Brian Tee talks the Shredder

[Galactus]

http://www.chicagotribune.com/entert...11-column.html

There was something about putting on the Shredder costume for the upcoming sequel to 2014’s “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles” that made Brian Tee feel different. He obviously looked different. The Turtles’ arch nemesis is known for his menacing, blade-covered samurai armor and metallic helmet. But Tee also found himself standing differently.

Tee said seeing himself in the full Shredder costume was “surreal” — even if it wasn’t technically his first time dressing up as the Foot Clan leader.

“When you’re Shredder for Halloween as a kid, and now you get to play him, it’s like a childhood dream come to life,” Tee said Monday at a party for NBC’s “Chicago Fire,” “Chicago P.D.” and Chicago Med” at STK Chicago (Tee stars in “Med,” which premieres Tuesday). “I must have been 8. It was around when the comic books first came out, I believe, in ’84. I was a big reader. I loved these turtles that were somehow mutants and teenagers and they were ninjas. How cool is that?”

Shredder was played by Tohoru Masamune in the last film, and various actors — including “Magic Mike” actor and former WWE Superstar Kevin Nash — in the original films in the early ’90s. The Turtles film featuring Tee as Shredder is scheduled to be released June 3.

“My Shredder is definitely a little different,” Tee said. “I think he’s much more grounded in reality, in a sense. In talking to the producers, writers and director, they really wanted to put a face to Shredder, which they never had before. Shredder has always been kind of behind the mask. They want Shredder to be a grounded human being that’s a bad (expletive). Hopefully that will shine through.”

Tee said the preparation for the role was more mental than physical.

“As far as the build, definitely a lot of weights,” Tee said. “A lot of training. But it’s more about an essence and a presence, because he’s the baddest … out there. He just has to exude that. … That’s what I really worked on.”

Just like most of the changes from the previous movie to the current one it sounds like an improvement until you really think about it.

While Tohoru Masamune's role was minimal and obviously his personal wishes for where he wanted the character to go don't mean anything when he is on the lowest end of a very long totem pole I always appreciated that there was at least one person involved in the movie who seemed to do some legit research into the franchise and knew enough to give interviews about it without sounding like he was bluffing his way through a subject he knew little or nothing about.

I can't help but roll my eyes at the idea that we've apparently never got to know Shredder behind the mask. Even if your only frame of reference was the Fred Wolf show there was still enough presented of Saki behind the mask (both literally and figuratively) to be noticeable. Heck the Yoshi/Saki rivalry was a fairly big deal when the show was at it's peak of popularity.

While this new Shredder maybe more "badass" it doesn't seem we're getting any of his backstory. I've said this before; I can see they are trying to please us but I don't think they understand what fans are upset about to properly do that. With the last movie they caved and gave us an Asian Shredder which was probably Oroku Saki (great) but didn't include any of reasons why we wanted Saki in the first place. It's the same deal with the character being more grounded in reality which I take to mean there will be no mech suit. On the one hand I think it's something of a step in the right direction which is where it should have began but in principal there was nothing wrong with Shredder having mech armor in fact it's been used a fair bit in the franchise prior it was just the execution with retractable flying blades all over was too over the top and perhaps worked his way up to it.

As far as I can see they are hearing fans but not really listening. Tee may look like a better Shredder on paper but he doesn't sound it. Not unless Tee starts saying some very different things in subsequent interviews.