TMNT
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Movie Reviews of TMNT
Movie Review: Children's Films
Summary: 5 Stars
An awesome buy for fans of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and the kid in all of us.Movie Review: TMNT Is AWESOME!!!
Summary: 5 Stars
My son loves this movie. He was so excited to get it. We watch it all the time.Movie Review: TMNT is dynamite!
Summary: 5 Stars
My boys, ages 4 and 6, love this DVD! Great action and it looks great.Movie Review: TMNT Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Movie Review
Summary: 4 Stars
Over a decade since their last outing, everyone's favorite sewer-dwelling, pizza-eating mutant reptiles are back and in top shape - this time as sleek, computer generated personas. TMNT's skateboarding reptiles named after art masters, talking master rat, and Michaelangelo's incessant bad jokes will drive home the nostalgia for any fan of the crime-fighting foursome. The nonstop action, wildly inventive character designs, and impressive computer animation will undoubtedly entertain everyone else.
Taking place after the events of the original films, the brotherhood of ninja turtles is thrown into disarray when Leonardo departs for South America to hone his leadership skills at the behest of their sensei, Splinter. Michaelangelo and Donatello attempt to acquire slightly more "normal" jobs during Leo's absence, while Raphael, pining for the days of fighting crime, turns to the vigilante justice of his armored alter ego, the Nightwatcher. Upon Leo's return he is met with animosity by Raphael, and Splinter orders the group not to resume their crime fighting duties until they can once again work as a team. But when the mysterious industrialist, Max Winters (voiced by the instantly discernable Patrick Stewart) hires Karai and her Foot Clan to aid in the acquisition of 12 extremely dangerous ancient beasts, Leonardo is captured by the stone generals of a 3,000 year old army attempting to open a portal to another dimension in order to unleash a demon force capable of destroying the earth (did you honestly expect a more conventional plot from a story concerning talking mutant turtles trained in the ways of a ninja?). Now the remaining turtles, along with the help of their friends Casey Jones and April O'Neil, must band together to defeat the dark forces that threaten civilization.
It's quite an undertaking to revitalize the cult phenomenon of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, especially after a 14-year film hiatus, but the artists at Imagi Studios have done the adventurous reptiles justice. Highly detailed textures adorn the four heroes' streamlined models and the added attention to their shells and weaponry elevates the overall result. Outlandish antagonist designs stand out against the rather expected look of the human characters, especially several of the twelve ancient monsters and the four stone generals, whose appearances range from inspired to near-genius. Add to that the ridiculously detailed backgrounds and locations that inhabit the turtles' New York cityscape and you've got an animated visual feast rarely equaled. Perhaps the only disappointing character design was that of the curious Max Winters, who looked suspiciously like a rejected cast member from The Incredibles.
An impressively diverse voice cast lends their talent in creating the turtles' world with Mitchell Whitfield, James Arnold Taylor, Mikey Kelley, and Nolan North as the teenage heroes while Sarah Michelle Gellar and Chris Evans portray April and Casey. Patrick Stewart is antagonist Max Winters, while everyone from Laurence Fishburne to Zhang Ziyi to Kevin Smith supplies their voices to secondary roles. The late Mako provides Master Splinter with a slightly raspier tone than any of his previous incarnations, which may be harder to accept for die-hard fans, but still adequately fits the wise sensei figure.
While it may appear as if the action never lets up (and it seldom does) an underlying theme of honor, respect, and camaraderie does exist. But enough about that. The action is where TMNT shines and it's properly attended to as the majority of fans would expect from the ninja turtle universe. Top-notch animation brings the ninjas to life in a way live-action never could, with exaggeratedly agile martial arts moves and over-the-top combat. Fantastic fight sequences abound with colossal battles interspersing intense duels, and the radical camera movements and extreme angles highlight every slice of a sword and swing of a sai. A driving rock soundtrack hurries the action along and tight pacing helps keep the truly bizarre bits of the story from drifting too far astray. Incredible particle effects also enhance each fight sequence, most notably in an extraordinary rooftop duel in the rain where one can't help but think "Cowabunga, dude."
Though only a handful of gags will likely induce full-out laughing in adults, the immature quips that dot the screenplay keep the proceedings consistently lighthearted and guarantee fun for audiences of any age. With more than its fair share of spectacular action and adventure, combined with gorgeous visuals and the deft attention to the fundamentals of mutant ninja turtle doctrine, TMNT superbly carries on the legacy of the heroic crime-fighting brotherhood with style and wit to spare.
- Joel Massie
Movie Review: Superb animation triumphs over inferior storytelling
Summary: 4 Stars
The trailer looked good, so I went to the theater with high hopes for TMNT (Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles). After having seen the film, well, color me contented. This is the fourth feature film about our fun loving, pizza-scarfing ninja turtles and the second most enjoyable one (in my eyes, nothing can really upstage the awesome first flick, released in 1990). Unlike the first three movies - which were all live-action, with some puppetry thrown in - TMNT is full on, across-the-board CG - and dazzling CG, at that. I've never seen the turtles so dramatically depicted (check out the rooftop scene of Leonardo and Raphael in the rain - just amazing!!).
Sadly, the blah storyline doesn't do justice to the spectacular animation. In its cliche-ridden effort, it not only borrows an old fantasy plot device (of the planets being aligned and, thus, causing mystical forces to come into play), it dips some more into that recurring rivalry between the sensible leader Leonardo and the impulsive and often angry Raphael. We even see a half-hearted attempt at a romance between April and Casey (they're now living together). I don't know how much actual sweat and thought went into the crafting of the story, but the finished product comes off as having that by-the-numbers feel.
The plot involves a warrior king who, 3000 years ago, sought to gain even more power by opening up a portal to another dimension. The energy from the portal granted the warrior immortality but at the expense of turning his soldiers into stone. At the same time, 13 monsters were released onto our world.
Cut to the present, in New York City, where our turtles are going thru a crisis. It seems that Master Splinter had sent Leonardo away to Central America for leadership training a while ago, and Leo's not back yet. With their leader's absence, the three remaining turtles have drawn apart, with each brother branching off and doing his own thing. Mikey has ventured into the business of entertaining at children's parties in his guise as Cowabunga Carl (as Carl, he dons a huge turtle mask over his real turtle noggin!). Donatello has started his own at-home tech support endeavor. And Raphael sleeps all day.
But things change when fearsome monsters and stone warriors begin appearing in NYC. The Foot clan, as well, begins to make noise, now under the leadership of the sexy Karai. And with frequent sightings of an enigmatic nighttime vigilante known as the Nightwatcher, you just know Leo picked a good time to come back to the sewers. Mikey and Donatello welcome him back with open arms. Raphael? Well, he has issues...
When Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird debuted their first issue of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles way back in 1984, they obviously had no idea that their creation would become such a world wide juggernaut. I'm a fan of their work. I'm talking about the issues they themselves actually wrote and drew. The stuff after that, when they got so busy with the managing of their TMNT empire that they hired other artists to put out the issues, well, I can take those or leave 'em. This picture takes the turtles back to their roots in terms of grit and seriousness. In its sensibilities and its darker mood, TMNT hearkens back to classic Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird. Not much of that Saturday morning cartoon vibe in this one, although Mike does let loose with an occasional "Cowabunga!" The humor's still here, mind you (and mostly provided by Mikey); it's just not as prevalent.
The voices are well cast, with Patrick Stewart (Prof. X, Capt. Picard) lending his distinctive pipes to Max Winters, the mysterious entrepreneur with an agenda. Chris Evans (Casey), Sarah Michelle Gellar (April), and Ziyi Zhang (Karai) provide good support. The key casting, however, lies in the actors who voice the turtles. Fortunately, though I've never heard of any of these guys, they come near perfect in how Leo, Mikey, Donatello, and especially Raphael should sound.
Despite the inferior storytelling, this gets 4 stars from me, on the strength of how great the film looks. The exhilarating computer graphics allow our shelled superheroes to vibrantly come to life. Whether it's depicting Mikey gleefully skateboarding down the sewer tunnels, Raphael's headlong plunge down several stories as he parallels a monster's fall, or the frenetic and well-executed fight scenes, the animation is a blissful treat. And the good news is, going by Foot leader Karai's parting words, there's more TMNT movies in the horizon.