This week I'm reviewing the 2014 Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles given the upcoming weekend release of it's sequel, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out of the Shadows. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles is undeniably a mixed bag. Needless to say, it received a fairly negatively skewed mixed reaction from both audiences and critics yet was quite financially successful that a sequel was announced opening weekend, so clearly someone enjoyed it. I actually didn't see it in theaters as I was never a huge fan of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and my interest in it died with all of it's negative reviews. I ended up eventually seeing it a few months ago when it showed up on Netflix and I figured why not watch it while it's there. And for those wondering, it's no longer on Netflix but you can find it on Hulu. I can say that my feeling about the film are probably just as mixed as it's reception and I think I can derive some of the reasons why this is and will include said explanations in the review of course. Next week, I will be doing a Throwback Thursday Review of Now You See Me to correlate with the sequel's release and the following week will review Finding Nemo to coincide with Finding Dory. In regards to other planned reviews, I would like to watch and review Alice Through the Looking Glass soon despite it's awful reception since I already did a Throwback Thursday Review for Alice in Wonderland and I'd like to check it out for myself. I should have a review of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out of the Shadows in a day or two and I will go see Popstar: Never Stop Stopping but won't review it unless I feel I have enough substantial material to discuss.
'Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles' (2014) Review
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles follows the persistent investigative reporter April O'Neil and her inquiry of the terrorist group, The Foot Clan, that of course lead to her eventually crossing paths with the four Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.
First off, the film is too tonally inconsistent as the turtles bring the fun but the world around them is drastically darkened for no apparent reason. Had the turtles been a beacon of light or hope in this dark world there could have been an interesting contrast to explore, but it was not the direction filmmakers sought to pursue.
The creative team also made an odd choice in regards to choosing to make April O'Neil the protagonist for the first half and not the actual turtles themselves for the first act. In fact, I think the turtles didn't actually show themselves to the audience, shrouding themselves, till the full reveal thirty minutes into the film. I would have rather followed the turtles themselves as they were the highlight of the film by far, something I'll touch on more in a moment.
The film's plot and visual aesthetic also comes off to be remarkably similar to The Amazing Spider-Man, but not done quite as well. The CGI rendering done for the turtles looks a little like the design of the Lizard and it even has what appears to be virtually the exact same third act battle on the rooftop of a skyscraper in New York City.
One common misconception is that Michael Bay directed the film and he's the reason it wasn't that great, when in fact Michael Bay was just a producer. That's not to say that Michale Bay-isms aren't to be found in this movie because there are indeed some huge loud explosions, one scene objectifying Megan Fox, and lots of slow motion. It certainly feels like a lot of the creative decisions behind Bay's Transformers films were replicated in efforts to revitalize a cinematic version of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.
Jonathan Liebesman directs and doesn't have much of a creative voice of his own. I believe Liebesman allowed Michael Bay to guide his directorial vision instead of taking full reigns of the project, but I could be wrong. The screenwriting team composed of Josh Appelbaum, André Nemec, and Evan Daughetry bring together a lackluster script with cheesy dialogue, a paper-thin sloppy narrative, and lack of proper character development for almost any of the characters as only the turtles grow as characters from beginning to end. The one aspect that was done right in the writing was that the creative team remained faithful to Turtle lore. Not too much of a redeeming factor for me, considering I'm not a big fan of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. Other technical aspects I felt were worth discussing included the film's visual effects considering the turtles are brought to life through motion capture animation, a more common technique in modern filmmaking.
I'm aware that the look of the turtles has been fairly controversial since it was first showcased, but considering it's been two years from the film's initial release I've grown accustomed to these authentic somewhat believable buff six foot turtles. I feel that is a more hyper-realized version of what the turtles would look like so I can say it fits in the direction the creative team sought. However, I do think the turtles look a little too muscular, if that makes any sense.
Another design I saw to be overdone was Shredder's suit. He had way too many swords and blades to make his suit actually functional in a practical setting. Other than these small nitpicks, the visual effects are fine, not mind-blowing nor terrible but somewhere in between.
The action in the film was fairly enjoyable, with one memorable fight being one in which the turtles are sledding down a mountain while fighting the foot clan and protecting April and Vernon. This sequences keeps the momentum of the action and plot going and allows for a few cool moments featuring each of the turtles.
Believe or not, there are performances ranging from decent to simply good. The five motion capture actors, Alan Ritchson, Noel Fisher, Pete Ploszek, Jeremy Howard, and Danny Woodburn, brought the characters of the four turtles and Master Splinter to life thanks to their performance and the visual effects team. A few celebrity voices, Johnny Knoxville and Tony Shalhoub, lend their talents to voice Leonardo and Splinter and both fill the roles nicely. The turtles, Michelangelo, Raphael, Leonardo, and Donatello, are the heart and soul of the movie. Every time the turtles were onscreen, they brought charisma to the screen keeping me thoroughly entertained. Splinter made for a decent father figure and mentor for the turtles, but wasn't given enough depth for me to care about him.
In regards to the human performers, Megan Fox leads the picture as April O'Neil and I can say her acting has certainly improved since Transformers and she's just fine in the role but is clearly around for her looks rather than making a convincing news reporter. Will Arnett brings what is probably the most annoying character in the film, Vernon Fenwick. Arnett does the best with the material provided, but when the material isn't that great it's a poor reflection on him. However, his character's annoyance is derived from the screenplay and not exactly Arnett's performance.
Tohoru Masamune made for a menacing villain as Shredder, but one whose motivations weren't fleshed out. William Fichtner is basically the typical evil businessman who wants to make profit off of an evil scheme, not really given any development or value. Really the same can be said for almost all the characters side from the turtles unfortunately.
When it comes down to it, the film is certainly a mindless popcorn flick that children will enjoy but it's weaknesses outbalance it's strengths. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles certainly has some entertainment value thanks to the charisma of the turtles but lacks story, a unique vision, and any true character development.
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles is flawed narratively. While I don't mind embracing the concept of four ninja turtles, the film takes the concept a little too seriously. The reboot attempts to go the Christopher Nolan route with a gritty realized take on the turtles, and I'm not sure that was the best idea considering the film wasn't able to maintain that tone.
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