Something Awesome #33 - Movie Reviews - Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles is a franchise very near and dear to my heart. The old '87 cartoon is one of the first shows that I ever remember watching and re-watching as a kid, and my desire to own a version of each of the four turtles characters in action figure form is a big part of why I collect toys now. I have enjoyed all of the animated series of TMNT, though I like some better than others, and I enjoyed the movie titled TMNT from '07, and both of the live action movies from the '90's (what third movie?). When it was announced that my arch enemy, Michael Bay, would be responsible for bringing TMNT back to the silver screen, I was apprehensive, and when the movie finally came out this evening, I naturally went to see it and witness how completely it had failed so that I might laugh derisively. Too bad for me, though, I didn't hate this movie.

 

Now don't get me wrong, this movie was far, far from perfect. Megan Fox, while leaps and bounds better than she was in the Transformers movies, was only okay, and there were some severe weaknesses in terms of story and characterization. There is also the issue that, to understand the movie completely, you must have some knowledge of the franchise going in. The movie, though, was actually pretty enjoyable. The action was top notch, and easier to follow than it would have been had Bay directed the film, the portrayals of the turtles and their master were actually really good, and the turtles, Michelangelo in particular, were funny. The plot wasn't anything more convoluted than the plots of the cartoons and comics that this movie is based on, and there were even some moments that hit you right in the feels.

 

Right. In. The. Feels.

 

So what did I like about this movie, you may ask. Well, let's start with the things that I like about this movie that I think some fans won't, because I want to get clear right away that I am probably a lot more forgiving of this movie than most people would be in a few regards. First of all I did like the main villain, Eric Sacks, played by William Fichtner. He got a little crazy super villain-y by the end, monologue-ing and shooting at the things that the heroes are hiding behind instead of just walking around those things and shooting the heroes, but he was overall pretty charismatic and enjoyable. He also had a good reason for working with the Shredder. I also didn't mind the designs of the Shredder or the turtles themselves. Shredder was effectively a ninja in a powered suite, rather than a ninja wearing armor as he is usually portrayed, and the turtles are much larger in this movie than they usually are. This is well explained, however, as being because they need to be able to keep up with modern threats. The Shredder has enhanced himself to keep up with the changing face of warfare, and the turtles needed to be larger, stronger, and more resilient in order to fight off armies of guys with automatic weapons. Because of their greater size, their shells are thicker, able to protect them from limited weapons fire, and be used to damage enemy vehicles.

 

Finally, I didn't mind the April's POV scenes at the beginning, when she's just catching wind of the turtles and their antics, as it served to create a pretty mysterious atmosphere (seriously, some people are complaining about this). April O'Neil is as important a character to the story of the turtles as the turtles themselves, and giving her a lot to do in the movie was certainly a good idea. I wish she's been played by someone a little better than Fox, but as I said before, she did a lot better than I expected in the role, and I certainly don't disapprove of her efforts to improve her craft. If no one ever gives her anything important to do in her roles, she will never learn and get better.

 

From there (because I can't think of a segue), let's move right into the things that I really, genuinely liked about the movie that I think that others will too. First of all the turtles were, as I said earlier, a lot of fun. Michelangelo and Raphael in particular were very well handled, but all of them got some really cool lines, and a lot of stuff to do. I also like the few Easter eggs scattered throughout, possibly setting up for developments in later movies, such as a nod to the super-corporation TCRI, and the possible hint at a mutated Super Shredder appearing in the sequel. I liked the battle scene about mid way through when Shredder and Splinter fight, and it is clear that Shredder's technique is inferior, and that he only wins thanks to his enhanced armor giving him an advantage. I really liked Splinter, voiced by Tony Shalhoub of Monk fame. He did a great job walking the fine line between the wise mentor, the stern teacher, and the loving father to the titular heroes, and despite some weirdness present in his design, I place him with Raphael and Michelangelo firmly in the win column. The final battle at the climax was fun, if a bit derivative, and at the end of the movie's climax, Raphael gets to give this big, tear jerking speech to his brothers, and it was genuinely moving.

 

Right in the feels, guys, seriously.

 

Which brings me to the section where I have to talk about what I genuinely feel didn't work in this movie. While I liked Sacks as a villain, his role as the face of villainy of the story detracted from the role of the Shredder, and so, by the end, Shredder, the franchise villain, felt underdeveloped. Yes there needed to be a scientist character in this movie for the plot to work, but there is already a great super-scientist villain character in TMNT (fans of the show know who I'm talking about) who could have worked in this role, with Shredder taking over the role of the main villain with all of the cool lines. Maybe Sacks could have still been there as Shredder's publicity guy or something. I also took some issues with Splinter's back story in this movie. There are a couple of versions of Splinter's history, and I won't get into which I prefer here today, but his history in this movie wasn't quite like any of them. Usually Splinter has a pretty deep and colorful history with Shredder, and it enriches their conflicts and dialogues and gives them weight. Here, in this film, Splinter and Shredder have never actually met before, and while their one clash in the film was still thrilling, it didn't have the impact that it could have.

 

Finally, the turtles, in this movie, have more of a history with April than they usually do (to say any more would constitute major spoilers), and while it made her feel like a real part of their family, it just felt like too much. I don't have any particular issue with it. It's a major revision to the history of April and the turtles, but TMNT is a story synonymous with revision, with each iteration being radically different than the one before it. Still, however, it just felt a little over the top.

 

Still, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles was, like the last Michael Bay movie that I reviewed, surprising in how not awful it really was. I give Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles the same rating as that movie, a solid, above average 6.5 out of 10. Realize, however, that the above average rating for Transformers: Age of Extinction was in part because it showed vast improvement compared to what had come before and therefor showed vast potential going forward, awarding it extra points. TMNT has no previous installments to draw from or be compared to, so the above average rating is based only on this movie's merits, meaning that this film is the superior movie overall (normally I wouldn't compare two unrelated movies in this way, but as they are both Bay movies, I thought I'd just get that out there). On that note, I recommend that any fan of the franchise go and give this movie a chance. I think that as long as you don't go in determined to hate the movie, you will have a good time. Either way, let me know what you think of the film, my review, or anything else really in the comments below, and come back later for another Something Awesome.