1godzillafan
03-24-2007, 01:15 AM
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v649/1godzillafan/tmntreview.jpg
The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles were quite possibly my first obsession, and the first heroes I'd ever worshiped. Every new Turtles toy that was released had to be mine. I had to be in front of that television set every single saturday morning. Why was I so obsessed with the green machine? Well, let's break it down: They're teenagers, they're mutants, they're ninjas, they're turtles. Which one of those is not appealing?
I remember being a 5 year old begging his parents to take him to see the movie back in 1990. Walking into the the theater with a glee and a sparkle in my eye. Today, as I walked into the theater to see TMNT, the fourth Turtles film to date, I felt exactly the same way.
I don't believe you ever lose a fondness for the heroes of your youth. I even hold a soft spot for the Power Rangers, even though I'd probably never look back at a rerun of them ever again. The Turtles are a little more timeless to me, however, since their characters still retain an everlasting appeal into my adulthood. Each one has their own unique personality to form an interesting quartet of heroes that seems timeless.
With all of this in mind, it's very possible that I might not have hated TMNT no matter how poorly it turned out (unless it was really bad. You're talking to someone who will defend Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles III). TMNT is a faulted movie, make no mistake about that, but to call it bad is probably a stretch.
It was said before release that TMNT would act to the film continuity the same way Superman Returns did last year, by ignoring the sequels the creators hold to a lower regard in order to maintain a stronger continuity. In the final film, there is really nothing that erases anything in the past films. They don't even try to deny Vanilla Ice's existance in the franchise. It would very well be possible to watch all four films in the same continuity (although, I do grant that III would seem like a hiccup, seeing how it's a seperate story with little relevance to anything). On questionable thing about this relaunch of continuity, however, lies in the treatment of April O'Niell. Is this really supposed to be the Judith Hoag/Paige Turco April from the previous films? In Secret of the Ooze, April could barely use a nunchuck, now she's swinging a sword around like a ninja master. But then again, it's hard to believe living a life with the Turtles and not picking up a few tricks, although this is a bit much.
The main plot of the film is disjointed. It seems as if it was haphazardly thrown together into making the film a visual treat, at the risk of lack of coherancy. It starts out decent enough, with a Mummy-esque opening sequence explaining why events that happened 3000 years ago are going to be relevant today. After that, the story just kind of wings it. The monsters unleashed 3000 years ago are being gathered up by the man who unleashed them. What he wants them for is the main focus of the story, however more important questions sprang to mind. Why are these monsters in New York? How did these monsters get to New York? Were they always running loose in New York? Unnoticed? For 3000 freakin' years? Riiiiiiiiiight.
The story of the film that does work is the bond of the Turtles, as we watch them unite into a team. The personal journeys of each of the Turtles in this film is definatly it's strong point. When they collide into the villian's side of things, it gets to be hit and miss. I'd like to take note of a scene in which the Turtles first encounter one of the monsters, and the Foot Clan rounding it up. There is nothing as small as a double take coming from from any of them, just a modest commentary on it. I'll admit that seeing a monster in a world with humanoid turtles might not be so shocking, but I would still thing that coming across a giant hairy beast kicking ass King Kong style would generate a reaction besides "let's fight it."
I liked the voice acting in this movie. The Turtles themselves were really well casted, and I loved both Chris Evans and Patrick Stewart in their own roles. Sarah Michelle Gellar is passable as April, though she never makes herself heard in between the big boys that steal the show. The late Mako's voice of Splinter is going to be cause of great debate as to whether it's suitable or not for the character. Mako's thick asian accent is offputting at first, but since Splinter is a rat of Japanese decent, as the movie went on, I warmed up to the idea. I was surprised at how humorous the character was though. I took more issue with that to be honest.
"I made a funny! HAHAHAHAHAHA!"
Some well done battle scenes and great animation conclude the highlights. Although, the animation is good, I just didn't get the same feeling I got when watching Jim Henson's puppet creations back in 1990 (or now for that matter). While CG animation has been multipal places before, back then, the creation of the live action Turtles was quite a remarkable achievment that this really doesn't live up to.
TMNT is almost successful at what it wants to do. It just needed a stronger story to back it up. It's not better than the live action trilogy, in fact, I'd say it's probably a little bit worse, though it's watchable fun. Should a sequel surface someday, as long as the characterization remains strong, there's nowhere to go but up.
*** out of ****
The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles were quite possibly my first obsession, and the first heroes I'd ever worshiped. Every new Turtles toy that was released had to be mine. I had to be in front of that television set every single saturday morning. Why was I so obsessed with the green machine? Well, let's break it down: They're teenagers, they're mutants, they're ninjas, they're turtles. Which one of those is not appealing?
I remember being a 5 year old begging his parents to take him to see the movie back in 1990. Walking into the the theater with a glee and a sparkle in my eye. Today, as I walked into the theater to see TMNT, the fourth Turtles film to date, I felt exactly the same way.
I don't believe you ever lose a fondness for the heroes of your youth. I even hold a soft spot for the Power Rangers, even though I'd probably never look back at a rerun of them ever again. The Turtles are a little more timeless to me, however, since their characters still retain an everlasting appeal into my adulthood. Each one has their own unique personality to form an interesting quartet of heroes that seems timeless.
With all of this in mind, it's very possible that I might not have hated TMNT no matter how poorly it turned out (unless it was really bad. You're talking to someone who will defend Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles III). TMNT is a faulted movie, make no mistake about that, but to call it bad is probably a stretch.
It was said before release that TMNT would act to the film continuity the same way Superman Returns did last year, by ignoring the sequels the creators hold to a lower regard in order to maintain a stronger continuity. In the final film, there is really nothing that erases anything in the past films. They don't even try to deny Vanilla Ice's existance in the franchise. It would very well be possible to watch all four films in the same continuity (although, I do grant that III would seem like a hiccup, seeing how it's a seperate story with little relevance to anything). On questionable thing about this relaunch of continuity, however, lies in the treatment of April O'Niell. Is this really supposed to be the Judith Hoag/Paige Turco April from the previous films? In Secret of the Ooze, April could barely use a nunchuck, now she's swinging a sword around like a ninja master. But then again, it's hard to believe living a life with the Turtles and not picking up a few tricks, although this is a bit much.
The main plot of the film is disjointed. It seems as if it was haphazardly thrown together into making the film a visual treat, at the risk of lack of coherancy. It starts out decent enough, with a Mummy-esque opening sequence explaining why events that happened 3000 years ago are going to be relevant today. After that, the story just kind of wings it. The monsters unleashed 3000 years ago are being gathered up by the man who unleashed them. What he wants them for is the main focus of the story, however more important questions sprang to mind. Why are these monsters in New York? How did these monsters get to New York? Were they always running loose in New York? Unnoticed? For 3000 freakin' years? Riiiiiiiiiight.
The story of the film that does work is the bond of the Turtles, as we watch them unite into a team. The personal journeys of each of the Turtles in this film is definatly it's strong point. When they collide into the villian's side of things, it gets to be hit and miss. I'd like to take note of a scene in which the Turtles first encounter one of the monsters, and the Foot Clan rounding it up. There is nothing as small as a double take coming from from any of them, just a modest commentary on it. I'll admit that seeing a monster in a world with humanoid turtles might not be so shocking, but I would still thing that coming across a giant hairy beast kicking ass King Kong style would generate a reaction besides "let's fight it."
I liked the voice acting in this movie. The Turtles themselves were really well casted, and I loved both Chris Evans and Patrick Stewart in their own roles. Sarah Michelle Gellar is passable as April, though she never makes herself heard in between the big boys that steal the show. The late Mako's voice of Splinter is going to be cause of great debate as to whether it's suitable or not for the character. Mako's thick asian accent is offputting at first, but since Splinter is a rat of Japanese decent, as the movie went on, I warmed up to the idea. I was surprised at how humorous the character was though. I took more issue with that to be honest.
"I made a funny! HAHAHAHAHAHA!"
Some well done battle scenes and great animation conclude the highlights. Although, the animation is good, I just didn't get the same feeling I got when watching Jim Henson's puppet creations back in 1990 (or now for that matter). While CG animation has been multipal places before, back then, the creation of the live action Turtles was quite a remarkable achievment that this really doesn't live up to.
TMNT is almost successful at what it wants to do. It just needed a stronger story to back it up. It's not better than the live action trilogy, in fact, I'd say it's probably a little bit worse, though it's watchable fun. Should a sequel surface someday, as long as the characterization remains strong, there's nowhere to go but up.
*** out of ****