Post by CaptainSlayer on Aug 19, 2014 11:24:54 GMT -5
When it was first announced that Michael Bay would be helping helm (executive producer, not director) a new Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles reboot for 2014, fans were stricken with mixed emotions. Some were excited at the idea of their favorites characters coming back to the big screen while others were still in pain from their distaste of the Transformers' reboot.
These feelings became even stronger when it was announced that the turtles wouldn't be teenagers and that they would have an alien origin as opposed to being mutants. Apparently fan backlash hit home because the final version of the film stays extremely close to the original content including the age of the turtles and their origin.
The night I went to see the film, I had looked up review scores on Rotten Tomatoes and Metacritic while trying to decide between seeing the Turtles on their release night or giving Starlord my attention in Guardians of the Galaxy. Despite seeing low end reviews for Turtles (around 20%) and high reviews for Guardians (90%+) something kept nagging me to give Leonardo and the gang a chance. I'm very, very happy that I did.
The films running time is a comfortable 1 hr and 41 minutes and it takes less than ten of those to spot our first turtle.
It's hard to give the film proper praise without spoilers. What I can say is that Michelangelo is one of the funniest characters in recent film history and will have you laughing from beginning to end, Johnny Knoxville does an excellent job of voicing Leonardo and it isn't distracting, Raphael is a legend, Donatello isn't just talk, Splinter is a Yoda in rodent clothing and Megan Fox does an excellent job of portraying April O'Neal and isn't over sexualized as in the Transformers films.
As mentioned, the film is extremely loyal to the 1980's cartoon. There is skateboarding, there is pizza, there are jokes, there is pizza, there is crazy fighting, there is Japanese lore and did I mention there is pizza?
The film runs together very smoothly and makes sure to give each character the spotlight so no one walks out of the theater disappointed, and no, The Shredder isn't a robot.
It also manages to fit in the full origin of the turtles and master Splinter/Shredder flawlessly.
In the past two weeks, I've seen three amazing films. Guardians of the Galaxy, Dawn of the Planet of the Apes and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. If you have a chance to only see one before this summers over, I would recommend Turtles. It's a fun movie from beginning to end and it's sure to bring out the kid in you as well as your wallet as you head to Pizza Hut afterwards thanks to the damn subliminal messaging.
Thanks for reading!
[Here is a fun list of Easter Eggs in the Film that pay homage to the original comics, show and more. Warning: Mild Spoilers ahead.]
Rating
4.5/5
