End of Summer Announcement

Overall, the 2014 Summer Movie Season was pretty solid. Sure there were certainly some stinkers that came out, as it has been every year, but overall I’d say that this year the good managed to outweigh the bad. Now I’m not doing a recap of all of the films that came out this summer because I already sort of did that back in July in my ‘2014 Midyear Recap’ minus the films that I would see in the next two months. So instead ladies and gentlemen, I’m letting you create a Top 10 list for your favorite films that came out this summer. The link below is for a survey where you can vote for what was your number one favorite film from this summer season. I’ve basically listed almost all of the films that I covered in my monthly ‘preview’ posts but if you feel that I’ve forgotten a film, feel free to include that film in the write-in section. The final results will be tallied and a Top 10 list consisting of the films that received the most amounts of votes from those who took part in the survey will be posted a few days after the voting period is over (which will probably be in about a week or so… I’ll keep you notified via Twitter). I’m very eager to see what films you all will pick as your favorite film of the 2014 Summer Movie Season.

https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/BCX6WW2

The Expendables 3 (2014) review

I will admit that I’m a fan of ‘The Expendables’ films and I am also aware that I’m kind of in the minority on that. I mean sure when you really look at these films, they’re generally nothing more than dumb cheesy action films that are very much in line with the action films from the 80’s. Still, even with that in mind I still find both ‘Expendables’ films to be very entertaining. The first film, despite some occasionally clunky editing and for also being a bit too serious at times, managed to still have some awesome action sequences that I feel managed to make up for a good chunk of the film’s shortcomings. But ultimately I prefer the sequel, ‘The Expendables 2’, more than I do the first one. It didn’t take things as seriously as the first film did and it had much better action sequences and a far more memorable villain compared to the generic warlord and CIA agent from the first film. So now we come to the third ‘Expendables’ film, this one helmed by Patrick Hughes, who has recently been hired to helm an American remake of ‘The Raid’. As for this film, it’s faced quite a bit of controversy recently for a few major reasons. The first, and clearly the most infamous, was when a Digital Copy of the film was leaked online by piracy sites a few weeks before it was set to be released in theaters. Seeing how it is estimated that the leaked copy of the film was viewed more than 2 million times, it certainly is playing a key factor in the film’s poor performance at the box office. But then you also take into account that this is the first film in the series to be rated PG-13 after the far more violent/bloody R-rated first two films. Some may feel that this means that the new film will be ‘watered down’ compared to its predecessors. However, ‘The Expendables 3’ still manages to be a fun and corny action film that actually isn’t affected by the PG-13 rating that much.

After rescuing one of their old teammates, ex-medic Doctor Death (Wesley Snipes) from prison, the mercenary group ‘The Expendables’, led by Barney Ross (Sylvester Stallone), are then tasked with intercepting a shipment of weapons that are set to be handed over to a Somalian warlord. However, once there, they soon find out that the arms trader providing the bombs is none other than Conrad Stonebanks (Mel Gibson), who co-founded the group with Barney many years ago. He was believed to be dead after being ‘killed’ by Barney when he found out that he had gone rogue but it turns out that he’s still alive. When one of the members of the groups is severely injured in the operation by Stonebanks, Barney ends up disbanding the team so that none of the others would end up the same way. He then proceeds to enlist a new younger group of mercenaries (played by Kellan Lutz, Ronda Rousey, Glen Powell, and Victor Ortiz) in order to capture Stonebanks and take him into custody. However, the operation soon goes haywire and Stonebanks ends up taking the new recruits hostage, leaving Barney with no choice but to reassemble the old gang in order to take down their former ‘ally’.

Like the two films that came before it, ‘The Expendables 3’ is an incredibly cheesy action film that very much feels like it came from the 80’s with its constant one-liners and its fair share of story clichés. However that’s part of what makes these films fun to watch in the first place. They harken back to the classics like ‘Die Hard’ and ‘Rambo’ and while I may not have been an ‘80’s kid’, I can certainly see the impact that those films have made on the action genre. I also have to give these last two films a lot of credit because after the first film tried to be more serious than it needed to be, the sequels have thankfully not made the same mistake. They opt for a much more light-hearted tone which is much more suited for films of this nature. There has been quite a lot of speculation regarding this film being ‘toned down’ to a PG-13 rating after the previous two films were rated ‘R’. However I can assure you that this is not that big of a problem. Sure, that does mean that there are some really noticeable instances where the violence is heavily edited so that we don’t see anything too violent or bloody. But at the same time, this film does get rid of something that I’m well-aware has been a major problem for a lot of people and that is the use of CGI blood squibs whenever someone is killed so the downgrade to PG-13 isn’t all that bad. Heck, even under a PG-13 rating this film is still pretty damn violent, especially during the insane finale.

It’s clear that because this film is rated PG-13, the filmmakers are trying to market the film towards younger audiences than they used to. That fact is most noticeable in regards to how this film spends more time on the new young members of the Expendables than the older ones. So with that said, if you’re going into this film expecting to see a lot of the main members of the Expendables, you’re more than likely going to be disappointed (I can safely say that fans of Terry Crews will be especially disappointed in regards to the amount of screen-time he has in this film though from what I hear, this was due to scheduling conflicts) because aside from Stallone, most of them disappear for a good chunk of the film. Despite this, the film still has its fair share of stand-outs within its very large cast. The biggest standout would easily be Antonio Banderas as Galgo, a sharpshooter who is initially turned down by Ross to join the team but ends up getting hired eventually. Banderas steals every scene he is in, mostly because he gets a lot of the best lines in the film and that’s because he’s always talking, which ends up annoying most of the other Expendables because of his motor mouth. As for Mel Gibson as the main villain, his presence in the role more than makes up for the fact that he actually doesn’t do jack for most of the movie. Overall, every member of the cast does their job even though some don’t have as much screen-time as others.

These ‘Expendables’ films aren’t for everyone, so if you’re not already a fan of these movies, ‘The Expendables 3’ isn’t really going to change much for you. It’s just like the last two that came before it; it’s cheesy, it has a fairly standard plot and little to no character development. It’s more about the action and how many action stars can fit into one cast, so much so that some don’t get the proper screen-time they deserve. Yes, these films haven’t fully delivered on the action spectacle that the first one promised back in 2010 and there are quite a few things that could have been done to improve them but I still managed to enjoy this new one just as I did the other two. This film may not be as violent as the two that came before it as evident by its PG-13 rating but aside from a few occasionally heavily-edited action sequences and a greater focus on the newer additions to the Expendables, the film isn’t affected too much by the lower rating. It’s sad that this film had to become a victim to piracy because it’s clear that the whole ‘leak incident’ played a key part in the film’s incredibly poor opening weekend. Now considering the general critical reception towards these films, franchise fatigue might have been another factor as well. However, I hope that this film’s bad luck may change soon because it’s a really entertaining film just like the other two that came before it.

Rating: 4/5

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (2014) review

As we all know, there have been plenty of controversial films over the years, including ‘Passion of the Christ’, ‘A Clockwork Orange’, and ‘The Da Vinci Code’ just to name a few, each controversial for their own unique reasons. But the newest ‘Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles’ film easily takes the cake as one of the most controversial films in recent memory. That’s because pretty much every major bit of news surrounding the film since the day it was first announced got heavily scrutinized by fans of the franchise. For those who weren’t aware of all this, here’s a general recap. First of all, the project was to be produced by Michael Bay and given his track record with audiences,  mostly in regards to his work on another extremely popular 80’s franchise, ‘Transformers’, it’s no surprise that a lot of TMNT fans got worried, even though Bay wasn’t even going to direct the film. But then it was none other than Bay himself who dropped a bombshell in March 2012 at a Nickelodeon press conference where he said that there was going to be a change to the turtles’ origin; now they are from an ‘alien race’. This really got the fans pissed off and it also didn’t help when a supposed early script utilizing that alien origin story-line was leaked online. In it, the focus was more on the character of Casey Jones than the Turtles themselves, which was similar to a problem that many people have had in regards to Bay’s ‘Transformers’; not enough focus on those who should be the ‘main’ characters. However, Bay later stated that this script was written before his company joined the project and that ultimately nothing was going to change regarding the Turtles (including their origins).

But that wasn’t the end of the ‘TMNT’ reboot controversy; it was then announced that Megan Fox, who apparently repaired her relationship with Bay after the whole incident where she compared him to Hitler, which resulted in her being booted off ‘Transformers: Dark of the Moon’, was cast in the major role of the Turtles’ main human ally, reporter April O’Neil… and really folks, I can go on and on in regards to the controversies that have surrounded this film because there are plenty. Pretty much everyone has been predicting that this was going to be an epic disaster. Well after seeing the film I can safely say this… this is ultimately not the disaster everyone was expecting it to be. Now let me be perfectly clear about this; I’m not saying that this is a masterpiece. In fact, compared to some of the other movies we’ve seen this summer, this one is kind of, shall I say, ‘light’ by today’s standards. But really… it’s frigging Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles for crying out loud! You should seriously know what to expect from a movie like this just from that title alone. In the end, this is just a fun little action movie that at least manages to entertain with some fairly good action sequences and visuals. Also when compared to Bay’s other 80’s franchise, this at least feels like they’re staying true to what made TMNT as popular as it was in the first place.

The city of New York has been facing an increase in crime recently due to the rise of the criminal organization known as the Foot Clan, led by the mysterious Shredder. Hoping to investigate further into the matter, as well as trying to get away from doing nothing but puff pieces, Channel 6 reporter April O’Neil (Megan Fox) discovers that there is apparently a vigilante in the city that is fighting off the Foot Clan. She soon discovers, however, that this ‘vigilante’ isn’t alone; instead there are four ‘vigilantes’, more specifically four genetically-mutated talking turtles; Leonardo, Michelangelo, Donatello, and Raphael (portrayed via motion capture by Pete Ploszek, Noel Fisher, Jeremy Howard, and Alan Ritchson, respectively (Leonardo is voiced by Johnny Knoxville)). These ‘Mutant Ninja Turtle Teenagers’, who used to be experiments in a lab where April's father used to work, live underground in the sewers with their master/‘father’ Splinter (portrayed via motion capture by Danny Woodburn and voiced by Tony Shalhoub), who trains them in the art of ninjutsu. April ends up befriending them as they look to stop the Shredder before he ends up taking over the city of New York.

Like I said, you really can’t take a film centered on a group of walking, talking, pizza-loving Ninja Turtles that seriously. The plot is pretty stupid and it even copies the ‘bad guy releasing a toxin into the city’ plot-line from ‘The Amazing Spider-Man’. Heck, this film even tries to attempt to connect April O’Neil to the Turtles more than ever before by having them be experiments in the laboratory April’s father worked at (in other words, they were once her ‘pets’) and having her be the one who saves them when a fire destroys the lab and releasing them into the sewers. But really I went into this knowing that it was going to be stupid and ultimately I thought it was pretty fun. The best parts in this movie are when the Turtles are on-screen because it really feels like this is staying true to the essence of the franchise; they’re wisecracking heroes in a half-shell and they do maintain the proper character traits that define each of them. However, that does mean that any of the scenes where they are not on screen are fairly weak by comparison. That does include the opening which kind of goes on a bit too long. Now for those who are really worried about Michael Bay’s involvement with this film, this actually doesn’t feel too much like a Bay film; if anything, it’s not like there are hundreds of explosions going off every minute. Plus, compared to Bay’s ‘Transformers’ films, I’d say that this film is actually fairly harmless towards kids even with a PG-13 rating because it’s less intense than those films.

I know I’m going to be in the minority on this, but I really don’t mind the new CGI designs of the Turtles. I mean I will admit that it did take me a little bit to get used to them but overall the CGI is actually pretty good, especially during the action sequences. I also have to give credit to the four guys who portrayed them through motion capture (and that also includes having Johnny Knoxville be the voice of Leonardo) as they did have really good camaraderie together. The biggest standout amongst them is easily Noel Fisher as Michelangelo as he gets the funniest lines in the movie. But what about Megan Fox as April O’Neil, the casting choice that has faced nothing but scrutiny ever since she was cast? Look… the role of April O’Neil hasn't always been the most ‘well-written’ in the world. The April from the 80's was known more as a 'damsel in distress' who always got kidnapped by Shredder and had to be saved all of the time by the Turtles and for the most part that was sort of the same scenario with the previous 3 live-action movies. With this film, I do have to give the writers a lot credit for having her be more involved in the action, more so than any of the live-action TMNT movies from the 90's. As for Fox herself... yes there clearly were much better choices to play the part but at the end of the day, she’s not THAT terrible. You can’t fault her for at least trying. As for some of the other members of the cast, Will Arnett gets a few funny lines here and there as April’s camera-man Vern and William Fichtner does a pretty solid job as well in the role of Eric Sacks, a scientist who used to work with April’s dad years ago. And for the record, he’s not playing the Shredder as it was reportedly supposed to be during pre-production; he’s actually Shredder’s ‘protégé’.

I’m not saying that the new ‘Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles’ is a masterpiece… in fact, it doesn’t really stand out compared to some of the other films we’ve gotten this summer. But if anything, it’s still a fun little action movie. Yes, it’s stupid and silly but really that has always been the case with this franchise from the very beginning. I would be incredibly surprised if someone actually went into this film and tried to take it seriously because you really can’t. How can you with a franchise with a title like ‘Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles’? Still, the action sequences in this movie are pretty good as are the visuals (e.g. the Turtles themselves). The best scenes in the film are when the Turtles themselves are on screen. In the end, this film, compared to Michael Bay’s ‘Transformers’ films, actually does feel like a TMNT movie and is also less intense so it’s more family-friendly even with a PG-13 rating. Some people will say that this is a ‘severe mishandling’ of the franchise; in fact, I’m pretty sure some people already thought that before they even saw the damn film. Well, I can assure you folks that it really isn’t. It does stay true to what makes this franchise so memorable in the first place. Again, I’m not saying that’s a great film, but I at least managed to have fun with it.

Rating: 3.5/5

In Memory of Robin Williams (1951-2014)

Sad news came yesterday when it was announced that actor/comedian Robin Williams had died by suicide. Like everyone else, I’m at a severe loss for words; any death is tragic and this one is no exception, especially when considering the impact that Williams has had on many of us, myself included. Now for the record, I’m not a comedian or an actor, but I did grow up watching a lot of Williams’ films. When I was young, he was my favorite actor and even as I got older, he was still one of my favorites. I know that some are critical about how a lot of the comedies he did had the same inspirational message in them but as for me, Williams’ charm and comedic ability managed to overcome that. Now I haven’t actually seen any of his major dramatic roles in films like ‘Good Will Hunting’ or ‘The Fisher King’ but I can tell, even without seeing them (and I assure you that I will see them soon), that Williams’ performances in films like those were always top-notch. What’s my favorite film of his? That easily has to be ‘Aladdin’, in which he played my personal favorite Disney character; the Genie. Williams may have asked that his name and image wouldn’t be used in the marketing, along with not having the Genie dominate the advertising (two conditions that Disney did not abide by, by they way), but in the end his performance was the highlight of the film.

But on another note, I hope that this will result in us all contributing more to the cause of helping people deal with depression. No one wants to go through it and unfortunately a lot of people have, and many tragic turn of events similar to what happened with Williams have happened before and unless we do something about it, it will continue to happen.

What else more can I say but… we’ll miss you, Robin. Thanks for the laughter.

R.I.P. Robin Williams: 1951-2014

TMNT: Film Franchise Retrospective

This weekend sees the release of the new live-action ‘Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles’ film and as many of you are more than likely aware by now, there has been quite a lot of controversy surrounding this film pretty much literally ever since the project was first announced. First off, the fact that it was to be produced by Michael Bay clearly must have had plenty of TMNT fans worried after his work on the ‘Transformers’ movies. Of course we all know how those films fared reviews-wise amongst critics and audiences. But really, the fact that Bay was producing it (he wasn’t even going to direct it) was relatively minor compared to the other major controversies that emerged during the film’s production. There was the supposed change in the Turtles’ origin (as reported by Bay himself) in which they would be aliens. Then there was the supposed leaked script which used that origin story and focused more on the human character of Casey Jones than the actual Turtles themselves (which is a problem that many people have had with Bay’s ‘Transformers’ films). Ultimately, the alien ‘origin’ back-story was abandoned; however, the controversy towards the film continued. It clearly must have reached its peak when Megan Fox was cast in the major role of fearless reporter April O’Neil. In other words, almost every major bit of news surrounding this film has faced quite a large amount of scrutiny from TMNT fans.

But even though I’m certainly going to be in the minority on this, I must say… I’m actually really looking forward to this movie. I mean I’m kind of obligated to see the film anyway given that I did two separate posts on the film during its pre-production period back in 2012 (one on the controversial ‘alien’ back-story in May and another on the ‘leaked script’ in September) but I really think that this movie is looking really good. The second trailer that was released is what sold me on it; it made the film look much more appealing than what we saw in the first trailer. If anything, I’m hoping that this will stay true to the essence of the franchise more than the ‘Transformers’ films… and yes I’m saying this even though I’ve made it clear that I am a fan of those films. However, if this new ‘Turtles’ film does suck, this time we can’t put the full blame on Michael Bay because he didn’t direct it; he only produced it. That’s like saying he’s the main one to blame for all of the horror remakes his studio has made. Still, if Bay’s toughest critics do need something to fuel their fire, I guess if the film doesn’t turn out that good we can blame him for picking Jonathan Liebesman (a director who doesn’t really have that good of a track record) to direct the film but that’s really about it.

But for now, before the new film comes out, today we’ll be looking at the previous TMNT movies, which includes the original trilogy of live-action films that came out during the 90’s and the 2007 animated film that was supposedly going to revive the film franchise but it seems like that didn’t really go too far seeing how this new film is now coming out. Plus, I’ll even throw in a little bonus review of a made-for-TV TMNT film that was released a few years ago. Now this is not going include much about any of the TMNT television series that have come out over the years, which include the original cartoon from the late 80’s, the incredibly weird live-action series titled ‘Ninja Turtles: The Next Mutation’ which ran for one season in the late 90’s, the 2003 revival, and the recent computer animated series on Nick. That’s because, aside from the last film I’m covering here, they really don’t factor that much into any of these films. However, I will add that I did watch a few episodes from both the 80’s and 2003 series before watching these films, which for the record I had never really watched before now, so that I could be a bit more familiar with the franchise. So with that said, it’s time to look back at the films starring our favorite ‘heroes in a half-shell’; the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.

TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES (1990)

When the first live-action TMNT film came out, I’m guessing that most of the TMNT fans at the time might have been expecting something that was more in line with the animated series, which had just finished its third season just a few months earlier. However, the film turned out to be something a bit more mature than the cartoon. Instead, it is based more on the original TMNT comic book series which, for the record, I haven’t read but I am aware that it is much darker and more violent than the cartoon. As for this first film, I have to say that I think it actually does hold up pretty well. The film does a pretty good job of mixing the darker elements of the comics with some of the more light-hearted elements of the cartoon. I mean, if you look at it nowadays, the film isn’t really ‘that dark’. I mean sure, there are a couple instances of mild language, easily the most infamous example of that being the scene where Raphael just yells ‘DAMN!!!’ at the top of his lungs while chasing Casey Jones through the city (I also want to use this time to point out my favorite line in the film where Michelangelo and Donatello are watching a cartoon and at one point Michelangelo says, ‘Ninja kick the damn rabbit!!’). Also the film is a bit more ‘violent’ than the cartoon when it comes to the action. Still, in retrospect, there have definitely been a lot of other ‘PG’ rated films that are much more violent than this one. In the end, this one is pretty tame by today’s standards.'

Aside from that, the fight sequences are pretty good, which actually does say quite a lot considering that some of the participants of these fights are wearing giant turtle costumes. And on that note, the Turtle suits, which were designed for this movie by Jim Henson, who of course many of you will know as the creator of ‘The Muppets’, are also really good as well. I mean, let’s be honest… this movie is fairly cheesy. This is a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles film… that title alone should give you an idea of what kind of movie this is. Is it perfect? No, not really but it’s still pretty entertaining and the main edge that this film has over the other films in the series is that it did take the bold route of staying more true to the original comics than the cartoon and keep in mind, this was 1990, right during the peak of the franchise’s popularity. I have the feeling that most TMNT fans at the time were more familiar with the cartoon than the comics so hopefully this film might’ve made those fans of the cartoon interested in the comics that started it all. So overall, the original ‘Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles’ film may not be a perfect movie, but at the end of the day it is still the best of the original live-action TMNT films. In fact on that note it’s also still the best TMNT film period.

Rating: 4/5

TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES II: THE SECRET OF THE OOZE (1991)

So because the first ‘TMNT’ film was more dark and violent than I’m guessing that many people were expecting, this led to some backlash by parents which then resulted in the next film, ‘TMNT II: The Secret of the Ooze’, which was released just one year after the first film, being much more light-hearted than its predecessor. In this film, the Turtles rarely use their actual weapons and the action is this film is much more comedic in tone… oh yeah and to top it all off, Vanilla Ice makes a cameo where he does an impromptu ‘Ninja Rap’ (‘Go Ninja, Go Ninja Go!’). In other words, this film is clearly more oriented towards kids than it is towards adults. So for older TMNT fans, I kind of feel that this movie isn’t really for you because it doesn’t have the same edge that the first film had; whereas that film felt more like the original TMNT comics, this one feels more like the cartoon. But really, that’s not entirely a bad thing. The way I see it, for kids this film is pretty harmless. It’s cheesy, playful fun and as one might expect from a Ninja Turtles film, it doesn’t take itself ‘too seriously’. The action sequences are still pretty good as are the Turtle costumes and this film even gives the group some mutant enemies to fight, a key element of the cartoon. So if you’re a younger TMNT fan, then I believe that you’re really going to like this film. However for adults, your enjoyment of this film may vary.

Rating: 3/5 (just keep in mind that is in the perspective of its target audience)

TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES III: TURTLES IN TIME (1993)

First off I just want to note that the actual movie does not have the subtitle ‘Turtles in Time’, which was also the name of one of the most popular TMNT arcade games. That subtitle only became part of the title in recent home video releases. As for the film itself, this is widely regarded as the worst of the live-action TMNT films and after seeing it… I definitely agree with that statement. Now I don’t know how much I can add to this discussion considering that James Rolfe (AKA the ‘Angry Video Game Nerd’) did an excellent video review for it a few years ago. But regardless of that, I will still note some of the biggest problems that I had with the film. The whole idea of the Turtles going ‘back in time’ is a fairly interesting concept but it’s not really done well here. Now for the record I’ve never played the arcade game ‘Turtles in Time’ but from what I can tell that game kept the characters in New York whereas here they’re sent back to Ancient Japan. In other words, a good chunk of the film really doesn’t feel a whole lot like ‘TMNT’. Not only that, but early on Michelangelo is briefly captured meaning that there’s only about one major fight sequence that involves all four of the turtles, which must have pissed fans of the franchise, especially those whose favorite turtle was Michelangelo (being that he is my favorite as well, I’m right there with them). In fact, there aren’t even many action sequences in this film, so it kind of drags at points.

Instead of the filmmakers using villains from the cartoon series like Krang or Baxter Stockman, they instead give us a rather generic Japanese warlord and a kind-of out of place English trader. The dialogue is incredibly cheesy, and while that is something to expect from this franchise, it comes off way too cheesy in this film. Some of the jokes don’t even make sense and some of the references come out of nowhere like a weird moment where Raphael imitates Schwarzenegger by saying ‘I’ll be Back’ and another where Donatello goes, “Were you expecting maybe the Addams Family?”. As for the Turtles themselves, the costumes weren’t done by Jim Henson’s company this time and because of that, they really don’t look as good as they did before. Also, the dialogue doesn’t always sync up with their mouth movements. Now, I don’t think that it’s all ‘that bad’ as I will admit there were a couple of funny moments here and there but for the most part, this is a pretty weak sequel that really doesn’t feel much like a ‘Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles’ film. So overall this is the one film in the franchise that I just can’t recommend because it truly is the worst of the live-action ‘TMNT’ films.

Rating: 1/5

TMNT (2007)

So because the third Turtles film performed poorly with critics and audiences, it ended up being the last live-action TMNT film until the new reboot. In 2007, the film series was revived with the release of a computer animated film simply titled ‘TMNT’. It performed fairly well at the box office amidst mixed reviews and it seems like plans were set for this film to get a sequel. However, that never happened hence the new film coming out this weekend. But as for this film, overall I’d say that it’s a fun and entertaining animated film and a fairly solid addition to the TMNT franchise. However, at the same time, I can’t say that it’s ‘perfect’ as there are some rather odd problems with it, most of them come from the overall story. Now I do like the idea of the Turtles trying to reunite after they start to grow apart but I’m not as crazy towards the main plot of the film, where they fight a group of ancient warriors and a series of monsters. It’s like the third live-action film; I really don’t see how this connects with TMNT. The opening prologue that sets up the whole story feels more like ‘300’. Now I know that there have been ‘strange’ plot-lines that have been done before in this franchise, but why not do something connected to Dimension X, the alternate dimension where one of the Turtles’ major villains, Krang, resides. In fact, that whole concept has not even been done in any of the films. I’m not going to say anything more about that but I’m kind of hoping that this new live-action film series does something with that storyline.

Anyway, despite the rather odd, and sometimes occasionally over-complicated, story, there are still some really good things about this film. The animation is pretty good and the action sequences are fairly well-done, even though they do sort of have a ‘video-game’ quality to them. The voice acting is also pretty good with a cast that includes the likes of Sarah Michelle Gellar, Chris Evans, Patrick Stewart, and the late Mako. Plus, when the film does focus on the Turtles, this does feel like a TMNT film. So overall, I’d say that young TMNT fans will like this movie; it’s colorful, fun, and action-packed. As for the older TMNT fans, this is sort of similar to the case of the second live-action film in that your enjoyment of the film may vary but overall I’d still say that is an enjoyable and solid addition to the TMNT franchise. However, it could’ve benefitted from a stronger story, one that focused more on the Turtles themselves and not some fantasy storyline that doesn’t really feel like something you would normally expect to see from this franchise.

Rating: 3/5

BONUS REVIEW: TURTLES FOREVER (2009)

I’m finishing off this retrospective with a review of the made-for-TV Ninja Turtles film, ‘Turtles Forever’. The main reason why this film is so special is because it’s a big crossover event (released in 2009, the year which marked the 25^th anniversary of the franchise) between the original 1987 TMNT cartoon and the more recent TMNT series from 2003 (this was before the Nickelodeon series that debuted in 2012). It’s a film that I believe will appeal to pretty much every major fan of TMNT as it pays tribute to numerous interpretations of the franchise; they even feature the Ninja Turtles from the original comic book series, which is pretty cool. It balances the roles of the 80’s Turtles and the 2003 Turtles pretty well with a pretty well-written story that doesn’t feel like it’s being done as a ‘cheap’ crossover. I will admit that I’m not that familiar with the 2003 series but you don’t really need to be in order to enjoy this movie. You can clearly tell that all of those involved with the project really worked as hard as they could in order to make this special as good as it is. My only complaint, which is a fairly minor one at that, is in regards to the voice acting for the 80’s versions of the main characters. It’s not bad, but none of the members of the original cartoon’s cast return for this, apparently because they were union actors whereas 4Kids, the company behind the 2003 cartoon, is a non-union organization. The actors who do portray the 80’s characters here do at least try their best to try and imitate the voices of their predecessors but it is a little distracting at times. Still, in the end, ‘Turtles Forever’ is a must-see for any TMNT fan as it does an excellent job at paying tribute to this long-running media franchise.

Rating: 4.5/5