Movie Review: TMNT
Kevin Munroe, Imagi try to revive 80's toon franchise
Imagi/Warner's TMNT has gorgeous visuals but where's the fraggin' story? It gets a 5/10.
The producers of TMNT (Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles for those of you not in the know) have been bragging that, by making the flick in Hong Kong, they essentially made a $100 million movie for $35 million.
So what would that extra $65 million have given this film? A plot would've been nice.
Certainly TMNT, in its attempt to revitalize the 1980's toon n' toys craze, looks amazing. The animation is rich and detailed, the colours are beautifully rendered and the work on Master Splinter alone is stunning. Hair is one of the toughest things to render in CGI, and Splinter's facial fuzz should go on a lot of animator's demo reels. A pivotal fight scene is stunning, with drops of rain splashing on the combatants. Pixar, watch your backs; Imagi is bringing the visual goods. But TMNT's story won't be giving the boys at Emeryville any sleepless nights . . .
A completely unnecessary voice-over by Lawrence Fishburne sets the stage: after defeating their nemesis Shredder, the Turtles have split up. Leonardo is "learning to be a leader" in Central America (the plot is never clear on what this means), Donatello is working as an IT tech, Michelangelo entertains at children's parties and Raphael is an armoured vigilante. And 300 years ago, some crazed warlord unleashed 13 monsters on the world and turned his pals to stone. Confused? So am I, and I saw the fraggin' thing!
The voice acting is nothing to write home about either. Patrick Stewart (Professor X plays the 'evil' warlord), Fishburne, and the late Mako (as Splinter) are just collecting paychecks; these veterans know this script stinks. Sarah Michelle Gellar (April O' Neil) is just wooden while Zhang Ziyi's wasted as Karai, the new leader of the villainous Foot Clan. They could have removed Zhang's character, or the entire Foot Clan, from the script and it wouldn't have made any difference to the movie.
As for the turtles themselves, the (previously unknown) voice actors were solid. Raphael (Nolan North) and Leonardo (James Arnold Taylor)'s sibling rivalry gets the majority of the screen time, with Donatello (Mitchell Whitfield) and Michelangelo (Mikey Kelly) reduced to second-string status. It's a shame because Michelangelo's character added some levity that this movie, weighed down with its own self-importance, sorely needed.
Overall, I would give TMNT a 4/5 for the animation, but a 1/5 for the story. That evens out to a 5/10.
Trailers showing with TMNT include Are We Done Yet?, Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer, Fred Claus, and Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix.
