attribute -- the Turtle's personality.

They nailed the Turtles.

And unfortunately that's about it. Everything else is just so ridiculous and not thought out. The script is awful, and even if this intended to sell toys for kids then why have the opening 20 minutes follow Megan Fox? There was a small child with his mom sitting behind me and he kept asking her for the Turtles for the first few minutes. It was hilarious.

The Shredder stuff... just why? It's so obvious that William Fichtner was Shredder. I wish they would have gone that route instead of whatever the hell we got here.

Pretty crappy film, but it has some lovely new interpretations for the Turtles. I hope the sequel actually tries for a story because they have the characters down.

 

[Frodo]

I thought it was alright. It did feel like the filmmakers were sort of rushing to get to the end storywise but it was fine. They were still the same guys I grew up with as a 9 and 10 year old back in the early 90s, so that was good. I still think Fox isn't a strong enough to carry the first half as her character does but still, she's got personality, and she looked totally adorable in her yellow jacket. I like Megan Fox so, I'm not a hater.

I actually liked this version of Shredder better than the original films, and I wished we'd seen more of him and his female student. While I didn't mind the change in origins, since it actually made more sense than the randomness and the plot convenience of the original cartoons and films, I did miss alot of the Japan backstory with Youshi and Soki and alot of the personal feud aspects of the Shreadder/Splinter/Turtles dynamic. As for Splinter , I kept hearing Monk so it was kinda hard to keep a straight face and full believe it was splinter.

The human jokes fell flat but the Turtle stuff seemed to work. Is it just me or is Will Arnet trying to do a Michael Keaton impersonation? All in all I'd give it a C+. Its by no means a bad film and certainly had a stronger plot than ASM 2 imo. Going forward ,my hope is that they bring in much more of the character dynamics and moments from the original films and cartoons, but continue with the stronger plotting of this film . There's room for improvement but it seems at least they're on the right track.

 

[tzarinna]

Every time a TV spot comes on my 3 year old says he wants to see it again and that he loved that movie. Maybe I'll convince his grandpa to take him.

 

[BlueLightning]

Well, since it is the most appropiate thread than the Paramount one, I might as well leave my review here.

Spoiler

OK. I watched the film yesterday and I’m compelled to share my thoughts about it.

If I could summarize it in short, it would be: “It is decent and has its moments but…”

Now I’ll try to comment about the film, but I cannot do it without mentioning some spoilers, so if you haven’t seen the film yet and don’t want to know certain important plot points, do not continue reading.

The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles are my favorite heroes since childhood, so you must know that I have some strong opinions about the matter, and I can’t avoid to compare certain elements with the first film from 1990, which in my opinion is still the best movie about the characters to date, and one of my favorite films in the history of my favorite films ever.

So, the best thing about the film is the characterization of the protagonists: Leonardo, Donatello, Michelangelo and Raphael. They are presented and interpreted as one should expect, they are already established in their role, and they are familiar to the audience that knows them from other incarnations. However, during the film the characters present no progression, there is no major inner conflict to be resolved and one could say that they do not learn any important lesson in the duration of the film.

The villain of the piece, the Shredder, I felt it was a last minute addition to the plot, I mean Oroku Saki. Since the character of Eric Sacks, played by William Fitchner, was promoted as the Shredder in interviews and other promotional material since last year, I can’t help to think that this was the case. Oroku Saki as a character appears to be inserted into an almost completed film to calm down the fans that could be upset because the Shredder hadn’t a Japanese nationality, or ninja for that matter. Check the scenes with Oroku Saki and you’ll see a sense of isolation from the rest of the film.

Both the Shredder and Eric Sacks lack dimension that distinguishes them, they are almost generic. The Shredder only has one scenes that makes him compelling and is not with the Turtles. Eric Sacks doesn’t present any novelty whatsoever. I think the only interchange between the Shredder and the Turtles worth mentioning is the mocking tone he shows when he learns that the Turtles treat Splinter as a father and Splinter treats the Turtles as his sons. But not much else.

The secondary characters fulfill their role. I feel grateful that April O’Neal and the cameraman Vernon Fenwick have this “friend-zone” type of relationship instead of a more full-fledged romance, because we know that Casey Jones is the Clark Kent to April’s Lois. Other notable characters such as Karai or Bernadette Thomson (this film version of April’s boss from the 80’s cartoon, Burne Thomson) don’t add much to the plot, which is sad. Especially for Karai, since her place as the Shredder’s daughter is in a way supplanted by Eric Sacks. There is no mention for Karai being the Shredder’s daughter whatsoever.

The story has an action-comedy drive, which in itself is not bad, but considering that the first film is a very personal tale which theme is family, it is sad that this subject is treated almost superficially and worked on a light level. The humor is subversive in many occasions, which is not bad either, as seen recently in Guardians of the Galaxy or years before in the original TMNT film too. But the use of cheap gags here and there defeats some very solid attempts at humor (I’m watching you, stuck in the sewers scene! You were very funny… until the end)

And talking about action/comedy, I must say that the film has an oversaturation of pop culture references, which is understandable since the protagonists are teenagers and it is natural for them to lose themselves in this environment provided by the outside world from television to music. However it think they went overboard with it, this should have been moderated. The action is excessive too, with overlong sequences that last more than they should, but the exchanges between the characters made this scenes more bearable and fun.

A positive aspect is that the four turtles have a time to shine, which is an aspect that the previous films didn’t achieve. Almost always Donatello got the short end of the bo staff stick, and now there is a palpable balance in the overall participation to the plot from the protagonists. However, as mentioned before, the characters are almost static in their characterization, there is no sense of worthwhile character progression, thing that other films managed to do at least for one of the turtles, since in every other film they had a particular conflict to overcome.

There are many sequences that I found great. I could mention the intro of the film, the homage/parody to Batman Begins in the warehouse (or it was at the docks?), the first encounter of April with the Turtles, the first Oroku Saki scene, most of the flashback narrated by Master Splinter, the first confrontation with the Shredder(mostly because the emotional content), the camcorder scenes of April as a child with the pre-mutated turtles(which is borrowed from the recent IDW comics), the elevator scene (Which I could say it was my favorite scene in the whole film. It was hilarious!), the Raph speech at the end (though I don’t feel it was entirely earned). And Mikey song at the end, which is one of my favorites.

A detail that I would like to see expanded in a better way was the fact that Splinter narrates at the beginning that he trained the Turtles to be heroes, that one day they would save New York, or something among that lines, in contrast to previous incarnations in which the purpose goes from revenge, simple teaching or the most relatable: because of fear of the outside world so they have a chance to protect themselves. But later in the film we learn that it was indeed fear to the people on the surface and what they could do to them the drive that compels Splinter to learn and teach them ninjitsu. I would have liked to have Splinter telling the young Turtles that they would be heroes when they grow up, as a message of optimism aided by the hope in their youths and to have a better quality of life, but inside the reason is that they could stand a chance in a reasonable hostile world.

There is an important element from the mythos left outside: Hamato Yoshi isn’t mentioned and doesn’t appear anywhere in the film. Splinter ninjitsu learning is autodidact (the source being a book, from the cleverly named authors Eastman and Laird) and leads to him to adopt and appropriate the Japanese culture instead of being part of it, which weakens the Japanese motif through the film and lefts it hollow.

There are key scenes that are a homage to the first film and in one of them twists the dynamic, reverting the roles of the participants, which is kinda clever. There are a lot of holes in the plot, mostly because of the shady motivations of the villains and their plan. There is a moment where April reveals that she saved the Turtles when she was young that is stated by herself, and it feels awkward because it is stated and not show. We later learn from the Splinter flashback how it indeed happened. It could have been reworked to show only the flashback.

If I could suggest an improvement to the film, I would add Hamato Yoshi to the mix. Let’s say that he is an honorable ninjitsu master that runs down a Karate Dojo of some sort. He is blind and he is remarkably good at what he does. One night, an evolved Splinter goes out to search for some food for the still child Turtles, and is persecuted by some gang thugs. Hamato Yoshi saves him, and offers his guidance. There is a montage where they train together and he teaches him everything he knows and passes down to him his culture too. He deduces that Splinter is not a human, but he doesn’t care because he knows to judge the heart of everyone. He could die in a confrontation with the foot clan, adding a personal link to the Shredder too. We could find a way to justify his absence to his sons. Maybe they can tag along? Or he trains while the turtles are resting? I don’t know. The point here is to bring Hamato Yoshi to the table, and with him add the theme of legacy to a film that lacks a solid theme to stand.

If the first movie the theme was family, this could be about legacy. About the passing of our values to the next generation and what are those values too. Hamato Yoshi passes down his knowledge to Splinter, and he to the Turtles, and positive values. This lends to the fact that the Turtles are influenced by the culture of the city too. You could work a parallelism there with the legacy of the Shredder to Karai, a path of destruction and disease. Let’s take out the character of Eric Sacks and have his role fulfilled by the Shredder, not as a scientist, but as the head of the organization, much like in the 2k3 cartoons. Food for thought.

In general I can say that is a weak film with a lot of potential, namely because of the source material and the rich story of the characters and the elements from it that uses. But the sum of the parts does not manage to achieve a good level as a movie. I can say that the first film is vastly superior to this one (or every other film in the franchise for that matter). I just hope that in the announced sequel they tone down those mentioned excesses, correct the mistakes and maintain the positive, because I feel that most of the nucleus of the TMNT (the family theme and the characters personalities) is in the right place.

¡Cowabunga, Booyakasha or whatever the young people say nowadays!