Shellshocked
That's what a lot of TMNT fans were feeling when they learned that this film was being produced by Michael Bay. And the long road to getting filmed was one filled with drama. Does it put all the naysayers to rest? Let's look at the Plot first.
The Plot
When special interests reporter April O'Neil (Megan Fox) sees an opportunity to move up the broadcast food chain, she finds herself caught in a secret war waged between the Foot Clan and... TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES.
Analysis
There's a lot to be put into consideration about the creation of this film. First, Michael Bay was responsible for bringing this franchise back into the minds of movie executives. And why not? It is one of the most beloved franchises of the 90s and definitely has a huge following. From its origins as a dark and gritty comic that was a satire on superheroes to the big screen with rubber suits to the animated shows that are still around today, the Turtles have been in the lives of a generation. A generation that has now grown and still remember the pizza loving, skateboarding, mischievous yet heroic foursome that the Turtles are. I am from that generation. And yet. I'm not a fan.
That doesn't mean I don't like them. I still watched them and know enough about them to have nice conversations with friends of mine who are fans. But I was never one of those hardcore die-hard fans. I was a huge fan of Transformers and other things, but never a big fan of the Turtles.
So when it was announced that Michael Bay was producing the latest big screen iteration... I could care less. I didn't think anything of it. Even when it was announced that the title was just going to be called Ninja Turtles and they were going to be aliens instead of mutants, I didn't mind it. I did feel some sympathy for the fans who were outraged about hearing this. For me, I was at that point in my life when being faithful to the source material didn't mattered to me. What mattered was making a good movie. And given Michael Bay's track record, although his movies aren't good he knows how to make entertainment. Except for Age of Extinction, that was like watching someone live smear shit on the big screen.
However people seem to be forgetting that Michael Bay is producing not directing. Those are two very different things. But from what can be seen about the final product, it can easily be mistaken for a Michael Bay film. So how was it?
Review
It needs to be made clear that this film was directed by Jonathan Liebesman. NOT Michael Bay. Jonathan Liebesman. NOT MICHAEL BAY! Having said that, this looks like a current Michael Bay movie. Everything from the high color saturation, to the lens flares, to even some of the camera movements. Liebesman has a specific handheld camera style that was shown in Battle: Los Angeles and Wrath of the Titans, that really starts to appear like a weak Michael Bay rip off here. His style in the film seems to have morphed into how Michael Bay would shoot the film, but luckily it didn't include the Michael Bay-ism of having overly sexualized women and toilet humor that goes too far. This is a more kid friendly Michael Bay, if it was directed by Michael Bay. But it isn't. Which helps this movie more so than one might think.
The story does play out a little bit similar to Michael Bay's first Transformers film in that the focus of the story is on the human characters before shifting to the non-human ones. Megan Fox rejoins the Michael Bay train as April O'Neil, the iconic reporter from TMNT lore. The story revolves around her struggles of working her way up the news food chain to discovering that she may be connected to the creation of the turtles. Given that so much of it is focused on her, this is where we really see Fox's acting chops get put to the test. And she does... well? It is a passable performance, but is very obvious that a much talented actress could've handled this character better. And given that most of the movie focuses on her, it really doesn't help that we have a barely okay performance as the lead to a very predictable story.
Then there is Will Arnett as April's cameraman, Vernon Fenwick. His character seems to have been written as a potential love interest for April. However the fact that Arnett looks a lot older than Fox, and it makes him look more like a creep than a love sick puppy, it probably would've been better if they casted a younger actor for the part. Arnett does fine with what he's given, but it is obvious that this role was definitely not meant for him.
But what about the ones the audience pays to see? The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles! How are they? Well, to be quite honest. They were...almost perfect. I say almost mainly because of Johnny Knoxville as the voice of Leonardo, the leader of the turtles. Pete Ploszek did the motion capture for Leonardo while filming, but it is Knoxville's voice that we hear in the final cut. And it really isn't suitable for someone who is suppose to be the leader. I wonder what the reason for this change is, seeing as how the other mo-cap actors get to keep their voices in the finished film.
Alan Ritchson, Noel Fisher and Jeremy Howard are the ones who have that privelage, and I'm glad they did because they are actually perfect in their roles. They play Raphael, Michelangelo and Donatello respectively and perfectly. Each of them brings out the personalities fans will know and love so well that it is a shame we don't get to see them as the primary focus of the film. Ritchson's Raphael gets more screen time than the others, probably because he's the badass of the group, but it is indeed fan favorite Michelangelo who steals the show. Fisher does an excellent job playing the lovable Ninja Turtle and has the character down to a tee. Howard's performance as Donatello is admirable as the geeky one of the group, yet given his lack of screen time we can't exactly get a grasp of him. But from what little is shown, he does it perfect.
Of course there is Master Splinter, the overgrown rat that teaches his "sons" ninjutsu...from a discarded book. Yeah, suspension of disbelief. He is voiced by Tony Shaloub, who does an okay job at it, but lacks the kind of gravitas one would expect from Splinter. It is still a nice interpretation, it just lacks gravitas.
And as for the villains, it was misleadingly promoted that Will Fichtner was going to be the iconic samurai villain, Shredder. Well, he's not. Instead we have a Japanese actor who has his face concealed the whole time in the shadows playing the Shredder. This gives Turtle fans a sigh of relief knowing that Shredder is played by a Japanese actor. However, most of the time Shredder is a CGI robot samurai that resembles a smaller version of Megatron from Transformers. Given that this is a Michael Bay produced film, it should be obvious. Even though Fichtner is the primary antagonist of the film, Shredder still comes off as the main threat. He is definitely everything I'd want from a villain. Mysterious and almost unstoppable. In all the action scenes involving him facing off against the heroes, he dominates the fight. Almost too much, but since he's too powerful, it makes defeating him feel like an even greater victory. And its that over powered nature that makes him feel like a genuine threat. Something that Marvel Films seem to lack with their bad guys.
The story is pretty straight forward and predictable, with an ending that copies The Amazing Spider-Man's finale. However given its length of being only 90 minutes, the plot doesn't drag and is a little bit more compact. Would it have benefited with more? Yes. But I'm actually happy with the length that it is. It says what it needs to say, even though it is predictable, yet it is highly entertaining. And fans of the source may feel outrage for the slight tweak that is made to their origins. No, they are not aliens. They kept part of the original origin story, but have it tie in with April O'Neil. It still doesn't detract from the overall film, just hardcore fans will find it detracting.
Final Thoughts
Seeing the 20% rating on Rotten Tomatoes makes no sense to me. Yes, this movie is not that great, but it is on the same level as other movies such as Lucy and Hercules yet it gets torn apart viciously. I don't believe it deserves all the extreme negativity that it does, because this is a genuinely entertaining film that is more appropriate for kids than the Transformers films. I think it is mainly because of the name Michael Bay, that keeps people from seeing the genuinely fun and competent storytelling being shown here. It is not a bad movie and it is not a good movie. But it is a genuinely entertaining one.
SCORE: 6.5/10 - Kids are going to love it, and maybe if you look past the Michael Bay name, you might enjoy it too
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