Despite the rough word of mouth and even rougher reviews, I saw the newest Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles last night. One of my favorite cartoons as a kid, I watched it constantly in the late 80’s, and enjoyed the first film (and even its 2 sequels! hey I was young..) in the early 90’s. There were elements in the newest movie that brought back a twinge or two of nostalgia, especially Michelangelo’s quips spattered throughout, but as everyone has been saying, the film doesn’t do the franchise justice.
I’m sure young kids will love this movie, but for adults it’s pretty lackluster. The plot is thin at best, and the development nearly nonexistant. Megan Fox cast as April O’Neil is laughable, and the great Shredder is little more than a trumped up henchman in a bionic suite. Splinter has no history in Japan, instead self-teaching his amazing ninja skills from a book that fell in the sewer. I don’t mind when a reboot changes elements here and there, but they are messing with my childhood here! Even the mighty Foot Clan seems like nothing more than gang of thugs recently sprung up to terrorize Manhattan.
There are high flying action scenes, but not much else to recommend. You don’t feel the bond between the turtles that you do in the original films, you don’t feel the intense global evil of the Foot Clan and its far-reaching power, you don’t feel the sense of righting wrongs and saving people from the band of 4. All I felt was the passing of 101 minutes.
Jons Movie Takes 