Darkness has settled over New York City as Shredder and his evil Foot Clan have an iron grip on everything from the police to the politicians. The future is grim until four unlikely outcast brothers rise from the sewers and discover their destiny as Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. The Turtles must work with fearless reporter April O’Neil and her cameraman Vern Fenwick to save the city and unravel Shredder’s diabolical plan.
REVIEW:
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles was my first big screen experience following director Steve Barron’s 1990 classic. While it does fall short of the expectations most people evidently had for the film, the film does have some really great highs to make up for some of its lows.
The story re-observes the origins of where the turtles and lab-rat-turned-life-sized ninjitsu master, Splinter, came from. This point of origin, in conjunction with the “Legend Of The Yokai” (see tags below) backstory, is the root of the film’s complete deviation from the classic canon in the original comics by Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird, and it’s also a huge wedge issue for TMNT loyals who would have otherwise preferred to see the exact origin played out on screen.
April O’Neal is played by Megan Fox, better known for her involvement on producer Michael Bay’s first two Transformers movies between 2007 and 2009. Some of Fox‘s roles stand out better than others – the same could be said for her stint here as the yellow-jacket wearing, hungry reporter forced to host daytime fillers for her news station while desperately in search of the facts on one story that could make her career, or break it.
Fox does an adequate job to own the role since inheriting it from previous actresses Judith Hoag and Paige Turco. Her chemistry on screen with actor and comedian Will Arnett in the role of Vernon Fenwick is pretty good as it is helpful and not so damn annoying as many other “comedy relief” characters are written in Bay-related films (I’m talking to you, Transformers 4).
Their performances here can also be said the same for that of those opposite our main cast of heroes, played by Pete Plozek (Leonardo), Noel Fischer (Michelangelo), Jeremy Howard (Donatello), Alan Ritchson (Raphael) and Danny Woodburn (Splinter), with vocal support by actors Johnny Knoxville and Tony Shahloub for the first and last characters mentioned. For the most part, I had fun watching these characters interact, and the VFX designed specifically for the main heroes were good as well, despite all the song-singing about turtle noses earlier this year.
In between it all, Fox and Arnett don’t have much else to do other than make their on-set performances work for the camera in front of anywhere from four-to-five guys in mo-cap suits, and that’s really all I can ask for from a film like this. But notably, as far as comedic relief goes, it’s Fischer who steals the show.
Actor William Fichtner also stars in the film, in a role that serves well for the film’s newly reimagined premise. Unfortunately, it is also one that has been hard to keep up with, particularly since the studio decided to keep certain things a secret about his character with regard to the film’s iconic supervillain, The Shredder, played by actor Tohoru Masumane. I really don’t understand why they felt like holding back that piece of information and have Fichtner run interference for the last nine months when he’s clearly playing another character. It was frustrating, especially when I observe Asian performers themselves seeking to stand out more diversly in the field of mainstream entertainment while people like me just want to share the facts with our fandom.
That said, Masumane does an excellent job of owning the role for the small amount of time he spends out of his cyber-mechanical suit, which is a bit of a cross between the Silver Samurai from The Wolverine (2013), and the “Super Shredder” character from the 1991 installation of the old trilogy.
Collectively, all the Turtle/Shredder/Splinter action was great to watch, courtesy of fight coordinator Jonathan Eusebio and stunt coordinator David Leitch, as well as all the stuntmen, martial artists and trickers involved. They all shined in the moments that counted the most, including Splinter’s amazing sequence midway through the film, courtesy of tricking impressario Matt Emig (that one had me buzzed). In this regard, the film is a pure example of the limitless talent I’ve seen in the tricking and stunt community and I definitely wanted to see more emphasis on the action, especially with the footclan, led by actress Minae Noji who plays Shredder’s second-in-command, Karai.
Case in point – the scene where the turtles make a wrong turn into a room full of footclan minions before escaping. It was a wasted moment that could have set up a perfect fight scene harkening back to the classic sequences in any of the first two films of the original trilogy, which brings me to my next point.
Obviously, there are fans of this property who absolutely adore Barron’s original who have watched this film and otherwise felt it fell short in many places, if not everywhere. I certainly understand the sentiment, although the truth is that the film really isn’t meant for the fans, per say. It takes a new direction that puts a polarizing, yet workable spin on a story many of us grew up with in our own minds. Not all of us will agree with it, and not all of us have to.
That said, while Bay and his team continue onward with the next film, I hope they will make a better effort to stay as grounded as they can while maintaining the tentpole elements that make a TMNT movie what it is supposed to be. Simultaneously, I also hope that the superfans won’t be offended each and everytime one small thing gets changed.
Yes, it’s annoying and one-small deviation can make or break a movie, but that also depends on what is being changed, and not every change should be as looked at as egregious and offensive as it is hyped to be. Although however, I also wish that the shared past between Shredder and Splinter weren’t entirely written out of the equation and replaced with a more complex history. There were a lot of missed opportunities here to present Shredder in a way that would make him more than just a special effect.
Indeed, there are plenty more moments that could have been improved, and that is exactly why the fans need to be acknowledged in that regard. Hopefully Fox will be a bit more understanding than how she came off in recent weeks (haters aside of course). Nevertheless, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles makes for a notable opportunity to reapproach the classic heroes and villians of the franchise for this revitalized cinematic universe.
Needless to say though, any recommendations I’ve said here (or anyone for that matter) may fall on deaf ears upstairs. Wrath Of The Titans helmer Jonathan Liebesman may be the one directing here, but Transformers film auteur Bay is the one running things. He’s a money maker with no fucks to give, and the film’s opening weekend results are proof of that – something the folks over at Paramount brilliantly already figured out.
So, as for adhering to the wishes of fans, who knows what will happen? Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles is standing firm against Marvel’s Guardians Of The Galaxy at the box office, not to mention Fox is perfect eye-candy for millenials and younger folks watching this film, and will possibly return for the sequel, along with Fichtner who is also currently signed for a three-picture deal (as unintended a spoiler this is). So, needless to say, expect the notorious Eric Sacks to make his return.
As for the Shredder himself, despite whichever villains are chosen for part two, I hope he comes back in some capacity. Masumane deserves much more than a mere name drop in the reviews after the fact, and I would love to see his character as a more prominent villain. Just sayin.
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 2 will release on June 3, 2016. And that’s that.