Twitter
Facebook
Reddit
Digg
Tell us what you think!Send a letter to the editor about this or any other article in The Maine Campus.
“TMNT”
Warner Bros.
March 23, 2007
Ninja Turtle fans have not had much to look forward to for more than a decade now. There was the trilogy of live action films in the early ’90s – the first one being the only one worth it’s weight in pizza – and then zip, nada. No soup for you.
Then came the biggest abomination since Vanilla Ice rapped, “Go, Ninja! Go!” – the recent animated go-around. It was reprehensible. I don’t care if it’s closer to the original comic, so save your hate mail.
After many years without anticipating a big screen feature to drool over, writer-director Kevin Munroe serves up a state-of-the-art, Pixar-quality CGI incarnation, “TMNT.” Does it hit the spot, or should you leave your plastic sais and katanas at home?
First off, this film looks top notch. Leonardo, Donatello, Michaelangelo and Raphael -this critic’s favorite amphibian – have never looked better, despite an occasional plastic sheen.
Munroe decided to jump right into the thick of it rather than tell an original story, which was refreshing considering all of the recent comic-themed origin films nowadays. Having disposed of their arch-foe, Shredder, the Turtles have temporarily disbanded while Leonardo leaves to “find himself” in South America. When a 3,000-year-old curse – 13 giant monsters plus ancient warriors and an army of Foot soldiers for good measure – haunts the citizens the Ninja Turtles swore to protect, they must band together yet again to fight for good.
The action is fierce and entertaining, particularly for a PG-rated kiddy flick that wasn’t produced by George Lucas. What is the movie’s major flaw? The action does not come nearly often enough. The pacing of “TMNT” is so off-kilter that one moment the audience is yawning and the next they’re smack-dab in the middle of an ass-kicking fest. It’s sort of like a classy hooker that insists on stopping in the middle of doing the nasty every five minutes to talk your ear off.
The uneven pacing does not ruin the overall freshness that Munroe brings to the table. However, it does dampen the experience.
The endless stream of heavy-handed humor carries a particular Turtles charm, but certainly could become grating on the nerves of the uninitiated. Combine that with Munroe’s indecision as to whether he is making a movie for the “old skool” fans or for the young’ns and you have the only slip-ups in an otherwise satisfying slice of “turtle power.”
Sure, April “Big ‘Uns” O’Neil is no longer a reporter and is now sporting yellow ninja spandex instead of a yellow jumpsuit, but who’s keeping score?
In the end, while “TMNT” didn’t exactly sink my battleship, it certainly hit the mark in terms of staying true to the Turtles while satisfying the most casual of fans. Bring on the sequel! Please pit them against Shredder next time. A Turtles’ movie without the big tin guy is akin to watching a Star Wars movie without Darth Vader as the villain – oh, wait.
Bangor Daily News