New review from Denmark screening!

jignat · 03-15-2007, 06:00 PM

http://www.filmjunk.com/2007/03/14/tmnt

3.5/4 stars

Quote:

I was invited to a pre-screening of the new TMNT movie this Wednesday. This was one of my most anticipated movies of 2007, so needless to say I attended with great excitement. The show started in the best way possible, when a guy got up on the stage and told us, that they had found out that this was in fact the world premiere of the movie. The first public showing of TMNT, right here in Copenhagen, Denmark. He then asked us to please not pirate the movie, and enjoy the show.

No commercials. No trailers, just straight to the company logos, and the movie started.

The movie opens like Lord of the Rings. It sets up an epic long-spanning history that goes before the events taking place in the movie, and right from the first couple of seconds, you get to see how beautiful this movie is. Now, the movie is very stylized and has a clearly defined look to it. I think this worked very much in their favour, because the movie does have a lot of outlandish elements to it, so it’s obvious they couldn’t have gone completely realistic with it. You may feel that they copped out on some of the human characters, but once you get used to the style, which doesn’t take long, you’re not going to care. It really worked for me, and I thought it looked awesome. Just wait till you see close-ups of the turtles in rain.

There were a lot of Japanese people who worked on this movie, and it definitely shows. I know there are people out there who are sick of Japanese influences, and in particular Japanese animation, but I can’t see anybody complaining about the animation in this movie. The turtles have never been more Ninja than in this movie. There is one fight in particular, which is the emotional climax of the movie, which is just incredible, and delivers in every aspect. It’s prolonged, it’s exciting, it’s dramatic, it’s visible and there is genuine doubt as to the outcome.

I deliberately won’t get into much of the story here, mostly because I think movies in general deserve a chance to present it themselves. It’s pretty simple and clear, which is good for a movie like this. The movie focuses a lot on family, and the turtles as brothers. The stereotypes are preserved perfectly, but the stakes are raised so to speak. It is a darker ninja turtles, but only by a small margin to allow for some genuine character to enter the movie, which I thought was excellent, and exactly what the movie needed.

I had hoped for, and after seeing the trailers – expected, a balance between the kid’s movies from the 80s, and something that would seem more like it was written for a big screen, and the movie did not disappoint. There are points where it is obvious that it is a kid’s movie, but only the most dedicated David S. Goyer fan boy would complain about them. If you think of the first trailer where Michelangelo falls in the garbage can at the end, that’s a pretty accurate representation of the movie percentage wise. This is genuinely a movie that both kids and adults can enjoy, and some of the jokes in the movie are genuinely funny. It reminded me of Star Wars in terms of that balance between campy fun and genuine storytelling for the big screen.

A word about the voice acting. The turtles – awesome! Voiced by unknowns, yet instantly recognizable as Leo, Raph, Don & Mike. It was the right choice in my opinion. These characters – not unlike Superman in Bryan Singer’s movie – needed to feel like the same characters they were nearly 20 years ago, and I have to say they melded perfectly. The named actors did very well. Patrick Stewart has a recognizable voice, but his character is so very different from something you’d expect him to be voicing, yet a very appropriate choice. I thought it was an extremely interesting choice, and he did a great job with it. I hardly recognized anybody else in the cast, which is a good thing I think.

In the end, I feel the movie delivered everything I could hope for. After seeing the trailers and TV spots, I was extremely excited to see the movie, and they didn’t lie. Everything that the advertising promised the movie would be, it was. There is a pretty blatant nod towards the end, setting up a sequel, and I would definitely like to see another one of these. Oh, and the movie clocks in at about 85 minutes (just a few minutes shorter than it took to read this review) which is definitely something that needs to be done more often in movies, none more so than kids movies. — Henrik

TMNT4Ever · 03-15-2007, 06:11 PM

Saw this movie at the beginning of Febuary at a preview screening and I agree with you 100%. This film was flippin incredible. Can't wait for it to officially open on the 23rd so I can show it to my friends. I'll be there opening day.

~~ThemanthatwouldbeRaphael~~ · 03-15-2007, 06:34 PM

Someone post this over at aintitcoolnews. Hopefully this, the 4th Postive Review of the movie they've seen, will convince them that the reviewers aren't plants, just people with good vocabularies who liked the movie.

jignat · 03-15-2007, 06:51 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ThemanthatwouldbeRaphael

Someone post this over at aintitcoolnews. Hopefully this, the 4th Postive Review of the movie they've seen, will convince them that the reviewers aren't plants, just people with good vocabularies who liked the movie.

Well, I sent it to Harry knowles email address, but I dont know if they would post it since it belongs to another site and its not my own work.

Oh well, i tried ..

*Buslady* · 03-15-2007, 08:34 PM

It's great to see all these nice reviews...I'm waiting for the @$$es like Ebert to shoot it down, watch him call it a movie 'based on a video game' again. doofus.

I can't wait to see this thing...I hope there'll be more sequels. it's be cool to get a series like in the olden days of movies, serials, hour and a half long serials

or hell, a tv series in the SAME quality & voice talent except for the dearly departed

hey wishful thinking what can i say

*Roseangelo* · 03-15-2007, 08:45 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Buslady

It's great to see all these nice reviews...I'm waiting for the @$$es like Ebert to shoot it down, watch him call it a movie 'based on a video game' again. doofus.

I believe Ebert is still recovering from cancer and isn't currently doing movie reviews. And he's actually one of the better reviewers when it comes to niche movies like this (even though his reviews of the old movies weren't well-informed).

johnnyblaze · 03-15-2007, 09:13 PM

he's still doing reviews--he's just not back on his show yet.

Splinter's Iroonna · 03-15-2007, 09:33 PM

Your review is beautiful! NO spoilers, and yet you have reported many of my expectations-- especially about its being about family!

I have to say, one of the things that drew me back into the fanbase and tied me to the current toon (not meaning Fast Forward-- I can handle it, but still!) is the focus on FAMILY!!! In the end, it's family!

*plans on bringing TWO boxes of Puffs tissues to the movie*

kerfootw · 03-15-2007, 09:40 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Roseangelo

I believe Ebert is still recovering from cancer and isn't currently doing movie reviews. And he's actually one of the better reviewers when it comes to niche movies like this (even though his reviews of the old movies weren't well-informed).

I still can't get past how he could post a negative review like he did against "Edward Scissorhands," one of the most loved yet somewhat underappreciated and one of my most favorite films ever (possibly the only one today that makes me bawl). He's a popular critic but he ain't always into what's good and stuff.

tinlunlau · 03-16-2007, 05:44 AM

uh...this reviewer needs to do his research.
the Japanese didn't work on this film. it was made in Hong Kong.

*Masked Ninja* · 03-16-2007, 11:16 AM

He probably just means there's a good, genuine Oriental vibe in the film. And unless the Japanese have been banned from Hong Kong, there likely were a few that did work on this film. *shrug* It's not a detail worth splitting hairs over, I think.

Spawn Guy · 03-16-2007, 11:24 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ThemanthatwouldbeRaphael

Someone post this over at aintitcoolnews. Hopefully this, the 4th Postive Review of the movie they've seen, will convince them that the reviewers aren't plants, just people with good vocabularies who liked the movie.

*Deep breath*

Okay. Okay.

*Raspy* I'm sorry, I'm sorry...

johnnyblaze · 03-16-2007, 01:04 PM

aint it cool has a new review up from last nights screening--Moriarty once again added that the film was good, that he wished he brought his kid along to see it, and that turtles fans will dig it

http://www.aintitcool.com/node/31902

regardless of what is said in the talkbacks the staff at aint it cool and the reviews are positive about the film

*Garou* · 03-16-2007, 01:17 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by tinlunlau

uh...this reviewer needs to do his research.
the Japanese didn't work on this film. it was made in Hong Kong.

If you check out the page at filmjunk, he states that "asian" would have been a better way of putting it. So he was notified on the matter.

~~LogicDonny~~ · 03-16-2007, 01:22 PM

nice review.. everytime I see another review it pumps me up to see it in person.

It has been years since we have a tmnt movie so this is going to be awesome.. I can't hold the excitment..

03-15-2007, 08:34 PM	#5
Buslady WingsOfDarkness! Perkele! Join Date: Oct 2003 Location: In 7803... Posts: 4,366	It's great to see all these nice reviews...I'm waiting for the @$$es like Ebert to shoot it down, watch him call it a movie 'based on a video game' again. doofus. I can't wait to see this thing...I hope there'll be more sequels. it's be cool to get a series like in the olden days of movies, serials, hour and a half long serials or hell, a tv series in the SAME quality & voice talent except for the dearly departed hey wishful thinking what can i say __________________

03-15-2007, 09:33 PM	#8
Splinter's Iroonna Hench Mutant Join Date: Feb 2007 Posts: 401	Your review is beautiful! NO spoilers, and yet you have reported many of my expectations-- especially about its being about family! I have to say, one of the things that drew me back into the fanbase and tied me to the current toon (not meaning Fast Forward-- I can handle it, but still!) is the focus on FAMILY!!! In the end, it's family! plans on bringing TWO boxes of Puffs tissues to the movie __________________ Original banner by Imagi, comments/adaptations by Ninjatron-- check out his blog! http://astroboyworld.blogspot.com/

03-15-2007, 06:11 PM	#2
TMNT4Ever Random Punk Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: In A Galaxy Not Too Far Away..... Posts: 22	Saw this movie at the beginning of Febuary at a preview screening and I agree with you 100%. This film was flippin incredible. Can't wait for it to officially open on the 23rd so I can show it to my friends. I'll be there opening day.

03-15-2007, 06:34 PM	#3
~~ThemanthatwouldbeRaphael~~ Banned Join Date: Aug 2005 Location: The Seventh Layer of Hell Posts: 1,929	Someone post this over at aintitcoolnews. Hopefully this, the 4th Postive Review of the movie they've seen, will convince them that the reviewers aren't plants, just people with good vocabularies who liked the movie.

03-15-2007, 09:13 PM	#7
johnnyblaze Stone Warrior Join Date: Jun 2006 Posts: 677	he's still doing reviews--he's just not back on his show yet.

03-16-2007, 05:44 AM	#10
tinlunlau Hench Mutant Join Date: Feb 2007 Posts: 279	uh...this reviewer needs to do his research. the Japanese didn't work on this film. it was made in Hong Kong.

03-16-2007, 11:16 AM	#11
Masked Ninja Doodles TMNT for fun Join Date: Jun 2005 Location: sploshin' through some sewer... Posts: 2,137	He probably just means there's a good, genuine Oriental vibe in the film. And unless the Japanese have been banned from Hong Kong, there likely were a few that did work on this film. shrug It's not a detail worth splitting hairs over, I think.

03-16-2007, 01:04 PM	#13
johnnyblaze Stone Warrior Join Date: Jun 2006 Posts: 677	aint it cool has a new review up from last nights screening--Moriarty once again added that the film was good, that he wished he brought his kid along to see it, and that turtles fans will dig it http://www.aintitcool.com/node/31902 regardless of what is said in the talkbacks the staff at aint it cool and the reviews are positive about the film

03-16-2007, 01:22 PM	#15
~~LogicDonny~~ Banned Join Date: Nov 2006 Posts: 1,643	nice review.. everytime I see another review it pumps me up to see it in person. It has been years since we have a tmnt movie so this is going to be awesome.. I can't hold the excitment..