I managed to catch a matinee screening of the new Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles movie this afternoon. A good crowd in the theater, with a mixture of adults and kids, everyone seeming like they were there to have a good time. The only odd thing was that I wound up seated next to an old woman in a wheelchair and her female caregiver. Occasionally, the woman would say something audibly, but would she said was indecipherable; I honestly don't know if she was speaking in a foreign language or if her speech was garbled. Whatever the case, neither of them seemed like the audience for this movie and they wound up leaving early.
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Honesty time. I've started writing tonight's post before I've really gathered my thoughts on the movie. With the combination of a looming deadline for tonight and wanting to give an honest assessment of Ninja Turtles, I'm finding it a little difficult getting started. Give me a minute.
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Okay. I'm ready.
Most people have a general idea of the Ninja Turtles' story: four teenage mutant turtles are trained by their mutant rat master in the art of ninjutsu and are named after four Italian Renaissance artists. The movie keeps to this general origin while tweaking it to fit a general theme of "destiny", or rather, that the characters bring each other together through some heretofore unknown connection. Some have complained about this, saying that it is too convenient for the plot. I'll admit that it's extremely convenient, but not in any way that detracts from the movie personally
Another point of contention for some is how the Turtles have been physically rendered, with many expressing a preference for the old puppet suits used in the previous movies, plus the rather rougher look they've been given. I appreciated the willingness to push the Turtles in a more realistic, textured direction. The use of CGI also allowed the filmmakers freedom of movement to expand the Turtles' repertoire of fighting moves that the old-style suits could not do.
The movie is rather all over the place in terms of character. The four Turtles' personalities are spot on. Leonardo is the leader of the group, Donatello is the resident genius, Michelangelo is fun-loving, and Raphael is brooding and ready for a fight. Master Splinter is somewhat tougher than in previous iterations, both in his training of the Turtles and his ability to handle himself in a fight. Indeed, this is the first time Splinter is depicted actually fighting in any of the live-action films. The same cannot be said for the villains, billionaire Eric Sachs (William Fichtner) and the Shredder, who is supposed to Sachs' mentor, but functions more like his hired muscle. Throw in a variation on the "take over the city/rich villain trying to get richer" villain plot, and it pretty much covers the film's single biggest problem: the villains and their plot are nothing new, so they just function as set pieces for the Turtles to come in and fight.
Megan Fox, who is admittedly not a very good actress, offers up a decent performance as the Turtles' human friend, news reporter April O'Neil. She actually carries much of the movie and functions as the audience's entry into the world of the film. As a reporter who was likely hired for looking good on camera over anything else, April tries to break the story of the Foot Clan's reign of terror over New York City, and Fox believably conveys the frustration of trying to be taken seriously while chasing down an increasingly incredulous story about vigilante turtles. Will Arnetr, who plays April's cameraman Verne, gets some stuff to do during the two largest action pieces of the film, but beyond that, seemseant to function as comic relief that the film doesn't really need. This is not to say that the movie is ha-ha funny, but most of the film's humor is mines from the Turtles and their personalities.
So now the big question: would I recommend this movie? Yes, if you're a fan of the Ninja Turtles and want to see something late as the summer starts drawing to a close. If you're not a fan, this movie is not lately to change your mind or make you any sort of Turtle concert. If you're a fan of spectacle and aren't expecting too much, check it out. If you want something meatier, this is not the movie for you.
Another point of contention for some is how the Turtles have been physically rendered, with many expressing a preference for the old puppet suits used in the previous movies, plus the rather rougher look they've been given. I appreciated the willingness to push the Turtles in a more realistic, textured direction. The use of CGI also allowed the filmmakers freedom of movement to expand the Turtles' repertoire of fighting moves that the old-style suits could not do.
The movie is rather all over the place in terms of character. The four Turtles' personalities are spot on. Leonardo is the leader of the group, Donatello is the resident genius, Michelangelo is fun-loving, and Raphael is brooding and ready for a fight. Master Splinter is somewhat tougher than in previous iterations, both in his training of the Turtles and his ability to handle himself in a fight. Indeed, this is the first time Splinter is depicted actually fighting in any of the live-action films. The same cannot be said for the villains, billionaire Eric Sachs (William Fichtner) and the Shredder, who is supposed to Sachs' mentor, but functions more like his hired muscle. Throw in a variation on the "take over the city/rich villain trying to get richer" villain plot, and it pretty much covers the film's single biggest problem: the villains and their plot are nothing new, so they just function as set pieces for the Turtles to come in and fight.
Megan Fox, who is admittedly not a very good actress, offers up a decent performance as the Turtles' human friend, news reporter April O'Neil. She actually carries much of the movie and functions as the audience's entry into the world of the film. As a reporter who was likely hired for looking good on camera over anything else, April tries to break the story of the Foot Clan's reign of terror over New York City, and Fox believably conveys the frustration of trying to be taken seriously while chasing down an increasingly incredulous story about vigilante turtles. Will Arnetr, who plays April's cameraman Verne, gets some stuff to do during the two largest action pieces of the film, but beyond that, seemseant to function as comic relief that the film doesn't really need. This is not to say that the movie is ha-ha funny, but most of the film's humor is mines from the Turtles and their personalities.
So now the big question: would I recommend this movie? Yes, if you're a fan of the Ninja Turtles and want to see something late as the summer starts drawing to a close. If you're not a fan, this movie is not lately to change your mind or make you any sort of Turtle concert. If you're a fan of spectacle and aren't expecting too much, check it out. If you want something meatier, this is not the movie for you.
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