That’s not a swipe at TMNT, the latest incarnation of the Ninja Turtles franchise, but merely a piece of wisdom (Master Splinter’s, perhaps). This film is, quite obviously, a product of fanfare. This was made for hardcore fans only, and it even seems like fans created it. There are little to no introduction for any of the characters. You’re expected to know them and their roles on your own. Not only that, but the tone and certain scenes in the movie are blatant fan service for those who are deeply familiar with the Turtles’ mythology. Scenes like Leonardo and Raphael fighting, for instance. Casual moviegoers might raise their eyebrow at Leo and Raph’s quick willingness to throw down, but fans who know their Turtles’ personalities know why it must happen and why it’s such a cool thing to see.
Now, as a direct-to-video release that only fans would seek and enjoy amongst self, it’s not half bad and would probably play over really well. However, as a wide theatrical release, for all sorts of patrons to judge? It might not be so pleasing, and for a good reason: TMNT is a film that’s fated to be misunderstood from the get-go, and what’s to blame is the 1980s Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles cartoon that’s been deeply embedded in the public consciousness. A cartoon that some of the older generation fans would say bastardized the spirit of the world created by comic book duo Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird. Forget the ninja part – what people remember are the pizza munching and the extreme overuse of the phrase “Cowabunga!”
TMNT attempts to bring the Turtles back to their roots, by emphasizing a great deal on solid action instead of hijinks. Make no mistake; this is not a cutesy cartoon comedy. The childish humor plaguing the 80s cartoon and the live-action movies are nearly absent, and thus the grim seriousness of TMNT might turn off and bore some people. This is a martial arts film first and foremost, with tons of angst and hormones to spare, though there’s still plenty of comic relief scattered here and there courtesy of Michelangelo. There’s a fight going on in almost every other scene, and they are impressively choreographed (the animation was done by Imagi, a Hong Kong animation studio where, apparently, the animators are also avid practitioners of kung fu – go figure).
Thank the shells for that, because the film certainly has nothing else going for it. The story fails to engage, with a sordid plot straight out of Pokémon. Basically, as Laurence Fishburne tells us with his opening narration, an ancient South American warrior found a portal 3000 years ago that unleashed thirteen monsters into our world and gave him immortality. Now on present day, a wealthy Industrialist employs the Shredder-less Foot Clan to find those thirteen monsters, who all somehow end up in New York City (what are the chances?). It’s hard to stay interested when the story changes its villains more than once, and the film itself doesn’t seem too enthusiastic about all the monster baloney.
The highlight of the story, naturally, is the four brothers growing apart. At the beginning of the film, Leonardo has been away in the Central American jungle for a while, training. This left the other turtles losing their way as a team and stopped fighting crime. When Leonardo returns, hotheaded Raphael greets him with disdain for abandoning the family, and they start a power struggle to be the leader of the team, which leads to the aforementioned awesome fight between the two. It’s the high point of the movie, both in animation quality and fight choreography. Compared to this, the actual climax seems flat. The moral theme of brotherhood and family loyalty is so strong, and provides so many good scenes, it’s a shame that writer/director Kevin Munroe didn’t just make it the main plot and scrap the entire monsters angle altogether.
Nevertheless, TMNT is harmless fun; albeit perhaps a little violent, but that’s to be expected in a movie about ninjas. They’re ninjas, remember? Ninjas hurt people. The animation is serviceable – the character designs for the human characters are bland and lazy, but the texture and fluidity on the turtles and the backgrounds are very eye-catching. The martial arts movements, at least, are very well animated.
If you’re a big fan of Ninja Turtles and you want to see a movie that does the characters justice as well as treating them seriously, you’re in luck. Otherwise, it’s a slightly enjoyable but sadly forgettable film that doesn’t quite live up to the promise of being the definitive Turtles film for the 21st century.
"TMNT" opens March 23, 2007 and is rated . . Written by Kevin Munroe.
