From the moment Michael Bay began producing pieces of my child, ie: the Transformer Series, it is field with excitement with a sharp decent into depression. There is the assortment of names and favorite characters but the story, although familiar, does not have the same chutzspah. This could also be said for the remake of the kid classic Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles…or could it?
SynopsisThe Turtles continue to live in the shadows and no one knows they were the ones who took down Shredder. And Vernon is the one everyone thinks is the one who took Shredder down. April O’Neill does some snooping and learns a scientist named, Baxter Stockman is working for Shredder. He plans to break him out while he’s being transported. April tells the turtles who try to stop it but can’t. Stockman tries to teleport Shredder but he some how ends up in another dimension and meets a warlord named Krang who instructs Shredder to assemble a teleportation device he sent to Earth a long time ago. He gives Shredder some mutagen which he uses to transform two criminals who were also in the transport with him, Rock Steady and Bebop into mutants. And they set out to find the device. April saw the transformation while investigating Stockman, She would take the mutagen and she would be chased by Shredder’s minions, the Foot Clan. He is saved by a man named Casey Jones who was the one who transporting Shredder. The Turtles show up and they try to work together. In the melee the mutagen ends up with the police. Knowing Shredder will try and get it back, April tries to get it first she asks Vern to help. Eventually she and Casey are arrested. The Turtles get the mutagen and Donatello analyzes it learns it could make them human, which he tells Leonardo who tells him to forget it and not to tell the others. But Michelangelo tells Raphael who feels that Leonardo doesn’t respect them.
Best Parts
The best things about the movie are the nostalgic feel of the story, the more authentic roles of the characters, and a few noticeable replacements. The story telling presents an aura of nostalgia. The story has drastically improved over the first one. The first movie seemed to be a hodgepodge corrections made to try to not upset the fan base, but this movie gives you want you want…the turtles being brothers, authentic characters. It shows the dysfunction between Leo and Ralph that Leo is the leader. Michelangelo still flirts with April. It seemed they tried to clean up and tie in some of the faults of the first film to make sure that ties together. Casey Jones makes a reference that the names of the turtles are stupid and April corrects him by saying she named them. Krang shows up with the big robotic suite. Rocksteady and Bee-Bop were there too. Sheamus, wwe wrestler, did an awesome job. He was taken seriously as a comedic villain with the hilarious Gary Anthony Williams (Smart Brother from Undercover Brother). Tyler Perry absolutely killed it as Dr. Baxter Stockman (the man-fly from the cartoon series). He didn’t have much screen time but he was terrific. The fun of the movie cannot help be added to the new additions and replacements. The best thing was the replacement of shredder. The new shredder, played by the bad politician in the Wolverine who was thrown from a window into a pool, was actually pretty good in the few moments he was there. The new aesthetics of Shredder came across as fierce in this movie while the suit was inevitably shredder and not the swiss army knife from the first. This should have been the shredder in the first movie. The next noticeable replacement was the director from Jonathan Leibsman to Dave Green. Possibly Dave Green had more freedom than Mr. Leibsman or Green was a fan of the cartoon and movies because he seem to have got the direction visually the move should go.
Awful Things
Now there were some awful things about the movie that it hurt it in my eyes but not fully taking away from the movie. Casey Jones was minus for the movie. The tie was great that he is NYPD but his motivation for wanting to be a part of this seems lack luster…but simple enough to get his motivations. Casey jones (Stephen Amell – CW’s hit television show Arrow) primary focus is finding Bee-Bop and Rocksteady which make him forcibly cross paths with the guys because Shredder has taken a liking to these two idiots. Ok..it wasn’t awful but it was too simple…but hey it is a movie about Ninja Turtles. Shredder wasn’t in the movie very often and neither was Krang. Krang did have a fight seen but just mere screen time. They spent more time trying to establish a love “thing” between April O’Neil and Casey Jones that it was a waste of screen time.
Recommendations
This movie comes not highly recommended for adults but a great movie to share with the children that an Uncle like myself would do with some nephews. It has the lovable personalities that we loved as children growing up that children of this generation could have a great introduction to. The turtles embody brotherly love. Splinter is the loving father. April is the tough heroine that gets into trouble that saves and assists the turtles. The turtles this time around is a fun quartet that will be fun for older and newer fans.
Rating:
(3.5 / 5)
