Shell-Shocked!!!! Ninja Turtles Reboot is Surprise Jewel of
the Summer Movie Season!!!!
By: Brandon Porter
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| Mutants, Turtles, Teenagers, Ninjas, Brothers. |
Story
In the
city of New York, Crime and corruption run rampant. The city finds itself in
the Iron grip of the mysterious foot clan who have the city under lockdown and
also keeps the police in check as well. But hope come from an unlikely place.
Deep from within the sewers, 4 young mutant warriors rise up and stand ready to
defend New York at its darkest hour. With the powerful samurai overlord
Shredder ready to plunge the city into chaos, the warriors known as Leonardo,
Michelangelo, Raphael, and Donatello emerge from the shadows to save the city
and be the heroes they were destined to be.
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| April visits Master Splinter and the Turtles in their lair. |
Analysis
Upon news that the popular sci fi mutant ninja turtles
franchise was to be rebooted, fans were both skeptical and curious to see how
Hollywood would bring the turtles back to the big screen. That curiousness was
met with fan outrage when it was announced that Michael Bay was to be involved
in the reboot. After controversial storylines grabbed everyone’s attention
including the casting of Megan Fox to the rumored aliens from outer space
premise, it was clear that the rebooted franchise was on the wrong side of the
anticipation line. Once released, the lack of a warm reception carried over
into the opinions of critics and fans. Critics hammered the film with a horrid
19% rotten rating on Rotten Tomatoes despite a passable 64% fresh rating from
critics. Despite being bashed by critics and fans, the film still grabbed top
box office honors with a 65 million dollar total. Overall, the turtles may be
back, but their welcome is far from warm.
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| The turtles take on Shredder |
Review
Initially,
I had no interest in watching the rebooted Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. But
after a while, the film started to grow on me so I decided to give it a shot.
In the end, I’m glad I did. The film is surprisingly good. It has a different vibe and look to it, but still harbors the light hearted fun that makes
the turtles so lovable. In terms of the turtles themselves, they are the best
thing about the film. All the turtles may look menacing and kind of scary, but
once you get past the looks which I did pretty quickly, you realize these are
accurate depictions of the pizza loving ninja heroes you know and love. Leo is
grounded and loyal, Raph is hot headed and tough, Donnie is tech savvy and
nerdy, and Mickey is..well…Mickey and in the best way possible. Pete Ploszek
(with Johnny Knoxville providing the voice), Alan Ritchson, Noel Fisher, and
Jeremy Howard do a great job in capturing these characters and bringing them to
life. However I must say, Mickey is by far the film’s biggest bright spots. His
outrageous gags and antics had me laughing out loud on several occasions. He is
clearly the films scene stealer. Megan Fox is also surprisingly strong as April
O’Neal. She caputures her spirit and fieriness quite well and I am very pleased
with her performance even if others aren’t. The action in the movie is fast,
fun, and fluid with memorable sequences like a great snow mountain chase scene
and hard hitting martial arts action that young fans are sure to be practicing
in their bedrooms for many nights to come. All in all, Teenage Mutant Ninja
Turtles turned out to be a pretty great time with plenty of laughs, action, and
good all-around performances. That said, I actually wouldn’t mind if the heroes
in a half shell made a return if the right improvements are made to make it
even better.
Rating and Final Thoughts
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Nice action, good performances, and great all around fun
make this reboot of the ninja turtles franchise a surprise gem of the summer.
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The turtles are back and they are having a good time along
the way.
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