TMNTI'm not above admitting that, as a child, I used to watch this cartoon series religiously. I never read comics, however, so I wasn't aware that the cartoon bared little in resemblance to the darker, more serious comic book series on which it was based. But regardless of the lighter tone, I loved the cartoon for it's intriguing mythology, interesting characters, and great animation. The first film was more in line with the spirit of the comic books. And I didn't really have a problem with that because, when taking into account that it was aimed solely for children, it was a surprisingly confident adaptation. So when I heard they were making a fully CG update, my interest was peaked.
Still, I read some fairly poor reviews, and so I went to see it with a childhood friend, in hopes that our combined nostalgia could somehow elevate the experience. Thankfully that wasn't necessary, because TMNT was mildly entertaining. At the very least, it never condescends to it's aging fan-base, nor does it alienate the newer generation of children who've never heard of a turtle in a half-shell. (turtle power!). Unfortunately, for a story about four brothers, the film focuses primarily on two of them, Raphael and Leonardo. Mikey and Donatello are pretty much relegated to obscurity, as are April O' Neil and Splinter, for that matter.
The story, having something to do with an Immortal who's dying to make amends for past retributions, 13 beasts from other dimensions who just HAPPEN to all be in Manhattan at the exact same time they're needed to be there, and stone soldiers who have a chip on their shoulders, is fairly unininteresting, almost to the point of frivolity. The film simply doesn't have strong villains. An unknown period of time has passed since the fall of the Shredder and his cronies, and consequently the brothers..along with the script itself, seem to lack focus. Don repairs computers, Mikey dresses up for Birthday celebrations in an unfashionable outfit of a Ninja Turtle, Raph disguises himself as the Nightwatcher, enforcing a form of vigilante justice on criminals after-hours, and Leo spends a year in Central America training to become a better leader. Meanwhile, Splinter undergoes a radical voice transplant . .sounding uncannily reminiscent of Mako, who played the wise old chef/trainer in the film Sidekicks, and April O' Neil does her best Buffy impersonation by taking up karate lessons and, well, having the voice of Sarah Michelle Gellar. Then there's Casey Jones who seems to be have been rather emasculated since the original motion picture, a dire side-effect of serious relationships, I'm told. These criminal alterations in an established universe will gnaw at Turtle fans upon first viewing. Still, that shouldn't deter you from enjoying yourself with what works here; the gratifying family dynamic and the intense, expertly rendered battle scenes.
Obviously a movie like this is meant to be fun, and in that regard it generally succeeds. The computer graphics shine throughout, especially when it matters. For instance, the battle between Raph and Leo on the roof-tops at night while it's raining is simply stunning, a veritable feast of eye-candy for the arcade-playing adolescent in all of us. TMNT is a harmless, visually interesting, and somewhat forgettable kids film that will hopefully pave the way for a sequel that's truer to the dense mythology of either the comic book or the 1980's animated series.
Rating: B-
I've played the theme song to the cartoon series because there really wasn't any memorable music from the new film in my opinion.