TMNT movie 4 - plot problems from a film theory analysis

saul · 07-04-2012, 02:13 PM

Alright, after reading over the script, I noticed several plot problems. I saw the movie in the theater and remembered it seemed like it took a long time for the story to start. And lately I've been reading about how to structure a movie with the 3 ACTS, and plot points, and realized that this movie seems to suffer by not following these guidelines.

You see, in most movies the three ACTs are broken up like this:
ACT I = 30 pages (25% of story)
ACT II = 60 pages (50% of story)
ACT III = 30 pages (25% of story)
(for a typical 120 minute movie)

This is a tried and true structure in many big box office movies. They aren't RULES, but they are helpful guidelines that work in all kinds of movies. Deviation from this format often causes problems.

In TMNT the 3 ACTs seem like this:
ACT I = 41 pages (~40% of story)
ACT II = 31 pages (~30% of story)
ACT III = 25 pages (~25% of story since TMNT is ~100 pages long)

This means ACT 1 lingers on WAY too long and ACT II is too short.

A movie is also structured around plot points or turning points. There are 5 main turning points that should happen around a particular time. In my analysis, I can see that the turning points take too long in TMNT:

page 21 - The "Inciting Incident" aka "turning point #1" - Leo returns and Splinter directs him to lead the group again, thus putting them in a new situation. This should take place around pg 12 not 21. (each page of script corresponds to 1 minute screen time, so pg 12 is about 12 minutes into the movie).

page 41 - "change of plans" - turning point #2/end ACT I - The Turtles are surprised by the monster on the construction site. This re-directs their attention on something new. This should be around page 25 not page 41.

page 62 - "point of no return" aka turning poing #3 - They figure out Winters is behind things. Now they have a clear goal they're after, and Raph takes off.

page 72 - "all is lost" (end ACT II/Start ACT III - turning point #4) - Leo is captured. Can the group still act without their leader? All seems lost here.

page 92/3 - The Climax - turning point #5 - They knock the badguys into the portal and the portal finally explodes.

The end.

I'd be curious if anyone agrees with my assessment of the plot/turning points. I believe this analysis reveals one of the fundamental problems with the movie.

07-04-2012, 02:13 PM	#1
saul Foot Soldier Join Date: Oct 2009 Posts: 161	TMNT movie 4 - plot problems from a film theory analysis Alright, after reading over the script, I noticed several plot problems. I saw the movie in the theater and remembered it seemed like it took a long time for the story to start. And lately I've been reading about how to structure a movie with the 3 ACTS, and plot points, and realized that this movie seems to suffer by not following these guidelines. You see, in most movies the three ACTs are broken up like this: ACT I = 30 pages (25% of story) ACT II = 60 pages (50% of story) ACT III = 30 pages (25% of story) (for a typical 120 minute movie) This is a tried and true structure in many big box office movies. They aren't RULES, but they are helpful guidelines that work in all kinds of movies. Deviation from this format often causes problems. In TMNT the 3 ACTs seem like this: ACT I = 41 pages (~40% of story) ACT II = 31 pages (~30% of story) ACT III = 25 pages (~25% of story since TMNT is ~100 pages long) This means ACT 1 lingers on WAY too long and ACT II is too short. A movie is also structured around plot points or turning points. There are 5 main turning points that should happen around a particular time. In my analysis, I can see that the turning points take too long in TMNT: page 21 - The "Inciting Incident" aka "turning point #1" - Leo returns and Splinter directs him to lead the group again, thus putting them in a new situation. This should take place around pg 12 not 21. (each page of script corresponds to 1 minute screen time, so pg 12 is about 12 minutes into the movie). page 41 - "change of plans" - turning point #2/end ACT I - The Turtles are surprised by the monster on the construction site. This re-directs their attention on something new. This should be around page 25 not page 41. page 62 - "point of no return" aka turning poing #3 - They figure out Winters is behind things. Now they have a clear goal they're after, and Raph takes off. page 72 - "all is lost" (end ACT II/Start ACT III - turning point #4) - Leo is captured. Can the group still act without their leader? All seems lost here. page 92/3 - The Climax - turning point #5 - They knock the badguys into the portal and the portal finally explodes. The end. I'd be curious if anyone agrees with my assessment of the plot/turning points. I believe this analysis reveals one of the fundamental problems with the movie.