Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
Starring: Megan Fox, Will Arnett, William Fichtner, Whoopi Goldberg, Tony Shalhoub (voice), Johnny Knoxville (voice), Alan Ritchson, Noel Fisher, Tohoru Masamune
Directed by: Jonathan Liebesman
Rating: PG-13
Genre: Action, Adventure, Comedy
2014

Times Seen:
Tim: 1

Summary: An ambitious reporter (Megan Fox) stumbles upon four vigilante turtles who are fighting back against the Foot Clan gang. Review:

Tim: I admit when I was young, I was a big Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles fan. Whereas other films (like the Marvel movies) have been an incredible nostalgia trip, this film just felt like a bit of a money grab. The Ninja Turtles were really cool in the 80s and early 90s, but this is an idea that felt like its time had passed. While I was skeptical, I sat down to watch the new movie with the hope that maybe it would be a pleasant surprise. Unfortunately, that's not the case here. This is the slickest looking TMNT movie, but it's quality is minimal. I know this movie made a lot of money at the box office and will undoubtedly warrant a sequel, but the movie itself is only average.

The biggest issue with the movie is that the tone just felt off. The turtles were always so enjoyable because they were funny, delivering wisecracks as they beat the bad guys. I didn't care much for their portrayal here. It felt like they were designed purely for eleven year old boys. I get that's probably the target demographic, but this movie did not do a god job of depicting these characters in a manner that would cross generations. I rolled my eyes at the majority of the poor dialogue the turtles uttered. Growing up, my favorite was Raphael, and he's still the coolest in this film, but really not all that great. The idiotic dialogue was a bit insulting and it did nothing to pull me into this movie.This film tried to make the turtles seem cool and hip, but to any discerning person, they just come across as buffoonish. I was pretty disappointed with how they were portrayed on screen. There wasn't any great connection with them and it didn't give me any desire to see future films in this franchise.

The human characters weren't much better. Megan Fox is not a good actress, but I give her some credit for giving it her best shot. The movie would have benefited from a stronger actress in this role. Will Arnett isn't someone I care for, but he was less annoying than usual here. William Fichtner was fine in a predictable role. I really wish this movie had at least one great actor, or at least someone in the cast who gave a particularly good performance. We got neither with this film. That was disappointing.

Now, as down as I was about this whole endeavor, there are a few decent moments. The action sequence of the turtles hurtling down the snowy mountainside with the jeeps and bus was really well done. It was an exciting, memorable scene that offered a faint glimmer of what this film could have been. It was unique and interesting and served as probably the highlight of the film. The other decent sequence was the climactic battle with Shredder on top of the skyscraper. While this scene could have been more effective, there were still a few incredible moments there. The movie was greatly helped by these two scenes, but it was far too little to overcome the film's many flaws.

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles made a lot of money at the box office, so we'll certainly be seeing a sequel. However, this movie felt creatively poor (not quite bankrupt) and it couldn't shake the sense that this is a franchise that should have been retired years ago. Maybe with the origin story, the second film will be significantly better (although I said the same thing about The Amazing Spider-Man 2 and that didn't work out). I would be happy to like these movies, but this one just didn't do it for me.

Rating 1-10
Tim's Rating: 6



If You Enjoyed This Movie, We Recommend: TMNT