2014 Splinter - Did he work?

[LeoRaph]

Guys, I'm yet to see the movie and will see it for free in the next month(thank god for movie reward points) but I haven't seen any threads specifically on Splinter, so I thought I'd create a thread for those who have seen it to discuss what people thought of the new Splinter. What they didn't like about him and what they did like about him, etc.. (Spoilers are fine, I've seen the last 8 minutes of the movie and read pretty much everything, still going to see it anyway)

Because as it stands right now from what I've seen he does not work at all. Apart from Splinter's terrible design (the turtles are able to have human like eyes yet his are all black go figure) and what seems to be unfinished cgi his personality seems to have no warmth what so ever, his voice is just so jarring.

Does he get better or is he really that bad?

[ScrewtheMirageTMNT]

I didn't mind his look, his voice was average, and he was a bit of an a-hole.

[Xiewin]

Originally Posted by LeoRaph

Guys, I'm yet to see the movie and will see it for free in the next month(thank god for movie reward points) but I haven't seen any threads specifically on Splinter, so I thought I'd create a thread for those who have seen it to discuss what people thought of the new Splinter. What they didn't like about him and what they did like about him, etc.. (Spoilers are fine, I've seen the last 8 minutes of the movie and read pretty much everything, still going to see it anyway)

Because as it stands right now from what I've seen he does not work at all. Apart from Splinter's terrible design (the turtles are able to have human like eyes yet his are all black go figure) and what seems to be unfinished cgi his personality seems to have no warmth what so ever, his voice is just so jarring.

Does he get better or is he really that bad?

I liked Splinter in this version, he's strict and keeps the turtles disciplined when they are being disobedient. But that's the only side we ever get to see of him in the whole movie. So it was hard for anyone to feel any sympathy for him when he was defeated by Shredder. The film never really expanded on his character.

[909 Turtle Fan]

He's OK, woops ass with his tail but he is really freakin ugly (yes,I know he is a mutated rat but still). Would have been cool if he looked like Mateus' Splinter from IDW.

[Mona_Lisa]

Originally Posted by LeoRaph

Guys, I'm yet to see the movie and will see it for free in the next month(thank god for movie reward points) but I haven't seen any threads specifically on Splinter, so I thought I'd create a thread for those who have seen it to discuss what people thought of the new Splinter. What they didn't like about him and what they did like about him, etc.. (Spoilers are fine, I've seen the last 8 minutes of the movie and read pretty much everything, still going to see it anyway)

Because as it stands right now from what I've seen he does not work at all. Apart from Splinter's terrible design (the turtles are able to have human like eyes yet his are all black go figure) and what seems to be unfinished cgi his personality seems to have no warmth what so ever, his voice is just so jarring.

Does he get better or is he really that bad?

Splinter is ugly.... As ugly as people think the turtles are, they do not hold a candlestick to this rat. I would not mind if they killed him off in the sequel!
well maybe that was a little harsh (the guys would be sad)...but this is my least favorite version of splinter EVER!

He's OK, woops ass with his tail but he is really freakin ugly (yes,I know he is a mutated rat but still). Would have been cool if he looked like Mateus' Splinter from IDW.

If you look at a real rat (minus the tail) they are a little cute... But once that bugger gets in your house all the cuteness is gone!

[TurtleTitan97]

The voice was okay. It was his design that sucked.

[Warhorse]

In the movie, he shows hints of being a caring father in flashbacks, but at the present, he is really mean, actually outright abusive to the Turtles (he grabs Raph by the throat and lifts him up off his feet while lecturing him about going to the top side, nothing like the compassionate Splinter we had in the 1990 movie)

Because of the scene, I had a hard time getting behind the Turtles to save him, I would have been more behind them saving April for some reason, since she is the one that helped give them a second life.

[RaphaelinSTL]

Originally Posted by Warhorse

In the movie, he shows hints of being a caring father in flashbacks, but at the present, he is really mean, actually outright abusive to the Turtles (he grabs Raph by the throat and lifts him up off his feet while lecturing him about going to the top side, nothing like the compassionate Splinter we had in the 1990 movie)

Because of the scene, I had a hard time getting behind the Turtles to save him, I would have been more behind them saving April for some reason, since she is the one that helped give them a second life.

I have to agree with this. Splinter in the original film was stern but showed some compassion. Splinter comes across actually as an abusive father in a scene that's supposed to be played for laughs. I enjoyed Tony's work and thought in the trailers and TV spots that his voice suited Splinter well, but in the final film I found it wasn't as enjoyable as I'd hope.

I thought his dialogue during the "pizza teasing" of Mikey was way too hammy. I can't help but laugh AT the film when Splinter flips open the box and goes on this almost senile rant about the pizza. I get what he's doing, but it's execution was poor.

Oh and Splinter's CGI at moments was horrible.

[Donatello19]

His design was a bit too realistic for me...very ugly looking. Wasn't too big on his voice..the way that he learned/got into ninjutsu I really HATED...but he did have an awesome fight with Shredder-bot and the G.I. Joe soldiers, so there's that.

[TheSkeletonMan939]

Originally Posted by LeoRaph

what seems to be unfinished cgi

Glad I'm not the only one who thought that.

Even though Splinter was clearly an abusive jerk, he was still an awesome fighter. He has no business being around kids though.

[Mellie]

Nothing beats the cuteness of 1990's Splinter

[chrisdude]

The voice was alright. He sounds like a man. Not as much personality as the turtles. He's protective, stern, into physical discipline, and not decrepit. Basically, he's like the Nick cartoon Splinter.

[AdamWarlock87]

I just got back from watching the movie and this was the worst Splinter ever. Tony Shaloub was an awful choice for his voice and I have to agree with others that the reason he learned martial arts was kind of dumb. But I have to say that I did get chills when he is gettin. Ready to fight robo-shredder because he did kick ass especially with his tail.

[beeshaw]

Originally Posted by chrisdude

The voice was alright. He sounds like a man. Not as much personality as the turtles. He's protective, stern, into physical discipline, and not decrepit. Basically, he's like the Nick cartoon Splinter.

Only taken to the EXTREEEEME. I actually like he's wasn't decrepit though.

His FX were better on the big screen than the clips/commercials led me to believe. I guess you can see more of the detail. Not a super fan of his design though. More hair on his face and more humanoid eyes would have grounded him a little more.

I didn't mind the voice. I have no Shalhoub baggage.

[chrisdude]

Nick Splinter smacks his kids around, too. People here thought he was too rough, anyway... I dunno. For a father, that's excessive, but it's in line with a kung fu movie sensei. Those dudes are hard on their students. That's probably what they were going for.

[NinjaPug]

Design was awful. The fact that most his CGI work looks like it was done after they ran out of money doesn't help. Some of his appearances wouldn't even make it into a Pixar film. He looked like a cheap cartoon.

[thebrownranger]

Jonathan Liebesman's Splinter was poorly done in my opinion. The look was quite obvious, he didn't have enough hair covering his face and his cg texturing was poorly done. He didn't look realistic enough compared to the turtles and he stuck out like a sore thumb. Aside from the bad looks, his voice was really bad due to the fact that he didn't have a Japanese accent. I personally didn't like his acting in this; he was "too serious" which made his performance come off as really cheesy instead of mature. He didn't have the same quality father aspect like we've seen in Steve Barron's Splinter. Overall, this 2014 Splinter doesn't cut it.

[Bry]

No.

As has been pointed out, he was a bit of an abusive dick. I assume because it was easier for the filmmakers to convey "funny" violence than it was legitimate emotion. Either way, I found him hard to like or care about.

Removed from the Hamato Yoshi element, there's not much in the way of tragedy or loss in his backstory to drive any emotion at all. He's just sort of their father because he decided he should be, not for any deeper reason that would have been naturally informed by his previous experiences. So the character loses a lot of strength there right away.

Tony Shaloub was... fine. Far from my favourite version of his voice. But considering the version of the character we're dealing with, he was okay.

Action-wise, he was decent. The tail attacks were relatively cool at first, but got a bit silly real fast (how long is that thing!?). I never really needed to see Splinter hopping around like Yoda in "Attack of the Clones", but if that's something you're looking for... enjoy?

Looks-wise... oof. He is ugly. Like a mostly-hairless capybara with a stupid-looking topknot and fu manchu. And the CGI seemed pretty not-up-to-snuff on his design for some reason. Legitimately unpleasant to look at.

He didn't feel like a really significant role, really. He provided some (bad) backstory, was a jerk to the Turtles, got beaten up and left behind, then just turned out okay in the end. If you took him out entirely I doubt the movie would've changed much at all. Not the character's strongest hour.

[Coola Yagami]

The design was horrible. I do admit the scene with the discipline was ok... but that's all we saw. based on his backstory he has no reason to know of or hate Shredder, and he has no reason to be 'Japanese'.

[Bry]

Originally Posted by Coola Yagami

based on his backstory he has no reason to know of or hate Shredder, and he has no reason to be 'Japanese'.

Yeah, that too. He found an old ninja how-to book in the sewer and suddenly he was just totally into Japan. He's Weeaboo Splinter!