What do you think about some of the bad reviews?

[JClive2007]

I've been surfing around couple of movie sites it seems to be a glaring difference between user/average person reviews and those so called professional movie. The vast majority of the user reviews are nothing but positive and those few negative ones were nitpicking about there was no shredder or it's nothing like the old school cartoon series. But when you look at these so called pros their criticism of TMNT they're all over the place which makes me wonder did they even pay attention to the movie because they already had the bad review already written up? I wrote to one critic that gave it a (D) ask him has he ever read one of the old school TMNT comic book and he said yes he did, I figure he's either lying or he's talking about the old Archie's comic verison. Enough with me how about you where do you think the hating is coming from?

 

[ninjaspyder13]

Things I noticed about the bad reviews:

They either didn't give this movie a chance, or they whined about it not being like the goofy cartoon. They ended up seeing nothing but the weaknesses and were completely blind to the strengths.

Many of the more prominent critics hated all things TMNT to begin with. Many of the critics were embarrassingly ignorant of the other (and original) incarnations of TMNT. Almost all assumed the director was simply trying to cash in, when he is in fact, a passionate TMNT fan.

All in all, most of the bad reviews had their minds made up about the movie before it began. Sad and stupid. The director honored the turtles very well in this movie, esp considering his time and financial constraints for making the movie.

But now, you must consider the director Kevin Munroe's background: he was a VIDEO GAME director. He loved the TMNT and DARED make a movie to be released in the holy temple known as the movie theatah. This was probably the MAIN reason the was hated. Kevin Munroe is not part of the club because he didn't go some to high-brow fop filmschool. I hope he can find some consolation that the majority of viewers (and especially TMNT fans) who actually saw the film loved it.

 

[Road Warrior]

The original 1990 flick also got bad reviews, so I wasn't surprised by the negativity surrounding TMNT.

 

[Parker]

People are too afraid or insecure to admit that they are entertained by anthropomorphic turtles.

 

[Catman]

People are too afraid or insecure to admit that they are entertained by...

...crimefighting Turtles who eat pizza!

 

[Buslady]

Critics are morons. They don't do their research and they assume it's based on the old crap.

 

[Catman]

Critics hate Pizza, so as a result they hate the Turtles.

 

[Reptile]

am I the only person on the forum who hated this movie?

 

[Catman]

Yes, yes you are!

 

[amazingdm]

I"m a big TMNT fan, was very excited about this movie, but unfortunately I thought it was awful. I was very disappointed

 

[Paste Pot Pete]

All of the bad reviews I've read had the same complaint - it wasn't enough like "the old cartoon."

They wanted cheese, and nothing more. They complained about that the tone was too serious, it was too dark, there wasn't enough pizza eating and "hang ten" surfer lingo.

They were expecting a harmless piece of toy fare straight from the 80s that they could've given a B, to earn some "I'm hip to nostalgia" street cred. When they realized that the movie was actually more than that, they resented it, and gave it C's and D's out of spite. Most reviewers wouldn't be caught dead giving a good rating to a movie about Ninja Turtles, unless it was out of irony. They'd never admit that it was simply a good movie.

 

[Victarion]

People are too afraid or insecure to admit that they are entertained by anthropomorphic turtles.

I thought anthropomorphism was the "in thing" in today's movies?

Regardless, ya shouldn't let someone else tell you what you do and don't like.

 

[The Shredder]

The original 1990 flick also got bad reviews, so I wasn't surprised by the negativity surrounding TMNT.

Same here.

Just the notion of TMNT in any incarnation is almost always considered ridiculous by film critics who are unable or unwilling to accept the more serious tone of the film, the characters, and the overall evolution of the storyline that is being told. I honestly didnt see this movie winning over many critics who might have considered the franchise silly based simply on it's premise, and unfortunately it appears that's exactly the case.

 

[JClive2007]

The reason I came up with the post because I notice a lot of double standards between a movie like TMNT and other movies i.e. Blades of Glory.. Blades of Glory tried of picking on that movie when Roper gave his review he basically said there was no story, and it felt like a long SNL skit yet because Will Ferrell acted silly he's giving a thumbs up and this past Sunday watch his Meet the Robertson review, he admits the story was jumping all over the place but since it had an ending he approve of he gave it a thumbs up like i said in another post the story sucked for 99% of the movie but the ending managed to aid Roper of giving this flick a thumbs up? It doesn't make sense to me he and his movie reviewer buddy rip TMNT for story and the following week he admits the two movies he gave thumbs up to had no story.

I wished these artsy fartsy movie critics just give their free tickets to people who will enjoy the movie and just stick to those 3 hours of self righteous flicks.

 

[Dr. Fate]

I figured the bad reviews were inevitable.

 

[dos_acoustic]

I was really surprised with this movie. I thought for sure that i would hate it. Just hearing the sotry made me never want to even try to watch it. The whole " No Shredder " thing was the biggest turn off for me. But i decided to check it out and sure enough i thought that it was a pretty good movie. Sure the story wasnt great ( the whole 3,000 year old...blah) but the interaction between Leo and Raph was great. I loved the fight scene between the two.

 

[TEDDY]

I don't mind the bad reviews. The film was obviously made with Turtle fans in mind. The movie was awesome if you were a fan.

For those not as familiar with the property: not so much. The film skips details that only turtle fans would get (I.E: "Who the hell is the ninja chick? And what are she and Leonardo bickering about? Wait, wasn't April a reporter?" etc.). Even the opening credits which "explained" everything was only about 2 minutes long, badly animated, and felt shortened to get to more action.

I don't blame the critics for their judgement. (Those who have been giving it bad reviesa, any ways. Several, who were fans of the comic, parise it)

With a movie like this, if you don't know the franchise you aren't going to get it. Thats reason why I disliked the X-Files movie. Never was able to catch the show when it first ran. So it just didn't make sense to me.

But, as a fan, I must say it was awesome!

 

[Victarion]

I actually liked the 3,000 year old monster plot. Plus in the Eastman & Laird comics, Shredder wasn't really a major player.

 

[The Shredder]

I didnt mind the Monster/Stone Warriors plot either, but it's apparent that alot of fans ultimately felt disappointed by it by the time the end credits began to roll. Which for casual fans, is understandable I suppose. As for The Shredder, his legacy was arguably more of a factor than simply having Saki appear as a reoccuring villain in the original Eastman & Laird TMNT comics, however Laird recognized the popularity of the villain with fans of the franchise and did a excellent job in presenting The Shredder as a major adversary in the 2003 TMNT series.

Spoiler

Even if The Shredder that made the most appearances was ultimately revealed to be an Ultrom.

 

[Grinder]

I was a fan of the old movies and didn't really liek the idea of an animated sequel. After all, the special effects are far better now. But what the hell, it's the TMNTurtels. I didn't follow the movie production - when the trailers hit I was turned down at first but ultimately gave it a chance - and luckily the movie proofed me wrong. I loved it!

I don't understand why the filmcritics bash that movie. It's one of best animated movies of all time. The music and the action fit perfectly, the end is a bit rushed but overall it's a very good movie with themes for the old and young.

Seriously, I put it in the same range of "Final Fantasy: Advent Children", "The Incredibles" and the "Shrek" movies. Aimed at kids but also with lots of themes for adults. And neither of those movies has "more believable stories" either.

 

[Walks Unseen]

All of the bad reviews I've read had the same complaint - it wasn't enough like "the old cartoon."

They wanted cheese, and nothing more. They complained about that the tone was too serious, it was too dark, there wasn't enough pizza eating and "hang ten" surfer lingo.

They were expecting a harmless piece of toy fare straight from the 80s that they could've given a B, to earn some "I'm hip to nostalgia" street cred. When they realized that the movie was actually more than that, they resented it, and gave it C's and D's out of spite. Most reviewers wouldn't be caught dead giving a good rating to a movie about Ninja Turtles, unless it was out of irony. They'd never admit that it was simply a good movie.

Personally, I didn't think the movie was dark enough. They said it was going to be much more like the comic books but it didn't go as dark as the comic books did. It was still a kids movie. I was hoping that they would have made this movie for all of the TMNT fans who grew up watching the old cartoon series and who read the comic books who are now older and want a more serious film but unfourtunetly I was wrong.

I also think it didn't have enough action in it. I'm hearing alot of people say on forums that it was action packed....what??? I think you got to see Mikey and Donny fight maybe once for like once for about 4 seconds in the film.

And while I thought the animation was bloody fantastic, the human characters looked too cartoony. The turtles looked better than ever however.

Anyway, thats just my opinion.

 

[e-three]

I don't think its a bad thing if the critics reviewing the movie aren't familiar with the original Mirage comics or only remember the Turtles from the 80s cartoon or the previous live action movies...they shouldn't have to be. Just in the same way that you shouldn't have to be familiar with Spider-Man's nearly 50 years of comic history to form an opinion on the Spider-Man movies, or have to read all the Harry Potter books in order to chime in on the movie adaptations.

You can say that the critics don't get it because they're not familiar with the comics and how the movie adheres to that tone or whatever, but having that familiarity shouldn't be necessary because the movie should stand somewhat on its own. I'd bet that over 75% of the people that watched the Lord of the Rings movies didn't read a single page of the books they were based on, but their success and near-universal approval shows that reading those books isn't a prerequisite. So should the same be for TMNT and other comic-based films. And if this movie, as some have said, isn't catered to the general public but instead made just for the fans, then it shouldn't be a surprise if the critics who aren't fans don't give the movie positive reviews.

I liked the movie, although my favorite turtle Donatello was limited to practically a glorified cameo appearance (now I know how those non-Wolverine loving X-Men fans feel). At the same time the movie isn't exactly perfect so I can see why critics are easy to dismiss it, especially with the glut of computer animated movies as of late. But even so, here's hoping for a sequel!

 

[D.Rex]

**** the critics I never listen to anything they have to say. Some of my favorite movies of all time only got one or two stars or a thumbs down. And some movies that got four stars or two thumbs up I absolutely hate so whatever I make my own opinions I dont need some self proclaimed know it all telling me what Ill like and wont like. They want all movies to send some kind of political statement and thats not what I went to see turtles for. Screw em. Id much rather watch turtles 100 times or a kickass action packed flick than go see some sappy drama or societal statement that got four stars or thumbs from ****in Roper.