Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
Knowing how the last Turtles movie ended up, I was expecting this new Turtles movie to suck badly. To my total surprise, it was fairly entertaining. I enjoyed the movie. I felt there was some heart to it. The movie is more character driven than the other Turtle movies. It is dark, but has some humor from the cartoon show thrown in. There are some emotional moments throughout the film that hardcore Turtle fans will enjoy. The main subplot is the conflict between Raphael and Leonardo.
The best scene in the movie actually deals with this subplot, when Raphael and Leonardo duke it out in a battle on a rooftop. You have to remember that Raphael was always the rebel in the group and more so in the comic book. So, it was really neat to see Leo and Raphael’s conflict end up in a fight. (Note: It was also neat to see Raph create Batman-like alter ego for fighting at night called the Nightwatcher.)
While the character subplot dealing with the Turtles retirement is good, the main plotline isn’t as compelling. Instead of Shredder, we get a cursed South American warlord (Played very well by Patrick Stewart) that has a scheme to take over the world. The story is a little goofy, but then we’re talking about teenage turtles that fight and eat pizza. Shredder isn’t in the movie, but his Foot Clan takes part in the story. (Note: It is strongly hinted that Shredder will return.)
The movie is loosely a sequel to the other three live action films, while taking some elements from the TV show. The CGI works for me, and it shows that not every CGI film has to have cute-looking characters in it to be good. The Turtles translated very well to the CGI and you can see the difference in physical shape and design among them. Some of the human characters weren’t to my liking though, such as April and Casey Jones. Klaus Badelt provides a wonderful big score for the film. I was shocked that they decided to have a mature score for the movie, and it works. Badelt has always been one of the better composers to come out of Media Ventures (Hans Zimmer’s gang).
Despite a loopy main plot, the heart of the story is in the Turtles and the interaction between all of them. If you go in with an open mind, taking the movie what it is, you’ll be pleasantly surprised with the film. I left the theater with a smile on my face.
The Turtles are back.
Grade B-
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4 comments:
I really enjoyed the Leo/Raph conflict. Probably my favourite part of the movie.
It was disappointing that Mike and Don didn't have bigger roles (other than Mike being comic relief), and the story seemed very juvenile, but it was still a really good time.
Nice review.
Thanks, Glitch!
I loved how the 2 turtles are polar opposites in character, but Splinter explains what is good about both of them.
Yeah, I should have mention that the other two Turtles don't have much screen time.
They look quite scrawny in the pic, did they revert them to what actually turtles look like, cos i remember in the 'suited' movie that the looked a tad more buff..
Yeah, that's right, Blayde, they are a little bit too skinny for my taste, and that a bit of flaw that I don't like.
But the actual textures of their bodies is amazing though. the Good thing is they look like they actually have shells and they each look different, besides their masks colors.
It's sort of a trade off.
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