Cowabunga, Dude!

The Sewers of New York

I’m old enough to remember when the Teenage Mutatnt Ninja Turtles were the newest, biggest thing on the block.  From the comic and the cartoon to the original film and the wonderful toys that came with all of the turtle power one could muster, I was a big fan of the heroes on the half shell.  I managed to get my hands on all four of the original TMNT figures (alas, but no villains, Splinter, or April O’Neil) and still have them to this day.  I’ve even let my son play with them a few times.  He thinks that they are boring (not nearly as cool as his shiny new versions of my beloved turtles), but appreciates them for what they are.

When it was announced that a new TMNT film was heading for the big screen and Michael Bay (while not directing) would be involved with the project, I was a bit scared.  Bay’s first foray into my childhood heroes with the Transformers films was terrible.  I enjoyed the first film well enough, but each film after that was wretched.  It was so bad, in fact, that I didn’t even bother with the latest one and only own the first film on DVD.  I feared that Bay and company would shred yet another memory from my youth and also set the plate for the early destruction of my son’s young memories.

Instead, director Jonathan Liebesman, producer Michael Bay, and writers Josh Appelbaum, Andre Nemec, and Evan Daugherty, have taken a cherished childhood memory given to us all by Peter Laird and Kevin Eastman, twisted the origin story a bit, and made a very good film.

Is it as good as Guardians of the Galaxy?  No, and it’s nowhere near as brilliant as Captain America:  The Winter Soldier, but it is still a very fun film that’s loadaed with action, humor, and expected Turtle silliness.

The plot focuses on struggling entertainment/puff piece reporter April O’Neil (Megan Fox, who holds her own in the flick) attempting to report something worthwhile instead of her usual exercise craze bits.  She starts to snoop around and uncovers info on the Foot Clan, a crime syndicate that has all of New York in a state of fear.  On one particular investigation, she finds a vigilante fighting the Foot Clan and thwarting one of their jobs.

She attempts to get her story aired, but gets shut down by her boss, Bernadette Thompson (Whoopi Goldberg in a role that could have been forgettable but wasn’t), who believes that April might be getting a bit unhinged.  Her only real supporter in this whole ordeal is Vernon Fenwick (Will Arnett) who thinks she should leave the whole thing alone, but has so much of a crush on her that he is willing to help her…..but just a bit.

As the story rolls along, April finally runs into the Turtles, and their new backstory is revealed.  From there, it’s the TMNT gang and April trying to stop the evil Foot Clan and their leader, Shredder.  I won’t go into too much more detail, but know that there are other players in the game that are pretty obvious once they are introduced.

The story is full of fun moments.  The turtles are very funny, ranging from the sophomoric antics of Michelangelo (Noel Fisher) to the grumpy resistance of Raphael (Alan Ritchson).  There’s also a lot of action that’s usually headed up by Leonardo (Pete Ploszek as the motion capture body and Johnny Knoxville as the voice).  Heck, even the super-intelligent Donatello (Jeremy Howard) gets in a few butt-kicking moments, as well as a chance to show off his tech smarts throughout the film.

Splinter (Danny Woodburn as the motion capture body and Tony Shalhoub as the voice) also gets an excellent action sequence when he faces off against Shredder (Tohoru Masamune).

For the most part, the cast is solid.  As I already stated, Fox holds her own but does reveal a few limitations in her acting abilities in certain scenes.  The always reliable William Fichtner, who portrays Eric Sacks, does an excellent job, but editing and direction seem to stunt his work in a couple of scenes.  Minae Noji, who portrays Karai in the film, gives an excellent but limited performance.  Hopefully her character will be expanded upon in the next film.

The action sequences are nearly flawless.  There were moments in the film where I forgot that the turtles were CGI.  With Bay’s hand on the production, you know that there are plenty of explosions throughout, and TMNT does not disappoint in that aspect.  The action is quick, fun, and totally unbelievable at times.  HOWEVER, if you go into a film that features four mutated turtles that are teenaged ninjas and have a rat as their master and expect it to be believable, you’re an idiot.  Just sit back and watch the action unfurl on the screen and check your mind out for a bit.

When the lights finally came up in the theater after watching Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, my childhood memories were still there and just as fine as ever.  Donatello is still my favorite turtle and Leonardo is still my son’s favorite shell shocker.  I don’t hate Michael Bay any more than I did prior to this film either.  In short, TMNT is a fun film that’s suitable for almost the entire family.  The violence is pretty heavy, but it has a comical twist to it throughout the film.

I recommend checking this one out.  It’s a great summer popcorn flick.