Thoughts on the new movie!

[blueoakleyz]

Originally Posted by Fledermaus

double-post. Many apologies.

dude i dont think anyone's gonna get pissed

[RskimB]

I'm too lazy to get into detail but I saw the movie last night and rate it a B. Definitely a great experience and overall I think it worked though I wished the movie could have been longer. Even as a Raph fan I was suprised at the lack of screentime Donny got and the intro was a bit cringe inducing/awkward. Also I thought the fight with the Foot was way too rushed(it would have been cool if they dragged it more) and seeing April fighting alongside the turtles is still weird for me. Awesome movie I cant wait for the dvd release, overall TMNT(2007) >>>>> TMNT 2 & TMNT 3.

[bean]

I like the film and going back to watch it this weekend coming but I gave it B.

[Brandatello]

the only things that bothered me was....
-they didnt show them defeating shredder just artwork
-splinters voice was a little hard to understand at times
-casey and april = love?
-the pans around made me dizzy
but the rest was awesome...i loved it A+

[The Terror of Death]

Pros:
Animation was amazing.
Felt like an extra long episode of the new toon.
Raph, Leo, April, Casey, and Don were spot on imo.
Leo vs Raph.
Most of the music.
The dialogue for most of the main characters.
TMNT'S acrobatic feats.
Hint at the Shrdder by Karai.
Excellent voice acting.
Opening and ending sequence.

Cons:
Mikey should have been more like the new toon version.
Fights were okay.
Needed more fights.
Movie felt too short.
Movie could have done without the monsters.
Generals needed more depth.
Casey outshined Don and Mikey.
The kiss felt like it was done at the wrong.
Karai's voice hurt my ears.

Overall I give TMNT a 4 out of 5.

[jenna]

I have already managed to squeeze three viewings in and my thoughts are...

First of all, the animation was awesome! There were times I had to remind myself it was CGI, not real. I particularly liked the design of the turtles. Their eyes were amazingly expresive and I really liked that they were smaller than previous incarnations, appearing younger and more like teenagers, but this vulnerability did not interfere with their strength and robustness. I also loved the detail to them, like the dents in Raph's shell and the veins on Mikey's hands etc.

The plot to me was bizarrely inconsequential. Whilst the monster thing is a bit naff, I found that it didn't really matter to me as I was so absorbed by the family element and the conflict between Raph and Leo. The confrontation between them, for me, is long overdue and a brave inclusion in the narrative. it was perfectly executed - the scene in the rain (as I believe most people have already commented) was the strongest scene and the most emotional.

The characters were, in a word, perfect. I loved that Mikey was very definitely the little brother, and this was portrayed well through his facial expression - the way he moved his mouth was so unique and innocent. His best moment was when he was

Spoiler:

watching the Nightwatcher article on the news, getting all excited and when he saw the portal and said "I want one."

Unfortuantely, Donatello suffered from a bit of 2-dimensionalism... (perhaps something a longer cut would have rectified). Particularly liked the moment when

Spoiler:

Splinter was rebuking him and he was wearing the goggles, magnifying his eyes.

Leonardo I think was the best screen version of him to date. He was powerful, authoritative, ego driven. His facial expressions were fantastic - especially in the scene with April by the fire. His best moment was his exasperation at Raphael on the roof top.

The treatment of Raphael in this film was beautiful and empathetic. Once again, the best portrayal to date. There was a sadness to him as well as a real grittiness. I loved

Spoiler:

him falling asleep on the roof, but his best moment was the exchange between him and General Aquilla in the final battle.

The Voice Acting was incredible, and the four dudes who voiced the turtles were absolutely outstanding, especially Nolan North.

My only real complaint (a greedy one, I know) is that the film could have benefitted from another twenty-minutes or so run time. Those scenes from the novelisation which didn't make the final cut would have fleshed the narrative out nicely. Hoping for a director's cut on the DVD for this.

I could bang on and on about the cinematography, the mise en scene and the musical score etc, but I'll just say that it was all brilliant and I loved every minute- Kevin Munroe and his clan did a stand up job.

Thrilled to see the turtles on the big screen again and hoping for a nice sequel, perhaps one more aimed at the older audience so that can show blood and a bit more action.

[Anarky]

Bwahahaha! Splinter and Karai both sounded like they were drunk. "We mosh fight wi'onour." It was hilarious. And I must say, I liked Mako way better as Aku. It just seemed so much more right for him.

All in all, it was a fine movie, albeit with a bit underdevelopped characters. Sure, the TMNT, Splinter, April and Casey have been around for 20 years and we all know who they are, but Winters' generals were terribly handeled. Head henchmen or not, they deserved more. But then again, this movie wasn't about them, was it? The turtles were excellently handled, I must say. It was nice to see them in big action again.

I'm still not too fond of the whole CGI-bit though. Sure, it's what's cool today, but please... it sucks. The Turtles and Splinter had wonderful models, the monsters and generals looked fine and so did the environment. But the humans were still atrocious. It's not that they were badly animated, in fact, I was rather impressed with that. But their shapes were all wrong, and so were some of the movements.

On to the story, it was wonderful. Really. It was fantastic. I loved the family-moments, the dialogue, the emotional impacts. And we finally get to see where the turtles get their money from.

And I'm rooting for a sequel too. Just because the whole thing felt right and good and therefore deserves a sequel.

[Jester]

Hey, Anarky. Can I ask you to elaborate on why CGI "sucks." I mean, I, by no means, jump up and down and dance screaming, "OMG another movie done on a computer, that alone makes me wanna watch it," but I think for certain movies it works, and this one of them. TMNT as a live action franchise was great, in it's time (and I know you're not saying that that's what you'd prefer), but with CG you can get so much more. Should the human characters have been less like caricatures, maybe? Just askin'. I respect your opinion, as always.

[Spitfire]

And again ignored, I wonder why I post here anymore.

[Anarky]

I don't know what I would have preferred, but this whole CGI-thing bothers me greatly. The people in the movie, even if they're turtles, look as if they're made of plastic. They seem unreal, intangible. And while you know that they're only a drawing in a cartoon, they try to sell you the illusion of photorealism (with artistic liberties of course) and they just don't have that skill yet. They need more experience, better models and better animations. Sometimes, the figures look incredibly unreal, even for mutant turtles.

I'm not particularly unhappy with the CGI in this movie, except when it comes to the humans, but the stuff still looks cold, as if it was made of plastic. And of course, there need to be these scenes added that are only there to show off how awesome their CGI-skills are. In this movie it was the scene on the Red Eye, where it just had to rain and everyone should go "Man, look at the water! It looks so real!" And while they're busy showing off water and having different angles of people standing in the rain, the story starts lacking, the moment starts to feel awkward and it essentially spoils the whole scene. So it's not just the unreal look, it's also the animators' vanity that bothers me.

[Jester]

Originally Posted by Spitfire666xXxXx

And again ignored, I wonder why I post here anymore.

Wha? Did I miss something? Sorry Spitz, I've even gone back several pages to find your post, and nada. Link me?

[Rooish]

Originally Posted by jenna

I loved that Mikey was very definitely the little brother, and this was portrayed well through his facial expression - the way he moved his mouth was so unique and innocent. His best moment was when he was

Spoiler:

watching the Nightwatcher article on the news, getting all excited and when he saw the portal and said "I want one."

I thought he looked really horny when he was watching the Nightwatcher. It was kind of disturbing.

[Kunoichi_Haruko]

Originally Posted by Rooish

I thought he looked really horny when he was watching the Nightwatcher. It was kind of disturbing.

Yeah, you're right. NO ONE gets that excited by the news. No one.

[Spitfire]

Originally Posted by Jester

Wha? Did I miss something? Sorry Spitz, I've even gone back several pages to find your post, and nada. Link me?

Don't fret on it. Just seems everytime I post anything no one responds to it unless they want to bash me. And that only happens in the video game section haha

But if you want to see my post it's on page 9 I think. I was just surprised no one had anything to say about it since almost everyone seemed to enjoy the film.

[jenna]

Originally Posted by Rooish

I thought he looked really horny when he was watching the Nightwatcher. It was kind of disturbing.

Haha! Yeah! I just thought it was really funny the way he got all excitable.

[Rooish]

Originally Posted by Spitfire666xXxXx

Don't fret on it. Just seems everytime I post anything no one responds to it unless they want to bash me. And that only happens in the video game section haha

But if you want to see my post it's on page 9 I think. I was just surprised no one had anything to say about it since almost everyone seemed to enjoy the film.

Spitfire, hey, no one bashed you though, and you were criticizing the movie! I think it's a good sign that people read your post and didn't disagree enough to get pissed off. The problems you had with the movie were bsaically the same as the ones I had. I was really disappointed, and it was basically just seeing the Turtles again, looking awesome and sounding awesome, that appeased me.

[Jester]

Ahh, I remember reading your post. I guess i remained silent because you state your opinion and support it. I couldn't disagree too much. You spelled it out, and heck maybe I agree with you more than I care to admit.

[Spitfire]

Originally Posted by Jester

Ahh, I remember reading your post. I guess i remained silent because you state your opinion and support it. I couldn't disagree too much. You spelled it out, and heck maybe I agree with you more than I care to admit.

I'll take that as a compliment. I know that seems to be why alot of arguments break out around here. It's nice to know I reinforce my opinions well.

[The Terror of Death]

Originally Posted by Spitfire666xXxXx

And again ignored, I wonder why I post here anymore.

Well, I agree with most of what you had to say. But you cant really expect someone to respond to everyone with a forum that has so many people. I get ignored all the time.

[Jester]

I do too...and I'm the charismatic one.