Starring: Megan Fox, William Fichtner, Will Arnett, Whoopi Goldberg, Abby Elliott, and Taran Killam.
With The Voices Of: Alan Ritchson, Noel Fisher, Johnny Knoxville, Jeremy Howard, and Tony Shaloub.
Featuring the Motion Capture Work Also Of: Danny Woodburn and Pete Ploszek
Directed By: Jonathan Liebesman
I’m a huge Ninja Turtle fan. Or at least, I was, when I was 6-10 years old. Somewhere starting around 8 or 9 the Turtles had to fight for attention with X-Men and GIJoe’s, but those three franchises were my life when I was a kid. I’m part of the generation that actually played with action figures, and played outside. Not everyone had videogame systems at home, and even when we played videogames, it was more a “rainy day” thing.
So, I was there on opening day for the newest Ninja Turtle reinvention, and I have to say it barely disappoints. I have some issues with it, but for the most part, it’s not a bad movie.
First, Megan Fox. I wrote a month or so ago defending Fox in the Transformers franchise, because I thought she worked there. She doesn’t work here. Her vacant stare, and cutesy approach to everything just doesn’t work for April. April is not a damsel in distress, and at times, you feel that Fox is. Even though her character is written with a can-do attitude, Fox is never believable as someone who can hold her own. The rest of the human cast is fine.
Second, and this is a TAD bit spoilery, but the writing got so lazy at one point that when April was tasked with finding “adrenaline”, the computer she first ran to had a large button that said “adrenaline” on it. Come on now. Even kids will think that’s stupid.
Third, Shredder is silly. They’ve super-charged and upgraded him so he’s almost a Transformer. Now he’s a sensai that wears a large metallic costume with blades coming out of his hands that would make Wolverine jealous. Oh, and he can shoot blades, and bring them back, because magnetism. I almost laughed when new Shredder was using a keyboard, because his fingers were obviously too large to do so… of course, so are Donatello’s.
And while this doesn’t factor into my grading, why is Leonardo the only person who was played by one actor, and voiced by another? What was the point of even casting the first guy? Did Johnny Knoxville refuse to do motion capture? Does the other guy have an annoying voice? Also, same with Danny Woodburn playing Splinter, but Tony Shaloub voicing him. Was that necessary? I think Woodburn would have made a cool Splinter, personally.
The effects are good, but what really makes the story great is that it hasn’t lost the heart of the turtles. Michaelangelo, particularly, is perfect. I love new Mikey. Raphael was written well. Donatello is a bit nerdier than usual, but it works. Leonardo is probably the most underdeveloped of the four, but that’s pretty typical.
The plot isn’t bad, and I’m glad they abandoned the alien backstory for the turtles. The opening segment, which plays out like a comic book, was absolutely stunning. I’d love to see a whole movie done like that. Also, the mountain/snow chase near the end is one of the best action sequences in a film this year. Michael Bay doesn’t disappoint when it comes to action, even if you feel like it’s a little too much at times.
It’s far from being a perfect film, but it’s just good enough to get me excited in the possibility of a sequel. Maybe they’ll even get rid of April… and bring back Casey Jones? Or they’ll go bold and be the first feature to introduce Krang?
Either way, if you’re an adult who used to love Ninja Turtles, or you’re a kid who is a fan of them today, this reboot doesn’t entirely disappoint. Just a little bit, but there’s still a lot to like here.
FINAL GRADE: B
