HERE IS THE SUMMARY FOR THE MOVIE TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES
A group of mutated warriors face off against an evil kingpin who wants to take over New York.
HERE IS THE REVIEW FOR THE MOVIE TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES
It’s been interesting seeing how upset some people are about this new version of
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles,
with a lot of the cries “They’re ruining it!” from those angered about
changes to the material. To me, it’s strange to try to be a TMNT purist,
since this has been a franchise that has been changed over and over and
over again. Really, unless you were a fan of the original, 1984, black
and white comic book, it’s difficult to make any claim to being a fan of
the “real” Ninja Turtles – after all, the late 1980s animated series
(and accompanying toyline) that made TMNT a true cultural phenomenon was
itself drastically altering the depiction and tone of the characters.
All of which is to say, it’s best to go into the new Ninja Turtles
film accepting it won't exactly match your ideal of TMNT; that ideal
usually being whichever version first introduced you to the characters
in your respective childhood. There have been many versions of TMNT
before and there will be many after. This is just the 2014 model.
So how is it? Well, it’s okay.
The basics of the story essentially remain the same as in many
incarnations. New York is under siege by criminals called the Foot Clan,
under the command of a leader called the Shredder. Young, intrepid
reporter April O’Neil (Megan Fox) stumbles upon the Foot being thwarted
by mysterious vigilantes and soon discovers these vigilantes are
teenagers… and mutants… and ninjas …and turtles!
The new TMNT comes from Michael Bay’s Platinum Dunes, with a script
by Josh Appelbaum & André Nemec (Mission: Impossible – Ghost
Protocol) and Evan Daugherty (Snow White and the Huntsman) and directed
by Jonathan Liebesman (Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Beginning, Wrath of
the Titans). And yes, this team have made some notable tweaks to the
material, starting with the Foot, who are no longer ninjas (or robots,
depending on which version you hold true!), but rather more of a
paramilitary force.
Then of course are the physical differences to the Turtles
themselves, who are far larger and more physically imposing than we’ve
ever seen them before. This feels like a miscalculation, as it really
does take away from the whole ninja aspect of the characters - as much
as I'm not against changes in general, "Ninja" is literally right there
in the title after all. While we see Leonardo, Michelangelo, Donatello
and Raphael show off their martial arts skills, a lot of the time it
seems they defeat their enemies by simply being freaking strong as hell;
punching them across rooms and even toppling vehicles at them.
Also, this film falls into the same trap a ton of superhero movies
have before -- really going back to 1989’s Batman -- which is feeling
it’s necessary to tie all the characters’ history together in major
ways. April, her late father and her father’s boss, Eric Sachs (William
Fichtner) are all notably connected into the history of the Turtles and
their master Splinter in a manner that feels unnecessary – and also
means there’s some huge coincidence involved in her coming into contact
with all of these folks during the events of the film.
The film has its merits though. While their designs are a bit wonky,
one thing the film does a very good job portraying is the actual
interplay between the four Turtles. After a bit of a languid opening,
the film gains a lot more humor and charm when the title characters come
out of the shadows and begin to get more camera time, joking and
bantering together. The groan-worthy inclusion of a fart aside (yeah,
yeah, I know – kids love farts), a fun early sequence -- showing the
Turtles hurtling, sliding and skating through the city and sewers --
does a good job of stressing these characters are teenagers, as does a
very amusing moment in an elevator late in the film. The core traits of
the characters are retained, and there are some appreciated nods to the
history of TMNT across various media, including funny asides to some
less than proud moments.
Michelangelo is probably the character that comes off best here,
given an endearingly laid back demeanor (but not complete surfer dude
persona, as in other depictions), along with a notable crush on April
that is often used in humorous ways. The film could have dialed back on
Donatello's "nerd" persona a bit, which includes taped up glasses, but
otherwise, he, the ever-angry Raphael and the natural leader Leonardo
are about what you'd expect. It should also be noted that the CGI
Turtles and Splinter mostly look pretty good as far as the FX go, except
for a few action moments where seeing them move more quickly sometimes
leads to them feeling a bit more cartoony.
While the Turtles get their due, and Splinter gets to kick a bit more
butt himself than in some iterations of TMNT, the human characters in
the film are just sort of there. Fox is fine as April, but the film is
incredibly heavy handed in how she is oh-so inspired by the kindly Eric
Sachs, who is – gasp! – actually hiding some dark secrets, and she is
saddled with some very silly exposition at points. The dependably funny
Will Arnett gets a few laughs as Vern Fenwick, April’s cameraman, a
character from the original animated series. Fichtner is, as always, a
cool and charismatic presence, but this is a by the numbers role he
could play in his sleep. Whoopi Goldberg also somewhat randomly pops up
in just a couple of scenes as April's skeptical boss, in a fairly
nothing role.
The easy highlight of the film is a prolonged action scene, glimpsed
in the trailers, involving the Turtles sliding downhill in the snow on
their shells, which also involves the Foot, a runaway truck and more.
This is an incredibly fast-paced, exciting and clever sequence that
stands out as one of the best action set pieces of any of the big summer
movies this year. Unfortunately, nothing else in Teenage Mutant Ninja
Turtles ever matches this portion, but it’s still worth noting that the
film, at least briefly, is able to deliver such thrills. And even as the
filmmakers decreased the importance of the ninja part of the title,
they do have fun with the turtle part, as those shells sure come in
handy several times, in various ways.
It’s
a shame that excitement doesn’t carry through the whole movie, and the
energy so often lags, especially given the movie’s storyline has some
notable flaws and the film often slows down in-between bigger action
scenes. Yes, this is a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles movie and no one is
expecting something intricate or detailed story-wise, but it’s hard not
to notice that the bad guys’ main plan has some
massive holes
in it. Without going into specifics, there is a crucial component to
what they’re doing that needs to be kept a secret for everything to work
as they want it to – but when we see how it’s being accomplished, it’s
actually directly pointing the finger at who is behind it all.
The Verdict
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
isn’t great, nor is it a disaster. There have been better stories made
about these characters, including the 1990 feature film, but there also
have been plenty of weaker ones. Despite the strange revamp of the
Turtles into huge, superpowered behemoths who seem ready to throw down
with Colossus or the Thing, the film does a nice job of capturing their
brotherly in-fighting, camaraderie and rapport. Much of the movie is
just sort of “there” though, except for that notably entertaining
snow-based action sequence – which stands out for also having fun taking
the Turtles out of their usual city terrain.
HERE IS THE DIRECT DOWNLOAD FOR THE MOVIE TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES.
