TMNT 2007 Appreciation Thread
 

Seems that the 2007 movie gets a lot of flack for some reason so I wanted to start an appreciation thread for others who actually like the movie so they can discuss what they do like about it. The movie does have it's flaws but it's not as horrible as people make it out to be.

No one? Ok then I'll bump just to throw in my two cents. One of the things I like about the movie is how it took TMNT movies back to a little more of a serious vibe while not going too overboard with it. I also really like the fact that it was a continuation of the original trilogy which allowed the writers to do something besides the Turtles vs Shredder. I know TMNT 3 tried this but what that movie gave us in terms of villains was insanely underwhelming and lame. I like the idea of the team, in a sense, splitting up and having to come together again. I really liked seeing what the Turtles would be doing if they were no longer fighting crime. I'm a sucker for monsters so the monsters story didn't bother me but I do wish we could have seen more of them and had a better explanation of how they managed to go that long without ever being seen. Max Winters' redemption storyline was also a nice addition to the monsters storyline because the movie could have just gone the predictable "he's obviously the villain" route but it did something more with him than that and I really kind of appreciate the movie for it. The animation and the look/feel of the movie is great too. Last but not least, that Raph vs Leo fight is worth the price of admission alone!

The movie is not without flaws. One of my personal problems with the movie is the design of the Turtles. The body types are fine but something about those heads and faces just looks weird to me. Its definitely not the worst the turtles have looked but I just don't care for them. Also, Raph is obnoxiously angry and jerky for some reason that's not really well explained. We all know Raph is the hothead of the group but in this movie his anger and attitude toward the other Turtles is a little over done and unnecessary. Karai's inclusion in the movie is nice but there was no real introduction to her character at all. She just kind of shows up as the new head of the Foot Clan and that's the extent of her character in this movie. I realize that you can only fit so much story into the movie but a quick little bit of exposition dialogue would have helped a little.

I love the movie. I felt that it added a strong family theme and great character advancements that all other movie lack. And the realism in martial arts that I have not seen in animation form for a very long time.

I like it. Okay animation, fun plot, great VA, better than 2014.

So much this. Nolan North is not only a great Kraang, but also a great Raph.

I like it too. It's my favorite TMNT film.

again its not a TMNT movie its a generic 13 monster plot with the Turtles thrown on to make people go see this movie.

The story made me cringe I had to edit out large portions of the movie scenes to make it at least watchable.

The first time I watched it I loved it and most people in this forum did like it when it was released heck the general consensus on the internet was good but that quickly changed and I didn't understand why but every time I've watched the movie I've liked it less and less so I kind of understand why now. The hype of a new TMNT movie was just so big and you could definitely feel it around the forums and the director said all the right words. Take the hype away and you start seeing faults in the shiny new movie you used to love. I still think the movie gets undeserved hate on the internet and doesn't deserve to be forgotten which has actually happen by most people, many people don't even remember or knew the movie was released and we had plenty of articles last year about the new TMNT movie talking as if we hadn't had a movie since TMNT III and completely ignoring the 2007 film.

So yeah while I still like the movie it definitely has faults, I think the mood, the CG, the music, the designs and the characterization was great, they really understood the TMNT world; the plot however is a total mess however and that's where it really needed to deliver the most since it had been so long since the last movie we didn't want just a "side adventure" which this movie ultimately felt like. Yes the movie needed Shredder; a relaunch couldn't be done without him at least not at this time. Sure you have the foot in some form with Karai but in the end that was a terrible move since it just made you wish Shredder was there and having the foot at all only took time from the plot. Even without Shredder you could've had Baxter or even Krang show up and it would've made it more iconic and memorable and that would've worked as well. Hell even with an original villain could've been handled much better since what we got was rather lackluster and yet it needed a lot of backstory to even explain what was happening. Now TMNT is no stranger to mythical themes but this reboot even if CG needed something more grounded in reality or even sci-fi. We also had the 13 monsters which also needed explanation and yet was just rushed in the end making it absolutely pointless. Hell it wasn't a bad idea, I actually liked how that explained all the urban legends and cryptozoologist in the planet but that wasn't even in the movie itself, you had to read the tie in comic/novel/game/picture books/interviews to even get tha, it could've worked very well as a 13 episode story arc in the cartoon. The Raph/Leo rivalry was handled really well and is the best part of the movie and it was meant to be but there's so much other sh-t also happening in the plot that doesn't get any attention and it brings the whole film down, a simpler plot that got more attention would've sufficed instead of the convoluted mess that we got, I mean why even bother with all that nonesense if the story was about Raph/Leo and their "family".

Highly debatable, leaning towards "not really".

I like it but I don't love it. People complain about the monsters/generals but whatever, I'm more annoyed it's yet another "Raphael is angry!!!!!!!!!" story. But at least it's a decently executed one. I do rather like what they did with April and Casey, even if April fighting Karai is still kind of silly. But her training herself for defense and running her own business are great. Casey seemingly not having advanced his life at all in years is also very in character.

There were a lot of places they could have gone from there and I'm let down that we never saw any of them.

I like it to a degree. Most of the stuff I liked was for the most part superficial and felt it's biggest problems were in the plot and character departments.

But since this is meant to be a appreciation topic, I'll just avoid talking about it's flaws and jot down stuff I did like:

-How they incorporated the lighting and shading.
-While I felt he and Mikey got the least relevancy in the story, I liked that it was Donnie mostly kept things together in the family while Leo was gone, even if they weren't actively fighting. Hell, he wasn't afraid to call out Raph for his attitude and making it a point he barely does anything. That's practically ballsy for the Turtle who usually tries to avoid any sort of conflict with his brothers.
-Mako as Splinter. He just nailed that balance of wise mentor and loving father, much like how he did Iroh from Avater TLA. Heck, the voice-acting in general was alright minus the obvious celebrity voice castings that are so obviously celebrity voice casts.
-That Leo VS Raph fight. Duh. Yeah, as cliché and overdone as the rivalry between the two can be at times, it's good to see here there's some payoff for it and it ending Raph finally feeling ashamed of how he's been acting.

That's all I got unless I come up with more.

I really enjoy this movie a lot! I liked the character designs, the animation, and I have no problem with the storyline. It was great to watch in the theatre and I've watched it many times on blu-ray with my little ones. I wish there had been a follow-up movie to this.

The story was subpar at best, but the colors were vibrant, lighting was excellent, the CGI was great, voices were amazing, music was brilliant, the characterizations were spot-on...

The film is worth the watch for all that, even if the story is lacking.

I watched the film recently and I thought it was good. It was the first tmnt film that I watched in years (I saw the second and third films in the late 90s). The plot was confusing and boring, but I liked the character development and action scenes. It was interesting to see the turtles face a different enemy instead of Shredder for a change. I also liked the family dynamic between the turtles and Splinter. I liked the way characters such as Karai, April and Raph were portrayed. The voice acting was good, too.

Not a good A-plot, but the B-plot was well worth it.

easily second best movie

I enjoyed the movie, but the whole "Stone Generals" thing felt out of place. Since the film ran with a post-Shredder plot anyway, I think it would've been nice if the writers adapted the City at War arc in some form.

I first watched it when I had been out of the hobby for a few years and thought I was over the whole TMNT thing :tconfuse: however I really enjoyed it and aesthetically it was excellent, I personally liked the storyline and felt overall it was only second to the original movie.

Dude, I really like your avatar. Did you draw this?

In all honesty, I really liked this movie. The plot was half-good, half-eh! The villains in this movie weren't particularly interesting but it was refreshing to see no Shredder in a good movie. The Leo and Raph tension scenes are what made the movie for me.

This movie is in the middle for me when it comes to TMNT movies. I like it more than the 3rd and '14 movies but not as much as the 1st and 2nd movies.

Hi sadly not I wish I had the skill, found it on google whilst looking for a new avatar.

Awesome Donnie pic, RBT.

I'm also a fan and supporter of the 2007 movie.
It was also released at a time when my TMNT fandom was kinda flatlined. I loved them, but I wasn't drawing them and I wasn't talking about them. I missed the 2003 series ('cus I wasn't watching TV at all and didn't like their 'roided up look at the time) and so when they were getting a movie, I was actually pretty psyched. And I didn't feel disappointed. It was a time when I saw Transformers in the theater and regretted not walking out of it, so TMNT was a big relief for me.
I had bought the GBA game for 2003, so I wasn't totally dead to TMNT. But I never did play the 2007 movie tie-in game, or in games released between the two films (GBA/Xbox/PS2/Gamecube era).

I'll agree it isn't the strongest film released. The point of the film did rely on the whole "family" aspect and that strength and bond. The A-story needed a better focus or a bigger threat. It all wrapped up into an almost moral-of-the-story bit. But, overall, it's not a bad film. Especially compared to other incarnations before and after it.
And I will say it if weren't for 2007 movie, the Nick show might not be what it is, since a lot of its themes and strengths stem from the best parts of the movie.

More reason to see it than the 2014 which was... what? O'Neil vs Sacks family conspiracies and how she's the messiah to mutant superheros? And everyone wants to bang her?