Movie Muser

I was a childhood fan of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles – I had all the figurines, watched every cartoon episode and generally couldn’t get enough. With this in mind I approached the film with extreme caution – could it live up to the franchise? So far, Christopher Nolan’s Batman trilogy have been the only ‘superhero’ films that have really had me on the edge of my seat. I was certainly worried that TMNT would not live up to my expectations.

Unfortunately I must admit that it did fall a little short. In a similar vein to the various Hulk films, TMNT didn’t quite do the characters justice. The characters are too fantastical to really have a human feel and aren’t believable when they interact with the ‘real-life’ actors. However at the same time ask us to believe in them in the same way we treat the human characters – empathising with them and engaging in their development throughout the story.

The film plays it safe at every turn, with the setting, characters and story all generally a bit un-moving. It seems to be created for quite a young audience, and the film doesn’t have as much grit as I hoped. Megan Fox is also not exactly my kind of April O’Neil – she doesn’t even have red hair! Combined with the fact that this is a Michael Bay produced film, watching her in this action movie made me feel like I was watching Transformers – except without any Transformers or Shia LaBeouf.

The story itself is pretty straightforward. We are introduced to the turtles early on, in an opening sequence that tells of their current circumstances (living under the city in the sewers, and not ready to be seen by the world), without giving any visual clues away. For a large section of the beginning of the film we learn about April’s background. Fox plays this rather woodenly and I found little interest in her ‘I want to make it big as a news reporter’ story.

The less-than-ideal casting continues with Will Arnett as Vernon Fenwick, April’s reporter side-kick. Although great in other roles, I did not enjoy Arnett as this character. We eventually meet the Turtles and to be fair, they do look good. They’re meaner and more sophisticated than TMNT’s in films of decades past and are certainly convincing on film. Their ‘teenage-ness’ is quite evident and there are plenty of goofball jokes to be made.

As the film continues, we are introduced to villains including Shredder (Tohoru Msamune), and the Foot clan. In another disappointing turn, The Foot, instead of being a cult-like, faceless, intimidating ninja force, are more militant and bumbling; nothing extraordinary. In another classic Michael Bay-esque move, The Shredder is completely overdone with an Iron Man-style suit complete with shooting spikes and enough blades to make him look like a Swiss Army Knife. Ridiculous.

A rather typical plan to bring New York City to its knees ensues, including a plot twist that sees William Fitchner’s character Eric Sacks planning to become very rich by ‘saving’ the city he has helped cripple. The Turtles need to rise above their differences and work together as a team to save the day. Despite all the criticism’s, there are some fun action scenes. All the Turtle-esque moments you’d expect are there – from their love for Pizza, each characters unique traits (Raphael is cool but rude, Michelangelo is a party dude etc.), to some decent fight scenes and catch phrases (Cowabunga!). But all-in-all it doesn’t quite work.

Overall Verdict: There are a lot of elements that are not quite what I was hoping for, which mainly involves the characters not being a true reflection of the original characters. However, for whom this film is aimed at – a new generation of film goers (younger than 10yrs!) this will still provide a fun ride with some quirky moments to enjoy. They are firmly reflective of today’s youth culture in their behaviours, and for those with low expectations, they provide an entertaining film in the same ilk as other films in the Michael Bay fleet.

Reviewer: Kevin van der Ham

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