Marval Movie

TMNT was the long awaited reboot that the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles had been waiting for. It had been over a decade since the last movie and a new show was currently on the air. So out with the body suits in with the C.G.I.

The movie literally starts by hitting the ground running, with the Turtles running across New York skyline and Larence Fishbune narrating their origin (score!) and how they've beaten the Shredder. Then it cuts to three thousand years in the past where a warrior king had his brothers and sister and were set to concur the world but found an old power that only works when the stars aline which ends up both making him immortal, turning his family to stone and unleashing thirteen monsters into the world...wow. Then it cuts to present where we are in South America and some mercenaries are harassing a local village before they are put in their place by a mysterious figure.

If your not a fan of the Turtles and you go and see this movie it will be like being dropped into a boiling hot bath. It just gives you the baseline information about the Turtles and their back story then cuts to three thousand years ago, then to a jungle. I am a Turtles fan and I liked how it hit the ground running, but for someone that doesn't know a thing about them then they will be very confused and uncomfortable with this insane world that they've just been dropped into.

Well we then see that April O'neil (Sarah Michelle Gellar) is on the scene investigating when she learns that the mysterious figure is none other than Leonardo (James Arnold Taylor).

The we meet the other Turtles and what their up to now. Donatello (Mitchell Whitfeild) is working as a computer tech support, Michelangelo (Mikey Kelly) is a kids entertainer (apparently all it takes is a large foam mask and nobody can tell that the rest is real). And Raphael sleeps all day but all night has taken on the persona of Nightwatcher. Nolan North is one of the greatest voice actors working today and probably one of the best ever. So no surprise he makes a great Raphael. He sounds like he's from Brooklyn and just about perfectly captures that right tone for the tough, cynical Turtle. 

April calls Casey Jones (Chris Evans) to pick her and her new statue up to take to their client. They take the statue to their client Mr. Winters (Patrick Stewart). He is the warrior lord from the flashback and he also hires the help of the Foot clan to do his bidding.

The theme in this movie is family and that is a core concept to the Turtles they are indeed a family. But the duduk kasus is in the execution of that idea. Yes they say it and its a good idea but its not that well pulled off.

Klaus Badlet delivers a very handsome score that doesn't really ring true as the Turtles theme in my mind but is still a good and enjoyable movie score to listen to.

This movie has a lot of images working for it. But most of the time they really seem like just that, cool images for cool's sake and skip logic altogether.  And that does seem to be the working of directors Kevin Murone's intention, often on the commentary his explanation for a shot is "because its cool" and there's nothing wrong with that. Movies are a visual medium after all and as someone who has a weakness for good looking movies I can get on-board with that excuse.

The late great actor Mako plays Splinter. This was just about the last role that Mako ever completed before he died of throat cancer. He was a magnificent voice actor, able to inject charm, comedy and gentleness through his acting. He was a great talent that will be missed.

Still what I do like about this movie is what I liked about Superman Returns (even though this is quite better that Superman Returns). And that is that this is not a reboot with the same origin that we have to sit through, this is the next story. The threat has been beaten, the young couple is now in a relationship. Granted what the Turtles do doesn't really make sense but still its good to know that the next story can be told.

TMNT is a movie with quite a few rough edges to it. It has the same duduk kasus with all Turtles movies with not knowing when to shut up, the plot is too unfreindly to people that arent aware of the Turtles mythology. But still it was the next story and the visuals were a real treat.

Rating: 3 stars out of 4