Should the Turtles swear in the new movie?

[TigerClaw]

Originally Posted by Coola Yagami

More normal casual cursing, like what the hell, let's kick some ass, oh crap or whatever when in trouble. Stuff like that. Of course that doesn't mean Colonel Shroeder can't yell out '****!!' whenever his troops fail to capture the Turtles.

Or something like. "Oh ****! What are we going to do now?"

[Leo656]

It'd be fine if it was done in a natural way, not over-the-top to be "funny", or simply to push the PG-13 rating. An example of it done poorly would be "Man Of Steel", where absolutely none of the swearing was necessary, was blatantly tacked-on just to push the rating and show how "grown up" the movie was, and, I'd wager, cost the film a lot of repeat business due to tons of parents saying "You know what? I'm not taking my kid to see a movie where the female lead talks about 'measuring d*cks'."

I'm guessing we'll get some swearing in the TMNT movie, but I wouldn't be shocked if it came more from April and the human characters, or at least if anyone says "sh*t" or something, it likely won't be one of the TMNT saying it. They could probably get away with "damn" and the sort of thing that was passable in the first movie, but it's not likely they'll have any of the four Turtles use any stronger language than that, since they're the main characters in a "kids" movie. You can have strong language in a movie like that, but it has to happen "around" the main characters, not come from them directly.

[Weapons@theready]

Originally Posted by Redeemer

If they say D*m*, A$$, those two aren't bad, but think using B**ch is unessesary,
Generic cussing is not bad.

So you don't want the Turtles saying, "Check out the B**ch reporting the news!"?

[TheJ-manTurtleMan]

I think it would be funny if they used it as a running gag throughout the movie, like if Raphael starts to say "Oh shi-!" But something stops him from finishing, like splinter waking him on the head or something.

[niennumb1]

Sure... why not? They probably aren't teenage anymore, so they can talk more like adults.... either that or they WILL be teenage and we'll all be cursing at the film as it is, so what's a few more S and F bombs gonna hurt coming from the turtles?

All kidding aside, I dunno... I certainly don't think a film like this needs it at all. No film NEEDS the language, but sometimes helps in some humor or expression of extreme anger. You can still tell an amazing story without it though.

[TMNT is cooler than MOTU]

Careful guys, we don't want to alienate the Mormons who might be watching the movie.

[Coola Yagami]

Originally Posted by Leo656

It'd be fine if it was done in a natural way, not over-the-top to be "funny", or simply to push the PG-13 rating. An example of it done poorly would be "Man Of Steel", where absolutely none of the swearing was necessary, was blatantly tacked-on just to push the rating and show how "grown up" the movie was, and, I'd wager, cost the film a lot of repeat business due to tons of parents saying "You know what? I'm not taking my kid to see a movie where the female lead talks about 'measuring d*cks'."

I'm guessing we'll get some swearing in the TMNT movie, but I wouldn't be shocked if it came more from April and the human characters, or at least if anyone says "sh*t" or something, it likely won't be one of the TMNT saying it. They could probably get away with "damn" and the sort of thing that was passable in the first movie, but it's not likely they'll have any of the four Turtles use any stronger language than that, since they're the main characters in a "kids" movie. You can have strong language in a movie like that, but it has to happen "around" the main characters, not come from them directly.

I never found the Man of Steel movie to have any tacked-on swearing added for 'the hell of it'. That's how people talk. That comment sounded exactly like something a real world Lois Lane not living in the censored comic book world would say.

[snake]

Keep it like the first movie, Damn and Hell is fine. Aslong as they don't overdo it.

I can't see fu*k or sh*t in the movie.

[sgtfbomb]

Originally Posted by Coola Yagami

I never found the Man of Steel movie to have any tacked-on swearing added for 'the hell of it'. That's how people talk. That comment sounded exactly like something a real world Lois Lane not living in the censored comic book world would say.

It's also worth noting that the PG-13 rating was designed as in between for content that is too heavy for the PG rating but not heavy enough for R. If they are at the age where you fear they might be "corrupted" by film's "offensive" language, then you probably shouldn't be taking them to a PG-13 movie until they are a bit older.

[BabyTurtles]

well personally I hate cussing

but I expect they might.....but nothing extreme.

[sgtfbomb]

Granted, I believe this film is tied to Nickelodeon Films, so they might say "hell" and "damn" -- hardly profanities at all -- but nothing beyond that. I don't think they've done a PG-13 movie either, so it's likely to be PG. Though, years ago, you would have said the same about a Walt Disney film, and then, bam, Pirates of the Caribbean, so who knows?

[Whatswiththeheadbands?]

Originally Posted by snakeweed101

Keep it like the first movie, Damn and Hell is fine. Aslong as they don't overdo it.

I can't see fu*k or sh*t in the movie.

what like 'Ninja kick the damn rabbit!'

[Leo656]

Coola: I disagree entirely, I thought it was about as blatantly crammed in as it gets and entirely pandering. For starters, nobody swears at all for the entire last 2/3s of the movie, and the film is better for it. Every bit of swearing (and thankfully, it's not much, but what little is there is jarring) was delivered awkwardly, feeling exactly like scripted lines meant to "push the expectations of the audience" rather than sound like organic, natural dialog.

There's a time and place you can get away with that sort of thing in a movie; a Superman movie is not that time or place, even in a "dark, gritty & realistic" (it was none of those) reboot. Defending it because it makes the movie "cool" and "realistic" is like when we were all in our late-teens/early-20s saying to other people "No, really, me and my friends TOTALLY talk the way people in Kevin Smith movies do! Honest!" Except nobody does, absolutely no one in real life has "conversations" that are really 15-minute long profanity-laden monologues full of fully-formed "clever" riffs on pop culture. Although, one *could* argue that a Kevin Smith movie *needs* profanity or else it doesn't work at all. That is absolutely not true at all for Superman-related films or media.

There was literally nothing else in MoS that pushed a PG-13 rating; even the "violence" everyone complains about was entirely over-the-top, bloodless, consequence-free "cartoon" violence that kids are shovel-fed all the time, plus it's a super-hero movie, so it's expected and more or less required. You remove literally 4 words of dialog, and you have a movie that isn't limiting its audience for the sake of "keepin' it real, dawg." "Superman Returns" did a much better job of it with the one scene where "Sh*t!" is clearly meant to be exclaimed but is drowned out by booming gunfire. The point was made just as well without being explicit.

Keep in mind, in real life I could use about a dozen F-bombs to describe a newborn puppy. I'm fine with profanity, generally speaking, but I do feel there's times in movies and TV that not only is it not necessary, it lessens the integrity of the final product when it's done for no reason, and I feel MoS was absolutely a case where it was tacked on. Let's face it, if someone's swung from not liking Superman into actually liking Superman based on "Dude, no, seriously, they said 'D*CK' in a Superman movie, it's awesome!", if they truly and genuinely feel the entire movie was enhanced by 4 or 5 awkwardly-placed swears, then they don't "get" Superman to begin with.

It's also symptomatic of a much bigger problem I had with that movie: 95% of ALL the dialog was trash. It was like watching "Prometheus" again, with that "I f*cking LOVE rocks!" guy. I'm watching the movie, enjoying the movie, yet every time anyone talks, I'm like, "Nobody talks like that. Ever." I know people don't generally go to action movies to nitpick the dialog, but to me dialog is one of the most important parts of any movie, and I can never fathom how people who get paid a lot of money to talk about and write films for a living can't even grasp the nuances of how real people talk to each other.

[Coola Yagami]

Originally Posted by Leo656

Coola: I disagree entirely, I thought it was about as blatantly crammed in as it gets and entirely pandering. For starters, nobody swears at all for the entire last 2/3s of the movie, and the film is better for it. Every bit of swearing (and thankfully, it's not much, but what little is there is jarring) was delivered awkwardly, feeling exactly like scripted lines meant to "push the expectations of the audience" rather than sound like organic, natural dialog.

There's a time and place you can get away with that sort of thing in a movie; a Superman movie is not that time or place, even in a "dark, gritty & realistic" (it was none of those) reboot. Defending it because it makes the movie "cool" and "realistic" is like when we were all in our late-teens/early-20s saying to other people "No, really, me and my friends TOTALLY talk the way people in Kevin Smith movies do! Honest!" Except nobody does, absolutely no one in real life has "conversations" that are really 15-minute long profanity-laden monologues full of fully-formed "clever" riffs on pop culture. Although, one *could* argue that a Kevin Smith movie *needs* profanity or else it doesn't work at all. That is absolutely not true at all for Superman-related films or media.

There was literally nothing else in MoS that pushed a PG-13 rating; even the "violence" everyone complains about was entirely over-the-top, bloodless, consequence-free "cartoon" violence that kids are shovel-fed all the time, plus it's a super-hero movie, so it's expected and more or less required. You remove literally 4 words of dialog, and you have a movie that isn't limiting its audience for the sake of "keepin' it real, dawg." "Superman Returns" did a much better job of it with the one scene where "Sh*t!" is clearly meant to be exclaimed but is drowned out by booming gunfire. The point was made just as well without being explicit.

Keep in mind, in real life I could use about a dozen F-bombs to describe a newborn puppy. I'm fine with profanity, generally speaking, but I do feel there's times in movies and TV that not only is it not necessary, it lessens the integrity of the final product when it's done for no reason, and I feel MoS was absolutely a case where it was tacked on. Let's face it, if someone's swung from not liking Superman into actually liking Superman based on "Dude, no, seriously, they said 'D*CK' in a Superman movie, it's awesome!", if they truly and genuinely feel the entire movie was enhanced by 4 or 5 awkwardly-placed swears, then they don't "get" Superman to begin with.

It's also symptomatic of a much bigger problem I had with that movie: 95% of ALL the dialog was trash. It was like watching "Prometheus" again, with that "I f*cking LOVE rocks!" guy. I'm watching the movie, enjoying the movie, yet every time anyone talks, I'm like, "Nobody talks like that. Ever." I know people don't generally go to action movies to nitpick the dialog, but to me dialog is one of the most important parts of any movie, and I can never fathom how people who get paid a lot of money to talk about and write films for a living can't even grasp the nuances of how real people talk to each other.

I guess agree to disagree. I really didn't see anything wrong with the line or the way she said it. It felt natural, not tacked on and not added for the sake of being 'cool edgey' since the expression itself isn't 'cool and edgey' or anything like that. It's an expression I seen used a few times that just happens to have 'dick' in it. And so what if she said ONE curse word? That doesn't mean she has to constantly swear like a sailor every other scene. People CAN swear ever so often without overdoing it, ya know.

And of course there's room for swearing in a more realistic movie. When people that can fly and toss cars around like nothing are coming at you, are you gonna yell '****!!' or are you gonna yell 'FIDDLESTICKS!!'.

I don't think noone complained when the Joker asked the mobsters if their 'balls dropped' in the Dark Knight, and again, Joker wasn't particularly known for swearing in the comics. And that wasn't shocking or edgey either. It was shocking in the sense that you don't ask a roomful of armed mobsters if their balls dropped.... but it didn't feel tacked on for the sake of a PG-13 rating.

[Shreddhead]

I think you're allowed to drop one f bomb in a pg 13 movie, but ya I don't need to hear the turtles say that. An if we're using bay's transformers as a template, splinter is probably gonna walk in on the turtles and accuse them of masterbating...

But honestly, I wouldn't mind for the lighter stuff like "damn" to be thrown in there when the situation warrants it. I think he first film really handled that well, Ralph only swears when he KNOWS he messed up

[TigerClaw]

I could totally hear Raph say. "Damn it!" When something didn't go right with him.

[Coola Yagami]

it would be funny if Splinter berated them for swearing and then when all hell breaks loose, he yells out 'KUSOTARE!!!'. End scene with the turtles surrounded at sword and gun point and Don still muttering 'by the way, I know what that means sensei'.

[Leo656]

Coola, it was less Lois's one line than the entire way the movie handled it when anyone would curse, or the fact it even had to be put in. Other than making MoS a movie some people won't be able to watch with their kids, it would change nothing for the worse if the swears were omitted. A film in the super-hero genre simply should never do anything to intentionally limit its audience, is all I'm saying, because some people do care enough. And again, one could argue that a few choice words aren't out of place in a Batman movie or some of the Marvel movies the way they are in a Superman one. Even in the comics a few years back, when things got all "dark" after Identity Crisis, you'd see some "edgy" language in Batman books but never, ever in Superman books, because it just doesn't fit as well in addition to being unnecessary. You could easily have Luthor call Superman an "assh*le", for example. You just don't, because it adds nothing, and actually sort of "breaks" the fiction of that universe.

And yeah, if someone were about to be crushed by a building or saw Zod fling a car at them, or whatever, they'd likely exclaim some very loud profanity. There's an easy way around that, too: Movies never go into it, just like they never show anyone wipe their ass. You *can* have it in there, or, you can choose not to. When it's done simply because "Hey, we got the rating, so let's play with it," then yes, it's entirely tacked-on. Sure, you could say Lois's line was appropriate for her situation, or that kid calling Clark "d*ck cheese" or whatever the hell it was, OR you could simply have them say something else. To me, it's like making the S shield different: If it literally adds nothing, then don't purposely do something that you know will divide audience opinion. No, you can't possibly ever please everyone, but that's no reason not to TRY. The goal should always be to make a product that appeals to the widest possible audience. The second you as a filmmaker have to justify something by saying "Well, we know some people won't like this decision, but..." that means you already know you did something wrong. So fix it. That doesn't mean "don't ever do anything different or controversial", but for pete's sake make it mean something. Don't just *give* people stuff to complain about.

As far as MoS, I was there opening night and the few times anyone on screen cursed, all it got was awkward laughter from the audience, as in "Wow, kind of inappropriate for this particular movie." I don't like that. It was a small mistake, but it was so damn avoidable I can't help but fault them for it. It didn't "ruin" the movie, but it didn't add anything positive at all. But again, the dialog in that movie was mostly crap. (I actually really liked the movie, but when I like something a lot I spend a lot of time going over what I *don't* like about it as well. It's only fair, as nothing is perfect.)

I will say I think TMNT as a franchise lends itself a lot more to some swearing. It's inherently based on more "adult" themes than a lot of "kids" properties, so you can get away with a lot more as far as swearing, violence, etc. The first movie, for example, handled the whole thing very well. It was a little jarring at first as an 8-year old kid to hear the Turtles curse (and let's be honest, it was a little enticing as well), but it was not severely out of place and felt entirely natural to the situation. I'd honestly appreciate more of the same in the new film, if it fits the situation. Raphael talking about "kicking some ass", for example, would be just fine and welcome. Conversely, Raphael telling someone to "eat my ass!", while maybe in-character would still be jarring and unnecessary to me. It's all in the execution.

[Logan]

I don't think it's a necessity to have any swearing in the movie. It didn't add anything to the first film. Plus I really don't need to hear kids swearing at an earlier age to sound "cool" or older. And this is coming from a seasoned veteran of the saltier vernacular.

[billbot85]

It would be pretty awesome to hear Raph drop the f-bomb at least once in the new film. Not necessary, but I figure it's about time we hear him say it