Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 2014 Movie Review: TMNT is basically a much shorter version of Transformers. Michael Bay produced this film, and it shows. Megan Fox, lens flares, big action scenes, American flags, and Victoria's Secret product placement. Michael Bay might as well have directed this film because director Jonathan Liebesman doesn't feel nearly as involved as Michael Bay.
Unless you're already familiar with the franchise, the characters in this film are as forgettable as the characters in Transformers. Yes, this movie is made for kids and fans of the franchise, but it's also a reboot that serves as the first film in a new series, so shouldn't it be for non-fans as well? They'll probably enjoy the action, but good luck remembering the characters.
The third act action scene feels like it was ripped from The Amazing Spider-Man, more specifically, the skyscraper fight scene. Megan Fox's performance is as wooden as ever, but hey, she didn't get cast for her acting talents.
Will Arnett was pretty funny and the avalanche scene was pretty cool. The movie isn't completely terrible (the shorter runtime definitely helps), but it's also not that entertaining or memorable. If you like Transformers, you'll probably like this film. I don't!
These turtles are an empty shell. The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles return to the big screen, sadly, it's a rather dull and undesirable affair.
The original Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles movie from the '90s was not the greatest but nevertheless, it had heart, which is what the newest film is completely absent from. After the Turtles successfully hit the big screen in 1990 the franchise's sequels have been a huge disappointment. So growing up as a huge TMNT fan I've always wanted to see my beloved turtles get another shot at the big screen, but when I found out that Michael Bay was involved I quickly became skeptical ... sorry, a film requires more than explosions.
Yes, Mr. Bay was only a producer for this film, but even his presence reeks of bad a resume of garbage films. Of course, everything that Hollywood did to reboot our fighting reptiles did not redeem them, instead, it depletes them. Paramount did everything wrong with its direction (director Jonathan Liebesman), cast (Megan Fox), dialog, editing and action scenes. Liebesman (Battle: Los Angeles and Wrath of the Titans) was a horrible pick for this film. He doesn't know how to rightly construct a film and failed at giving the turtles an even semi-worthy tribute. As for the cast, Fox can't act to save her life and was probably only picked so Mr. Bay and middle school boys could drool over her on screen. Fox's performance of New York's most admired new reporter, April O'Neil, is like a slap in the face to turtle fans.
But enough of me ranting, let's dig into the film itself ... The plot, as in the other turtle movies, is rather simple: Shredder (Tohoru Masamune) and his evil foot clan are stirring up trouble and chaos in New York City. It's up to the turtles, Leonardo (Pete Ploszek), Michelangelo (Noel Fisher), Donatello (Jeremy Howard) and Raphael (Alan Ritchson) to team up with news reporter O'Neil (Fox), eat some pizza and take down Shredder. Sadly, what could've been turned into a fun adventure turns into a brainless, worthless mess of a film. Yes, the special effects are top-notch and make our turtles look more real than ever (better than those puppet suits from the '90s), but the overabundance of CGI and bloated action scenes wear this film down. Not to mention the poor dialog and sloppy editing that will leave you with a headache by the end.
What set the original apart from this film is that the original was actually enjoyable and full of heart. Now, we get a dull and lifeless turtles film lacking any sense of human touch or emotion. I was not looking for a masterpiece when I went into this film, but I would like to have seen a little more effort put in than what was shown on screen. It is so frustrating when you want to see at least a half decent film created by the studio, but in the end, receive nothing. To make matters worse Paramount has already signed for another sequel in 2016. My hope is for other turtle fans to see that they deserve better and not stoop down to this rubbish. In the end, I'll just continue to re-watch the amazing '80s cartoon and the original on VHS. Hopefully, someday there will be a brighter future for our pizza-loving reptiles. Sorry dudes, no Chowabunga this time around.
Watched this with a couple of knuckleheads, we voted, ended up watching Turtles. To start, I absolutely love the old Turtle's live-action movies, they're really funny. Which gives the remakes a hard act to follow. I'm unsure how I feel on how they've changed the turtles, making them massive creepy half human turtles. It takes a much more realistic approach, whether it's good or bad I can't deliberate. If I had to compare the turtles from the 1990's movies and these ones, the old ones would edge it. By what they had to work with back then, they did really well. With what we have now, they did alright, I understand it must be hard to make a live action turtle that isn't creepy looking.
Megan Fox works as a great piece of eye candy when she's bent over out the window of the car, lord have mercy. As April though, not very fitting for the character.
Considering it's a Turtle's movie, it lacks humour, the action is great though. It's a good adaptation, I'd have preferred the original origins, like any turtles fan, but by no means is it bad. If they added a lot more humour and better casting, it could of been a lot better.
The biggest flaw I would say is Shredder, he feels like a massive robot, rather than a very powerful ninja. I don't like that all the characters seem to have quite big changes or altered origins, it takes a lot away from it. The majority of the target audience must be the old Turtles fans, and to change such big details, it hurts it's rating a lot.
If it wasn't for the nostalgic factor, I'm not sure I would have watched this movie, it seemed so generic. I'm glad I did though.
The third act action scene feels like it was ripped from The Amazing Spider-Man, more specifically, the skyscraper fight scene. Megan Fox's performance is as wooden as ever, but hey, she didn't get cast for her acting talents.
Will Arnett was pretty funny and the avalanche scene was pretty cool. The movie isn't completely terrible (the shorter runtime definitely helps), but it's also not that entertaining or memorable. If you like Transformers, you'll probably like this film. I don't!
These turtles are an empty shell. The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles return to the big screen, sadly, it's a rather dull and undesirable affair.
Yes, Mr. Bay was only a producer for this film, but even his presence reeks of bad a resume of garbage films. Of course, everything that Hollywood did to reboot our fighting reptiles did not redeem them, instead, it depletes them. Paramount did everything wrong with its direction (director Jonathan Liebesman), cast (Megan Fox), dialog, editing and action scenes. Liebesman (Battle: Los Angeles and Wrath of the Titans) was a horrible pick for this film. He doesn't know how to rightly construct a film and failed at giving the turtles an even semi-worthy tribute. As for the cast, Fox can't act to save her life and was probably only picked so Mr. Bay and middle school boys could drool over her on screen. Fox's performance of New York's most admired new reporter, April O'Neil, is like a slap in the face to turtle fans.
What set the original apart from this film is that the original was actually enjoyable and full of heart. Now, we get a dull and lifeless turtles film lacking any sense of human touch or emotion. I was not looking for a masterpiece when I went into this film, but I would like to have seen a little more effort put in than what was shown on screen. It is so frustrating when you want to see at least a half decent film created by the studio, but in the end, receive nothing. To make matters worse Paramount has already signed for another sequel in 2016. My hope is for other turtle fans to see that they deserve better and not stoop down to this rubbish. In the end, I'll just continue to re-watch the amazing '80s cartoon and the original on VHS. Hopefully, someday there will be a brighter future for our pizza-loving reptiles. Sorry dudes, no Chowabunga this time around.
Megan Fox works as a great piece of eye candy when she's bent over out the window of the car, lord have mercy. As April though, not very fitting for the character.
Considering it's a Turtle's movie, it lacks humour, the action is great though. It's a good adaptation, I'd have preferred the original origins, like any turtles fan, but by no means is it bad. If they added a lot more humour and better casting, it could of been a lot better.
The biggest flaw I would say is Shredder, he feels like a massive robot, rather than a very powerful ninja. I don't like that all the characters seem to have quite big changes or altered origins, it takes a lot away from it. The majority of the target audience must be the old Turtles fans, and to change such big details, it hurts it's rating a lot.
If it wasn't for the nostalgic factor, I'm not sure I would have watched this movie, it seemed so generic. I'm glad I did though.
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