TMNT
TMNT, otherwise known as Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, is nowhere near as kiddie-fied as the trailer would have you believe. But unfortunately for this 3D-animated film, it also isn’t much of anything else…
The problem seems to lie mostly with the film’s brisk 86-minute running time, and a simplistic storyline – involving inter-dimensional portals and monsters – that is plagued by all-too-convenient plot holes and almost zero character development.
Audiences unfamiliar with the TMNT universe are also likely to be confused, seeing as there’s no real introduction to the characters, or their histories. Even the Turtles’ all-important origin story is only referred to in passing.
TMNT is clearly a film for existing fans of the iconic heroes in a half-shell. Whether you read the original independent comic series, succumbed to the first Turtles craze in the late 1980s, or watched the edgier 2003 animated series, TMNT draws on characters and story arcs many Turtles devotees will be familiar with.
One of the most prominent storylines in TMNT is the developing rivalry between Leonardo, the Turtles’ dutiful leader and Raphael, the most aggressive Turtle, who resents following Leo’s orders. At first it’s exciting to see this battle of wills played out, but the conflict is handled without subtlety. Every time the two Turtles appear together, scenes deteriorate into tedious screeching and sulking. It’s typical bad break-up stuff, and in the end you half expect the brothers to make up with a big fat kiss. At least there’s an eventual point to the arguing, though – a rain-drenched rooftop battle, one of the film’s highlights.
Out of the Turtles, Leonardo and Raphael enjoy the most screen time. It’s their movie. Michelangelo provides some comic relief and an entertaining skateboarding sequence but he’s mostly confined to the film’s background, as is Donatello, the “brainy” Turtle.
TMNT is not without its bright spots. While the stylised human characters take some getting used to, the Turtles, the ninja Foot Clan and stone warriors are spot-on visually. And CGI makes it possible for the Turtles to spring and swing fluidly across the New York skyline – their movements are effortless in a way that human actors in bulky costumes could never achieve. These scenes go a long way towards selling the TMNT tie-in video game.
TMNT’s film makers do deserve credit for attempting to avoid the chief pitfall of the Superman films – an overreliance on one single villain. In the Turtles’ case, that’s spiky, scheming Shredder. Shredder is presumed dead in TMNT, in keeping with events from the earlier movies. However, while Shredder’s absence shows the film makers admirably attempting something different, it actually develops into a problem as the film progresses.
You see, it doesn’t really feel like Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles without the threat of Shredder. Given how much has been reimagined in TMNT – including reporter April O’Neil’s transformation into a combat-proficient Lara Croft wannabe – viewers also expect to see a new take on the Turtles’ chief foe.
Shredder’s absence could be explained as the film makers wanting to retain trump cards for future projects, instead of playing them all in one go. It’s clear from comments made at the end of the film that there’s a TMNT sequel planned. This is good news because, while not bad, TMNT is just too flavourless and conventional to be the definitive Turtles film.
The problem seems to lie mostly with the film’s brisk 86-minute running time, and a simplistic storyline – involving inter-dimensional portals and monsters – that is plagued by all-too-convenient plot holes and almost zero character development.
Audiences unfamiliar with the TMNT universe are also likely to be confused, seeing as there’s no real introduction to the characters, or their histories. Even the Turtles’ all-important origin story is only referred to in passing.
TMNT is clearly a film for existing fans of the iconic heroes in a half-shell. Whether you read the original independent comic series, succumbed to the first Turtles craze in the late 1980s, or watched the edgier 2003 animated series, TMNT draws on characters and story arcs many Turtles devotees will be familiar with.
One of the most prominent storylines in TMNT is the developing rivalry between Leonardo, the Turtles’ dutiful leader and Raphael, the most aggressive Turtle, who resents following Leo’s orders. At first it’s exciting to see this battle of wills played out, but the conflict is handled without subtlety. Every time the two Turtles appear together, scenes deteriorate into tedious screeching and sulking. It’s typical bad break-up stuff, and in the end you half expect the brothers to make up with a big fat kiss. At least there’s an eventual point to the arguing, though – a rain-drenched rooftop battle, one of the film’s highlights.
Out of the Turtles, Leonardo and Raphael enjoy the most screen time. It’s their movie. Michelangelo provides some comic relief and an entertaining skateboarding sequence but he’s mostly confined to the film’s background, as is Donatello, the “brainy” Turtle.
TMNT is not without its bright spots. While the stylised human characters take some getting used to, the Turtles, the ninja Foot Clan and stone warriors are spot-on visually. And CGI makes it possible for the Turtles to spring and swing fluidly across the New York skyline – their movements are effortless in a way that human actors in bulky costumes could never achieve. These scenes go a long way towards selling the TMNT tie-in video game.
TMNT’s film makers do deserve credit for attempting to avoid the chief pitfall of the Superman films – an overreliance on one single villain. In the Turtles’ case, that’s spiky, scheming Shredder. Shredder is presumed dead in TMNT, in keeping with events from the earlier movies. However, while Shredder’s absence shows the film makers admirably attempting something different, it actually develops into a problem as the film progresses.
You see, it doesn’t really feel like Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles without the threat of Shredder. Given how much has been reimagined in TMNT – including reporter April O’Neil’s transformation into a combat-proficient Lara Croft wannabe – viewers also expect to see a new take on the Turtles’ chief foe.
Shredder’s absence could be explained as the film makers wanting to retain trump cards for future projects, instead of playing them all in one go. It’s clear from comments made at the end of the film that there’s a TMNT sequel planned. This is good news because, while not bad, TMNT is just too flavourless and conventional to be the definitive Turtles film.
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