mdc3000

Being a lifelong turtle fan, yesterday I rushed out to catch TMNT. The trailers had made it a little too 'kiddie' looking for my taste, so I entered with my expectations in check. I am very pleased to report that the movie exceeded my expectations and is probably the best Turtle film yet. (as the DVD talk review clued into).

I thought the visuals were top notch - there were many really cool shots that they could never pull off in live action that Turtle fans everywhere will really enjoy. I found the main plot to be just average, but the storyline of the Turtles working together as a team and the main struggle between Raphael and Leonardo was awesome. The scene with the two of them on the rooftop is probably my favourite scene in any Turtle flick and was extremely well done.

Donatello and Michaelangelo do kind of get the shaft on screentime, but I felt that didn't detract from my enjoyment of the film and I'm sure in a second outing, the 4 turtles will get a more even share (after the final tease at the end, I'm really hoping this makes some serious bank so the sequel gets a greenlight). Although, in fairness to those Don and Mike fans who will be screaming foul, I should divulge that I'm a Leo fan through and through, so I was happy to see that Munroe and Co. kept him front and center.

I'm sure some of my enjoyment comes from nostalgia, but hopefully anyone who was actually interested in seeing this movie will not walk away disappointed. ****/*****

MATT

Applejack

I would like to see them do a reboot of the series, ala Batman Begins or Casino Royale.

I just don't think I could get into it without Shredder, or at least one of the other bad guys like Krang, Bebop, Rocksteady or at least Baxter Stockman.

argh923

Same here. That's the entire reason I'm not excited about it.

LivingINClip

I've seen it - went yesterday, and it's worth see'ing. I'm sorry, but you can't make a movie about Shredder every single time. Just like the 2K3 series realized they couldnt' feature Shredder every single episode.

As for Bebop and Rocksteady, they never appeared in the movies and for a good reason, they're boring characters.

argh923

Good point. They were replaced with Tokka and Razhzar, who were even more boring.

bhk

The new villains are a lot better than Shredder and his goons. I enjoyed it quite a bit. I liked the internal conflict between L and R.

pizzamousechips

Not to threadcrap, I really want to know: Am I the only one who was very disappointed? The Leo vs. Raph fight aside.

matrixrok9

After reading the negative reviews, I didn't expect much from it. But I had still to watch it because I'm a big Ninja Turtles fan. I'm glad I watched it because it was entertaining.

I think(hoping) it was heavily edited by the studio because it didn't really show how Leo became a great leader after he came back from training. He didn't have qualities of a leader. I loved how Rafael beat Leo, it showed that he was a better fighter but not as a leader(even though Leo didn't do much either).

I was disapointed that they didn't use more teamwork at the end to beat the villains. Also disapointed it show Leo using all of his weapons that he crashed into.

It was an enjoyable flick, I'd give it a solid B. The turtles looked awesome.

LivingINClip

What negative reviews? All the reviews I've read on the 'net say that the Turtles are back and are extremely positive... I have complaints, to much Ralph and Leo, which are my two least favorite turtles, not enough backstory on what Leo really done during that year and a rushed plot, where the foot was just there to be there....Still, I hope for a sequel, because I think this franchise could once again be great on the big screen.

DarthMarino

http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/teen...ninja_turtles/

It's only at 30% there so I'm sure you can find plenty of negative reviews.

NitroJMS

IIRC, the movie producers don't have the rights to the Krang, Bebop and Rocksteady characters, since they were invented for the TV series and weren't in the original comics, which is what the movie rights are based on. The Turtles, Splinter, Shredder, April, and Casey were all in the comics so they were fair game.

edstein

I thought it was pretty good and my kids really liked it. I was glad they went with a new bad guy this time.

resinrats

There is a line near the end that hints that Shredder could be back if they do a sequel.

As for a reboot, why be forced to show the same thing over and over? Their orgin has been shown in the cartoon (both series), the comics & the first old movie. They narrator gives a brief origin in this one if anyone has never seen Turtles before.

Corvin

My friends and I walked in late. We started watching when the fat South American took off into the jungle. What exactly did we miss?

resinrats

A brief natration who the Turtles are & that they had defeated Shredder & the tale of what happened 3000 years ago. Picard leading the army to rule the world opens the portal, causing his friends to turn to stone and the 13 monsters to get loose. Then it cut to present day South America.

minguy

An enjoyable comeback. Not as charming as the original movie but slicker and more cinematic. I thought the best part of the movie was the last joke before the final hero shot and credits.

DRG

A question for those who have seen this... what is this closest to in tone: the original Mirage comic series from the 80s, the early 90s cartoon series/later comic series, or the other movies?

paradicelost

My kids are really psyched about it, i think we're going to check it out today. I can remember vividly seeing the first film the saturday after it opened, and though i was a good 8 years older than my daughter is now, but its very cool reliving the series with my own kids.

1998Nole

Just got back from seeing this with my 4yo son and he loved it. I also enjoyed it more than I though I would. I liked the recap of what the turtles were doing while Leo was away, Donatello's and Mikey's were pretty funny.

resinrats

I'd say it is closest to the more recent cartoon series just before Fast Forward. I think it started around 2001 & went to 2006. It itself is much closer to the origonal comic (serious tone) and adapts a good amount of stories from the comic.

DVDTalker002

I would first like to say I'm 23 and I grew up very obsessed with the turtles. I had the comics, watched the show, toys, and even had turtles pj's....
I kinda liked the movie. I thought some of the dialogue was beyond cheese... I didn't like the whole stupid Leonardo is a better leader crap. It was a storyline I didn't really need... I felt like it was force fed to me, and it was kinda painful to watch. I felt the voice of Splinter was beyond terrible. It almost ruined the movie for me....
I thought the animation was the best I've seen in a movie... I felt as if they ignored Donatello and Michaelangelo's characters. Maybe they have a bigger part in the next movie... I liked the look of April she was very cute.
I'd give the movie a 7.5/10... I would have rated it higher had they not had the retarded family/unity/brother element.

Raffurar

This is really the closest that anything has come to the comics, even the newer TV version, which followed the story well, but had poor animation for my tastes. The tone was perfect, yet not too mature, and didn't pander to kids. There was one belch in the entire flick, and that was the only low brow gag in my opinion. I can handle one burp for the kids, and in my theater which was filled with young'ns, they were captivated throughout. Really great, I can't wait for a sequel. If anyone liked this but hadn't checked out the original mirage comics, I encourage you to find some back issues, it's really great stuff.

While some would call this a minor story plot, I felt that it was actually a wonderful thing, as comic movies tend to stick to the major plotlines (shredder, green goblin, doc ock, phoenix, etc), which tends to make multiple issue (more often years long) storylines crammed into a two hour block, which never pleases fans, and sometimes leaves average filmgoers scratching their heads.

This was a great way to get this going again, as it was a perfect representation of what a typical TMNT two-part story would be. That said, I would love to see the implied sequel based off of the City at War comic storyline. The animation was impressive for an inaugural flick for the studio and can only get better, but I would even be happy if they stepped it down a tad and made some straight to video films in line with what they're doing with Hellboy.

Some last notes, I personally thought the interpretation of Splinter was great. FINALLY, a rat from Japan who sounds like... a rat from Japan. Unfortunately, no Mako for a second go around, so who knows if they'll try to continue that interpretation. Casey Jones was perfect. The first movie got him mostly right, but he was a little too harsh, and the original cartoon..... forget it. This was really Casey, a rebel guy, kind of a slacker, who has a ball when fighting with Raph. Also a note, this director and studio are working on a film version of Gatchaman next (Battle of the Planets/G-Force in the US). From the respect shown to the Turtles, I can't wait for another exciting romp into animated nostalgia that doesn't feel like a cash-in.

argh923

So what's the "hint at Shredder"?

resinrats

At the end, Kri (Shredder's daughter) tells them: "You have my respect for today. Beware, come tomorrow, you may have to deal with someone you are much more familiar with". Who else besides Shredder could that be referring to?

treszoks

I liked it but didn't like Splinter's voice.