First TMNT Review!!!!!
 

http://www.aintitcool.com/node/31503


and the verdict?....its just "ok." I was kinda worried that they were going the zany comic-book route, and it looks like this movie may just be a little too far-fetched to capture the atmosphere of the first movie.



TE E N A G E M U T A N T N I N J A T U R T L E S
by XP-Dracon

It was “o.k.”

First and foremost, I was a HUGE Ninja Turtles fan (the show, comics, toys and video games) when I was a kid in the 80s / early 90s. I loved the first movie (and still enjoy it to this day), but felt the second one to be too much on the safe side in terms of violence, and was too cheesy (even to Ninja Turtle standards).

It has been years since I have watched the show, but I still remember all of the characters and themes. When I heard that there was going to be another film, CGI not live-action, I thought that they may have a great opportunity to revive a great franchise and make it more loyal to the source material - dark, violent and humorous, with a great sense of brotherhood. This film got most of those theme RIGHT, but to very little extent.

I went into this film with no excitement or any preconceptions. I didn’t even look to see who was doing the voices of the characters. My first impressions were a little mixed - near the end, I actually felt comfortable with the voices. So, here’s a quick step-by-step (semi-spoiler-free) of what I liked and disliked about the film, and you can take from it what you will.

LIKES

1) MOST of the animation. There were some parts of the film where the CGI felt too “Monster House”-ish, and the animators seemed to be watching too many Michael Bay films to really focus on the action and not allow it to get too hectic to not be able to completely tell what is going on all the time. The “not being able to see things” only distracted me a few times, but there were times, especially in the main Showdown between Raphael and Leonardo, where the animators and the director really spent time to make it work. In that scene, it did. In the end battle sequence, it did not. During the turtle showdown, the animation, even while taking place at night, was awesome. The rain bouncing off of their textured green skin looked very realistic despite the director’s obvious cartoonish approach to the CGI material.

2) The voice acting. I did NOT know who did the voices, and for some reason the only one I could tell who it was right off the bat was Patrick Stewart as ‘villain’ Max Winters. I finally checked IMDB and noticed that all the voices were by ‘name’ actors, or at least people most of us have heard of or seen. Mako, may he rest in peace, was the only voice talent that took some getting used to (as Splinter). After a couple scenes, I grew into the character’s voice, but at first, I was distracted probably because I remember the voice of Splinter from the 1989 live-action film, and I was expecting it to sound more grainy and deep. Knowing now who voiced the characters actually makes me like the voice acting even more.

3) The SHOWDOWN. Having never seen any previews/coming attractions for the film, when the scene between Raphael and Leonardo began, I knew this scene was the scene that the film makers want you to drool over. And it WAS great - starts with a very determined seriousness in the character’s actions, all built-up well over the course of the first act between the two characters. The conclusion of the showdown is also very nicely done, displaying emotion and reactions through expression, not just words.

4) The music score. Klaus Badelt (“Pirates of the Carribean: Curse of the Black Pearl”) did the score, and it totally works. It is dark, and drives the action in places where it sags a little in unoriginality and depth. No central theme (which kind of disappointed me), but a rollicking good action score to keep things moving.

5) There were quite a few things I did like about the movie, but they were little things, and unfortunately, they don’t outweigh the negative aspects.

DISLIKES

1) The movie’s central conflict, to me, felt very out of place from what we may remember MOST about the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle world. Thirteen abominations (monsters), stone immortals, and an opening that clearly paid homage / ripped off the beginning of “The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring,” with sonic wave taking out massive armies and all. I just didn’t like the film maker’s choice in “opening scene” for the movie.

2) Right off the bat, they tell you about the Turtles’ success over arch-nemesis The Shredder, expecting you to accept the story that is to follow. Unfortunately, with this new CGI film, I really WANTED to see Shredder again, and not some new bad guys for us to have to learn to hate. I wanted something from the past - Bebop, Rocksteady, or even Krang. None of these guys are even mentioned, and given that the core audience of the film is going to be guys who grew up with the original cartoon as kids, in my opinion the film makers really should have strived to bring something nostalgic for the Turtles to fight.

3) Under use / misusage of certain characters. Leonardo and Raphael are the most used and seen of the four Turtles; unfortunately, Donatello and Michelangelo are all but left in the background, or with only a couple standout scenes. The handling of the Turtles screen time and singular importance reminded me of the “Star Trek: Generations” syndrome, where the Trekkies in us were excited to see the “Next Generation”crew on the big screen for the first time but were ultimately disappointed by the lack of particular character’s involvement in the story. Casey Jones also was nothing like I remember. In the cartoon, he was a hard-ass who was always looking to “Break something!” In this movie, he is living with April O’Neill (who is no longer a reporter, which threw me off a little) and is a bit of a clumsy-looking and acting dufus. This is NOT the Casey Jones I like so much as a kid - the character in this film has some humorous moments, but overall just didn’t fit the context of the character.

4) Some of the humor and writing. Some of the humor worked, but most didn’t. This is a bit of a problem I have with non-Pixar animated films. The timing on many of the humorous lines is a bit off, and the writing felt a bit ‘thrown together’ at times, recycling cliched lines that we’ve heard in many movies before. The only real good dialogue existed between Raphael and Leonardo before the showdown, and between Raphael and Splinter after the fact. Overall, though, even the limited humor of the 1989 live-action film was a bit lost. A bit more humor and better timing / pacing wouldn’t have hurt the overall necessary dark tone of the film.

5) The ending. Because many of the bad guys are new, a lot of the story and background had to be rushed in the “Lord of the Rings”-like beginning, and the end just felt easily jumbled together, leaving nothing unexpected or unpredictable. At one point, the leader of the Foot Clan (voiced by Ziyi Zhang) announces that they will help the Turtles to defeat the stone immortals, but their help ends up not being needed and nothing shown for it. Too many loose ends in the story and the build up, and there were quite a few plot holes that were not tied together by the end. Even a promise by the Foot Leader that foes from the past will return did not spark any “oh my gosh” or any level of surprise. They needed to add something, and I expected them to hint at a “Shredder return.”

Overall, the movie was “o.k.” even to my no-expectation preconception. I ran into a friend of mine after the screening, and he LOVED it, saying he gave it an 11 out of 10. So, that tells you that there may/will be a mixed series of reactions from fans of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.

Cool, it seems most of his complains are about it not being enough like the 80s show and no krang, no shredder, casey jones not a psycho, april not a reporter. the other complains didn't seem too big.

So i think most turtle fans are going to have a blast with the movie, though i'm already spotting the trend of most older fans being turned off for it not being a nostalgic revival of the show they watched.

Well, his first two dislikes can be negated. Because it just seems like he's not happy about it not being like the old show, and some of the third, because he obviously has no idea about April and Casey's true characters.

But I am concerned about Donatello and Michelangelo's underuse.

I would be even more concerned about the last part, if I didn't believe they will eventually make a sequel.

All in all, a fair, if somewhat misinformed, review.

interesting read. it does seem like they wanted the cartoon world though. I am a bit nervous about what he said about Mike and Don.

I guess it's safe to add my two cents now. I agree that the reviewer really wanted it to be like the old show but he does mention that he read the comics (Archie perhaps?). Anyway, most of his concerns, as mentioned, can easily be neglected as sheer ignorance of the subject. Other than that, I do feel Mikey and Donny have been nicely handled but again, left in the background. Also, the end, to me at least, seemed rush (this may just be because of the novelization) and the set up to the sequel I thought was a great reference to Shredder. I think the Leo/Raph fight will be a highlight that even the haters will appreciate fully.

I just can't wait to see/hear this lullaby scene.

Eh. I don't believe, judging from his review, that he's read that many, if any, of the Mirage comics, because he said: "...the movie’s central conflict, to me, felt very out of place from what we may remember MOST about the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle world..."
He must be speaking of the cartoon. Even the Archie comics had some unusual storylines, especially later in that series.
The thing about the TMNT universe, or I should say, multiverse, is the often bizarre storyline twists that various people took in the Mirage book series.
I'll agree with what's been said in responses on this thread, because it seems to me his critique is slanted toward the cartoon. ;p

Wait a minute ? He ''saw'' the movie ? I'm not buying this. That guy might have read the novel, but I doubt he actually saw the movie. Ain't it cool news did something quite similar with the movie Alien vs Predator. They said that one of them saw the movie and in fact, the guy who posted his ''review'' only got his hands on the novel and made it look like he saw the movie...

I have little trust in AICN. Believe this if you want, but I don't. And anyway, that guy is a fan of the old stuff, so his ''crittics'' were of little importance for me.

He is a member of the press and they get early review privileges.

even with the fact that he does'nt know much about the turtles aside from the cartoon (his comment about Casey Jones even shows that he does'nt get the character) the overall review says the film is ok, so its not like he said it was crap. I have a feeling hardcore turtle fans will be happy

To be honest, AICN isn't my #1 source for reviews out there. However, I did skim through it. The one thing that really got me excited was the fight between Leonardo and Raphael. Supposedly, it's going to kick ass. That's the main thing from the review that got me pumped. If you remember the leaked pictures that came out about a month ago, you'll know what I'm talking about.

My big problem with this review is that he seems to just want the 80s cartoon. When in fact, TMNT was first a pretty dark and serious comic book. And that's what this movie is trying to go with. A bit like the new cartoon before it became all crappy. I love the 80s cartoon but to me it's a bit too much on the light side. I like my Turtles to be dark, edgy, and epic. This movie seems to be going in that direction. If you are a TMNT fan from the comics and new cartoon universes, then you should enjoy this movie. The first TMNT film was relatively dark and hopefully this movie will go along with that general theme. I'm really excited for this film.

supossedly they held a early screening at west lake village, california, and if thats true the people on imdb.com message boards sure had strong feelings about this film. they posted that they loved it and that it was by far better than they had ever expected with great cgi. you should check it out
http://imdb.com/title/tt0453556/board/threads/

Hmmm, nothing much on IMDB. Except that movie boycott kind of pisses me off. It does worry me that Donatello and Michelangelo won't be in the picture all that much, but I will go see it reguardless.

I thought the stone warriors were cool,and I did like the fact that there are more villians in the movie and that leo and raph are finally going to battle on the big screen.:D yay.

Movie boycott? I'd look myself but I don't feel like registering for a forum just to view the damn thing.

Yeah, some asstard was boycotting the film because 4kids is somehow involved with the movie, and he apparently thinks that NOT going to see this film will keep them from butchering more anime, like poor One Piece. Well, the film not doing well in theaters will NOT keep 4kids from ruining every franchise they get their hands on.

I read it. The majority of people there think he's an idiot.

And frankly the guy is, and needs to be beaten to death with a nunchaku.

Done and done.I think he is an idiot too.

You guys should head over to the SHH boards. There's a guy on there who said he's seen the movie and he even wrote a review for it. Good news, he loves it.

The guy's Leo/Raph fight response gets me excited on its own. As well as the positive response to Badelt's score.

Mike/Don underuse, eh... so long as they're in character I'll be happy. And the two of them aren't as strong-willed as Leo and Raph, so it makes sense that they would naturally stand in the background and reinforce the team in their own, more subtle ways. The review did mention a couple good moments, so we can be sure they won't be totally ignored.

Yeah, and the "wtp no shredder? no krang? and this plot isn't very TMNT" made me chuckle. The first few issues of the original Turtles are online. Get yourself educated - the TMNT were in space by the end of issue #4, if I remember correctly? :trazz: I'm not too worried about that.

Mmmmhmhmmm, and these other positive reviews are making me happy... :thyper: I'm starting to get March deadlines for school assignments and stuff, and just hearing the word March makes me grin like an idiot.

Link, please?

Not too sure what review he is talking about, but I think it's this link here.

http://www.superherohype.com/forums/...d.php?t=264991

He might mean this one as the AICN one was already posted.
http://www.superherohype.com/forums/...d.php?t=264951

Awesome, thanks. That review, at least, makes a whole lot more sense.

Yeah, I think he meant the one TMNT posted... that is a happy review. :)

So, if we do trust all of those reviews, what's sure to be good are the fight scenes, the quality of the CGI, the fun factor and relationship between each of the brothers and Splinter.

If we look at the bad things that have been said, its all things relating to how the characters were back in the 80's or the kind of humor, once again refering to the 80's.

Some did compared the movie to the comics, and the 2K3 series, and they said that the movie was excellent.

So, basing on what have been said for now, we should all like this movie. All to different degrees, but we will appreciate what have been done here. Let's hope for the best. This whole movie does seems promising, I must admit that the more I read of those reviews, the higher my expectations are growing. Might trick me once in the theatre, but if those fellows are right, we might have a 100 M$ on our hands.

And yet again a whiner whining about no Shredder, no Krang, or other OLD cartoon characters... THIS IS NOT THE OLD SERIES OR BASED ON IT!
Ugh.

:roll:

Hello Buslady!!! My Thoughts...
 

I'm looking forward to this movie. The 1990 TMNT will always be my favorite.
Those Henson costumes will always be the quintessential turtles to me, CGI can't compare in my opinion. But just as Gene Wilder's Willy Wonka will always be my favorite, I enjoyed the Tim Burton film in its own light.

I hope the new film will be successful, because it will mean more TMNT
out there, and a better chance to get the original 3 TMNT movies remastered for Special Edition DVD's and hopefully HD-DVD and Bluray.

BTW,
Thanks Buslady for your viewpoints a while back on owning actual turtle propheads and lifesize statues. You saved me a lot of money. I love my collection, but there's something sad and lifeless about seeing that latex head and bodies with no movement. I think artwork and my figures fit the bill a lot better.
Raphdude

lol no problem. To me it's like taking one of them & having them mounted like a dead animal. I can respect the parts as being a piece of costume magic, appreciating the tech, design, materials, etc that went into them but having a disembodied arm or something...just seems too weird.
Now...statues, realy statues like a bronze...that would be cool. Standing proudly, sai at his side, guarding an outdoor turtle enclosure...ooo that'd be so cool...hehehe

Oh god... reading IMDB makes me want to cry.

Seriously.

I'll be there opening day regardless of what the reviews say.

Buslady,
When I ordered the TMNT raph from Mirage I suggested to Katy why not have attakus or sideshow do statues based on the 1990 movie turtles?
She took down my suggestion. I'd buy a raph in a heartbeat!!:D :thyper:
Raphdude

I would love it if a company like that were to produce something! I think there might be issues with the license, though.. I seem to recall reading something about Playmates having the monopoly on TMNT 3D figure-type things. Their cold cast statues were great, but something based on the first movie would be especially awesome.

So YOU got my Raph statue! It's the only one I'm missing of the four!:x

this is totally off subject but i noticed that underoath740 has a pic of venom on his post and i found a new pic of venom from spiderman 3 so i figured i would post it he looks pretty sweet
http://www.joblo.com/doom-goblin-venom

Eh, as a Batman fan who was always hearing "Batman Begins is a prequel, wait I thought Joker shot his parents?", I'm used to it.

Anyone who bitches that Shredder isn't in it loses any creditability.

WAAAAAAAAAHHH Shredder isn't in it it sucks! TMNT can't have a movie without Shredder, Shredder is the only TMNT villain EVER!

What a f***ing reatard

Casey has always been a moron and April was never a reporter in the comics or the new series. God I hate people who have to compare ****. Watch the god damn movie as a movie, not something to compare the old toon to and whine about a bunch of characters that haven't been in anything TMNT in 10 years aren't in it.

Heh, I wouldn't take the AICN review seriously. Although I must admit that Don and Mikey being in the background again is rather annoying. But hey, nothing's perfect. Plus, if we complain enough, we'll probably have more Don and Mikey in the next movie. So people, go watch the damn thing 100x!!!!

Well, I am glad they are focusing on the competitive relationship between Raphael and Leonardo. Donatello and Michelangelo were the primary sources of comic relief in all of the previous films, so I think this is a sign that the movie will at least be darker than it appeared in the trailer.
Klaus Badelt's score will be incredible! Overall, I was expecting the review to much more negative.

Let's not forget that TMNT 1990 got bad reviews, and it is one of the best American films of all time.
http://www.uploadfile.info/uploads/db6d937733.gif

My thoughts on the review..the review was obviously more of a fan of the cartoon than the original film. He mentions that he does enjoy the first film, obviously some stuff has slipped his mind. One thing that grabbed me is that he mentioned that Casey Jones is different in this film and int he cartoon he was macho or something to that manor, but seems to forget that Casey in the first film was even different from the cartoon Casey.He also seems to forget that April, in the first film, was also had an antique store, and hence, quite possibly knows about antiquities, and could quite possibly jump away from reporting. He mentions that Krang, Bebop and Rocksteady should be in the film..and thats where I sorta wrote off the review.

His descriptions of the Lord of the Rings-like beginning sounded like it was a bit of an over-exaggeration, as well.

Well I grew up on the old toon, and part of my nostalgia involves Krang, Bebop, and Rocksteady, but I'm learning more and more about the Mirage series and enjoy the darker tone.

I have no problem with not having Shredder in this movie. He would have looked cool in the CGI animation, but he also looked pretty dead in Secret of the Ooze (although the turtles really should have burned the body just to be sure, and combed the city for possible clone bodies. Can't be too careful).