TMNT (2007) Reviews

• Fitting Reinvention of the Franchise

  ChimpCadet2007-02-09

  i just saw a test screening of TMNT and, although i suspected it would be good, it surpassed my predictions. i should note that i am a pretty big fan of the old movies (1 and 2 anyway) and the old cartoon, and am a collector of TMNT comic art posters-- this may give you a perspective on where i'm coming from before you read my review. Without giving much away, here is what i liked(+)/disliked(-). +ANIMATION: the biggest thing the movie has going for it is the animation. it is miles ahead of any animated movie I've ever seen. the level of detail is unsurpassed and completely amazing. everything from backgrounds, characters, various surfaces and textures (including skin), lighting and different effects (including a pivotal sequence in the rain) absolutely blew me away. +DESIGN: along the same lines as the animation, the general look and design of everything was pretty cool. the turtles themselves look different and new, as well as splinter, casey and april. their designs fit in well with the overall look of NY city, which is dark, worn and very impressive. the skyline was very well done. I was also particularly impressed with the design of karai and the foot. +CHARACTERS & RELATIONSHIPS: especially between the turtles and splinter --and particularly raphael and leonardo-- the relationships are complex, as is traditionally the case for the franchise. in this film they are well drawn and developed and, in the end are fulfilling and cathartic. there are a few surprises to say the least, both within the turtle team and also without. casey also adds to his relationship with raph in this movie. +SCREENPLAY/STORYLINE: The screenplay is generally okay. the tone is about as perfect a balance you can hope for for a film trying to appeal to the Saturday morning crowd as well as the old school, 20-something fans. it returns to the darker, more emotional tone of the first live action film but doesn't fail to deliver on humor (although some of it is hit and miss-- probably the result of trying to appeal to the younger crowd). Dialogue is decent. the storyline is a bit more on the sci-fi side than most fans of the old movies will be used to, but it seems secondary to the development and relationships of the characters-- a good decision on the part of the filmmakers. the plot is still interesting and fast paced, and the villains are credible. +ACTION/FIGHT SEQUENCES: generally well done. for me, the centerpiece of the whole movie was a climactic, rooftop fight scene in the rain. other cool sequences include a skateboarding scene, and a huge fight against a bunch of foot ninjas. -HUMOR: not that it was particularly bad (although michaelangelo was borderline annoying sometimes), but for me, there wasn't enough. i usually associated the turtles with humor, even in their darker pieces like the first live action film. -SPLINTER'S VOICE: this may be sacrilege, but Mako's voice took some getting used to. I was used to the soft-spoken whisper of past splinters. this one is harsh and grumbly. this isn't to say its bad-- it just took some getting used to. -CHARACTER SCREEN TIME: michaelangelo and especially donatello were hardly in the movie. there could have been more development about their characters (traditionally leo and raph are the focus, though) although they do bond well as a part of the whole group. Same goes for April. She has usually been a pivotal character in any incarnation of the franchise, but she is minor here. Hopefully there will be future films where these three characters will be explored in more depth. -APRIL: not only does she have little screen time, but she isn't as "strong" a character as she usually has been, and her fighting skills were kind of out of the blue. besides this, her relationship with casey was kind of flat. hopefully it will be remedied in future films, if there are any. -CASEY JONES: what happened to the hard-edged casey we all knew? i get that he is supposed to be more "domestic" now, but i didn't even get a hint of the old, violence-crazy vigilante. -VIOLENCE: i hate for this to be another "there's not enough violence in TMNT" discussion, but although there is a lot of fighting, it seems they've really tried to keep the violence to a minimum, which is understandable considering their broad market (after all, it is PG). depending on if this film is successful, i would like to see them up the darkness and violence a bit more (PG-13 would be cool)-- although even if it is successful, it probably wont happen. wishful thinking i guess. You will enjoy this film if you are a true old school fan or a fan of the newer cartoon. If you never really liked the turtles, you probably wont like this either. Since this is supposedly based more on the original comics, even the comic fans should enjoy it. Although it is a bit on the dark side, the PG rating is fitting, and isn't too much more violent than the Saturday morning cartoon, id imagine. it is a good action film and a good family film-- adults and non-fans shouldn't be bored. To people who balk at the idea of it being animation ("its a cartoon!") or being PG, i'd say give it a chance-- you might actually like it. like most things, if you walk in hating it, you're gonna leave hating it. but as a longtime fan of the turtles in most incarnations, this film has my seal of approval. it was pretty good, and i expect to see more. OVERALL: 8/10

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• Good fun on the big screen

  tfay-42007-03-19

  Saw the preview of TMNT on the weekend and I have to say that the comments from ChimpCadet are spot on. I am one of the older generation of TMNT fans and I can happily say that I greatly enjoyed watching this film. Also the row of children sitting behind me did not make one noise from the start of the film to the end. Which I think is a good sign to universal appeal of this film. The plot ticks along at a good pace, some of the action sequence are outstanding in terms of action, animation and detail (as stated by ChimpCadet the fight in the rain is a highlight of this film). On the whole a great film that does well to start the franchise and spawn a sequel or two.

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• Turtles in the New Millennium

  Cheshyre2007-03-22

  TMNT does its job: CGIs are done very nicely, the visual overhaul of the Turtles' design comes near the original comic-look and for a kiddie flick (let's face it TMNTs target audience is well below 14) it is a shade darker, cooler and grown-up than any of the other animation films hitting the Box Office right now. I was not sure what to expect after some of the reviews I read before seeing TMNT, but have to admit I was pleasantly surprised. Snappy one-liners and some tongue-in-cheek comments younger viewers will not get did really make this a great CGI-movie. Especially the hyper-kinetic camera work and the rather unusual scene setups were really intriguing. Don't listen to the "It's-not-like-the-comics"-Fanboys and dive into the turtle world, you won't regret it.

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• A wonderful nostalgia

  crussell-stu2007-03-24

  I went into this feature not quite knowing what to expect. I grew up with the turtles and was a huge fan of the comic book, the cartoon series (the original, of course), and the movies (only the first two). Growing up with the first two movies, I was really hoping that this one would be live-action. I will have to say though, that I was not at all disappointed in this feature. At the beginning of the movie, I was slightly disappointed in who the rivals were. It seemed very far fetched, even for a Ninja Turtles movie. However, about half-way through the movie, I found myself forgetting about the not-quite-so-wonderful way the story line was set up. I'm not going to give away too much, but let's just say that the feud that has existed between Leo and Raph reaches an interesting point in this movie. Overall, I would have to say that any turtles fan should give this film a shot. Try to not go into it with expectations set by the first two movies. Just think of this as a stand-alone movie, even though it does roughly follow the story-line set by the first two. If nothing else, the CGA is wonderful and the voice acting isn't so bad either.

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• TMNT: A Pleasant Surprise

  J_Neff2007-03-24

  I just saw the new TMNT movie. It was the most fun I've had in a long time. TMNT was in a word, awesome, despite what you read from the critics -- and I'll briefly give my theory on why there were so many awful reviews. WHY THE CRITICS DIDN'T LIKE IT: The majority of the professional reviewers out there are disappointed that the movie is not in the spirit of the old silly cartoon. The movie is actually more in the spirit of the original, darker TMNT comics, but most reviewers are painfully ignorant of the other TMNT incarnations. Most refuse to go in with fresh eyes; they only compare the new movie to the old ones, which to me is a narrow-minded (incorrect) way of judging any film. Others assumed the movie was nothing but a cheap money-making shot, which I know to be false because I've seen/heard the direct talk about TMNT. This movie was made by a "hardcore" fan, for all fans of the ninja turtles. He didn't want money. He wanted to make a good TMNT movie. The majority of critics who don't spend their time whining that they didn't see the goofy Bebop and Rocksteady or thoughtlessly concluding that this was all about money criticized the absurdity and technical "shortcomings" of the movie. Now, when I say awful reviews, I don't just mean negative. I mean they didn't convince me one way or the other of their reasons for hating the film. It's almost like, no matter what, the review was at a loss of what to say and The reason is that in film analysis, the writer needs to rely a lot on clichés to get his or her point across -- this isn't "bad," it's just understandable. The point is for the reviewer to present his or her impression of the film in accessible terms. Unfortunately, TMNT makes itself difficult to define. As one of my friends who saw the film mentioned, it is almost impossible to pull out how the film fit together, because technically the director did many things "the wrong way." WHY MOST VIEWERS LOVED IT: But somehow, the wrong way ends up being the right way with this film. Much like the comics, TMNT's story progression is unorthodox, and technically wrong. But that's how it works. It's frustrating to analyze. No wonder there were so many negative reviews. The most honest review I've read, actually, states that TMNT is "Totally out of its freaking mind." I strongly disagree with the man's verdict that TMNT was therefore not an enjoyable film. In fact, part of what amused me most about the film, what most likely left the biggest smile on my face that lasted for hours was that I it surprised me in a very good way. I thought it would be okay at best. It was blown away at the end by how awesome it was as a whole. (I understand that not everyone thought it was super-dee-duper awesome, but the point is, you WILL be surprised.) The humor is, in my opinion, as enjoyable as in the first film, though not as prolific, and not as goofy overall. (for me personally, that makes the film easier to watch) Visually, the film holds fairly well. Certainly worth checking out if you're interested in animation. It doesn't give us anything new, technically... but it does show off what can be done with today's technology. The action is the best I've seen in any TMNT movie. Especially the duel between Leonardo and Raphael. This is one of the more powerful movie fights I've seen in recent years, not just in animated movies. WHY YOU SHOULD GO SEE IT: The director Kevin Munroe, a lifelong fan of the Ninja Turtles, had to work very hard to bring back the turtles in an honorable form. I'm truly impressed with what he managed to give us considering who and what he had to work with. The movie is strong, despite itself -- and I'm not just saying that out of cliché. It's true. It's also true that I didn't have a lot of faith that I'd like this movie so much. Despite being a part-time ninja turtle fan, I was extremely critical of the first-time director, the low budget, the time spent to make the film, the outlandish premise, the reviews, and even the online clips. But now I strongly want this movie to succeed, because when the credits started rolling, the first thing I could think of was how much I wanted to see the more of this. TMNT needs to gross at least 100 million dollars at the domestic box office to receive the green light for part two. Sadly, this movie, which didn't have much support to begin with, had little time to advertise itself to the general public. The reviews certainly are not helping. Do you want to have a great time at the movies? Do you want to swim in your nostalgia for the turtles, but at the same time want to see something new? Do you especially like being pleasantly surprised? Then go see TMNT in theaters. Cowabunga.

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