Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out of the Shadows – The Nick Review

If you were like me growing up in the late ‘80s and early ‘90s, you probably watched the popular Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles cartoon.  The reason I bring that up is that this new Ninja Turtle movie, subtitled Out of the Shadows, is exactly like the cartoon.  Beyond the fact that the film introduces the cartoon staples of Krang, Bebop, and Rocksteady, it also has all the goofy technology and the same level of corny, yet charming humor.  This film felt like a direct adaptation of that animated series.

This, I found, to be a good thing.  It seemed that the previous installment wanted to ground the Turtles a bit more (which struck me as defeating the point).  Here, the gloves come off and director Dave Green lets loose the crazy of the Ninja Turtles. And it comes off as fun.

One of the things that always seems to be lacking in any of the Ninja Turtles adaptations is the teenage part.  They are supposed to be something around 16 or 17, but they never act like it.  Here, I really felt that they are teens and reacting to things the way teens would react (for the most part).  I really liked seeing that for a change.

And Bebob and Rocksteady are a hoot.  Give them a spin-off.

Though I found this movie to be pretty fun, it does suffer from some issues.  The human characters (Megan Fox, Will Arnett, and Stephen Amell) are pretty superfluous, and some of the action is incredibly chaotic where you can’t really get a feel of what was happening wear.  In addition, some of the plot threads don’t quite come together as well as they probably should.

Overall, though, Out of the Shadows is an entertaining movie, especially if you want to bring kids to see it.  It’s probably the strongest Ninja Turtle movie since the 1990 original (which, granted, isn’t saying much).  If you loved the cartoon as a kid, chances are you’ll be entertained with this.

~N

Pre-Wedding Nostalgia Fuel

For those who don’t know, I am getting married this summer.  To me, marriage is one of the “most adult” things someone can do.  You are completely sharing your life with someone else in a way that will fundamentally change you.  This feeling of maturity/responsibility is only second to having a child (I would imagine – I’m not there yet).

Now, you might be wondering where I am going with this.  Stay with me. I swear it’ll all make sense.

When the Gorehound and I did the 2016 movie preview podcast (listen here!) I noticed that there were a bunch of summer films coming out that I’m looking forward to mostly due to them connecting to my younger years and giving me some nostalgia.

I’ve always been a big Superman fan, so logically I am anticipating Batman v. Superman (despite my disappointment with Man of Steel) in March.  Then we go to Captain America: Civil War in May.  Cap was my guy in high school and the more I learn about this film, the more I feel it is Cap from the stories I grew up reading from the mid-90s and subsequently went back to read from the mid-80s.

Sort of moving away from the comic book genre, June brings us to Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out of the Shadows.  Judging from the trailer, this film looks even more like the 90s cartoon that I loved as a kid than the first film.  The Turtles were the thing for every kid back then.  I had so much Turtles crap too.  I don’t have it now, mind you. Which I don’t know is a good thing or a bad thing.  Good thing.  I’m going to go with good.

The only thing that rivaled Turtles for me was Ghostbusters.  I loved the Ghostbusters.  And I still somewhat regret giving away all the toys when I was a teen.  I still have some things, but I mostly regret getting rid of the firehouse playset.  That thing was awesome.  If you were a kid from the 80s, you know what I am talking about!  Anyway, July gives us a brand new Ghostbusters movie, and I am totally looking forward to it.  Screw the haters on this (more on that later this week).

Finally, this brings us to Star Trek Beyond, the film meant to celebrate the 50^th anniversary of the Star Trek franchise.  I’m anticipating it to be a pretty big deal – these films usually are.  Trek, for me, was the first series that I really got into as I was becoming slightly older (9-10) and beginning to understand more complex storytelling and ideas.   It is also a franchise that I really got into during my teens and though my dedication to it has lessened over time, I’ve been following it since.

Star Trek Beyond is the last nostalgia-fueled movie that is coming out this year for me.  It also happens to be released the same weekend that I am getting married.  I tried to convince my bride-to-be that we had to change the wedding date.  Expectedly, she wasn’t amused my by joke.

All these movies coming out pretty much hit every single major player in my childhood fun (the only thing missing is He-Man), and they all run up to my wedding.  That’s when it hit me.  Given my views on marriage and how it is one of the most adult things to do with major adult responsibilities, it seems incredibly serendipitous that all these films are coming out right before I say “I do”.  I get one last time to really enjoy all the things that I loved as a kid, before I truly have to move beyond and let those things go.

Just do an epic convoluted crossover and take my money.

Obviously, that doesn’t mean I cannot enjoy stuff like Ghostbusters or Superman in the future nor that I will refuse to see any potential future installments of these particular series.  It is the symbolic nature of it.  The idea of growing up.

I don’t know if I truly believe in fate other than the romantic notion of it, but it tough to ignore how this lines up.  I don’t know, but it does seem fitting.  It is like fate is saying “Yep.  This is legit!  This is happening!”  It adds to the good feeling of change that will happen with my future bride and I will truly begin our lives together, and it add more excitement to my upcoming nuptials!

~N

Leftover Questions: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Editon (SPOILER WARNING)

The new Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles is out now (read Zack’s review here).  I enjoyed the movie as it is a enjoyable flick with exciting action set pieces and fun character exchanges.  However, like many movies, there were a bunch of unanswered questions leaving me, as a viewer, pondering.

There are spoilers below!  Don’t read if you haven’t seen the movie yet!

1. Splinter had forbidden the Turtles from going to the surface. Even though they broke that rule behind their master’s back, how did the Turtles get all the stuff they have in their lair?

2. How come April didn’t snap any pictures of the Foot Clan members tied up after the subway attack? Surely an ambitious reporter like her would have taken at least one on her way out to find the Turtles (and likely help her case that a vigilante was out there).

3. April is fired from her job when trying to explain the Turtles to her boss, because she lacks proof (and sounds crazy). Given that she created a huge display, how come April didn’t include the picture of the Turtles she had on her phone?

4. How does Splinter know about the connection between the Shredder, the Foot, and Sacks? I realize that he remembered that Sacks was a bad guy, but how did he piece together that Sacks was part of the Foot Clan?

5. Turns out that April’s dad destroyed all the files on his work with Sacks. How come Sacks didn’t have any of his files backed up anywhere? These events happened in 1999. Disk drives were around then. Wouldn’t research like this be worthwhile to have copies?

6. How come Sacks didn’t restart his research? Surely he knew what he did thus far? Couldn’t he recruit another scientist to help him after April’s dad destroyed everything?

7. Is the Shredder (at least by name) publically known to be the Foot Clan’s leader? If so, how come no one ever connected Sacks to him considering that Shredder was his adopted father? Especially more so since he is a widely recognized figure in the business world?

8. How come the Shredder is able to move so swiftly and easily in what appears to be heavy and bulky armor?

9. Speaking of that, how come the Shredder is able to use the armor so expertly even though he was just given it one scene before?

10. Why didn’t Shredder take Splinter and Raphael back to his lab? Granted, he thought Ralph was dead and left Splinter for dead, but don’t they have the mutagen in their blood as well? Isn’t that what they desperately need?

11. Why did the Foot allow Don and Mike keep their various equipment when they captured them?

12. Why did the doctors seem surprised/disgusted when Sacks demonstrated the biological weapon on a random Food Soldier? Clearly, they knew what to expect since they were likely involved in creating it.

13.  Considering that Sacks didn’t care if the Turtles died, why did the medical devices the Turtles were hooked up to contain adrenaline shots?

14.  How far away was Sacks’s compound? The movie suggests that it is a reasonable drive away. But, it looks like summertime in the city and winter at Sacks’s place. Unless Sacks’s place is in the mountains. If that is the case, there is no way he is as close to the city as the movie suggests.

15.  What is the Shredder’s ultimate goal? He claims that he wants to take over the city, but his and Sacks’s plot involves infecting the city, letting it go to waste, then selling the mutagen as a miracle drug. Sacks will get rich, but Shredder will get…?

16.  Sacks’s goal is to get money. Isn’t he already incredible wealthy (considering he is in charge of multiple successful corporations)? Would a few millions more really that make that much of a difference?

17.  Why are Sacks and Shredder ready to pull the trigger on their plan so quickly? Shouldn’t they wait to make sure the mutagen works before infecting the city?

18.  Sacks and Shredder are the two principle players in their plot against New York City. How come they are personally setting off the biological weapon? Once that’s released, wouldn’t they be immediately infected?

19.  How was Sacks able to install a biological weapon on top of his building without arousing suspicion? And how long was it up there? The movie suggests that Sacks was about to do this plan fifteen years ago before April’s dad thwarted him. Has the biological weapon been up there this entire time? Isn’t that an incredibly bad idea?

20.  For that matter, couldn’t Sacks also accomplish getting wealthier by selling the mutagen through legal means since it is explained as a cure-all?

21.  How was anything that happened during the climax (including exposing Sacks) explained away to the authorities, especially since April stayed mum about the existence of the Turtles?

22.  How come Channel 6 was perfectly okay with Vernon destroying a company car (and giving him a new one) while following a recently fired co-worker’s crazy story? Granted, she was right, but she (and presumably him) stayed quiet about it.

23.  Why does the TMNT main theme sound almost exactly like the theme from Thor: The Dark World?

I Saw Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles

Unlike seemingly most of the Internet users I come across, I don’t really think a remake or an update of something popular from my childhood can ever ruin the experiences I had with that property as a child. The Transformers and GI Joe film series are both notorious for being franchises that “ruined” the childhoods of various angry Internet commenters. I don’t think these things have the power to retroactively go back in time and sour the fun I had playing with action figures as a nine year old. Similarly, the announcement of a rebooted Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles film series was met with heavy scrutiny and criticism, especially as it was produced by Michael Bay, the director and architect behind the aforementioned Transformers film series.

I saw the original Ninja Turtles film in theaters in 1990. I remember getting a haircut the same day, and then my dad dropped my brothers and I off from his 1970s step-side Chevrolet truck. I have incredibly vivid memories of being transfixed with what I saw on screen. From about 1988 to 1993 (with the arrival of Jurassic Park), I was enamored with the Ninja Turtles. In the early 2000s, I bought the original film on DVD after a wave of 1980s nostalgia began to make what was old new again. I thought it held up incredibly well, especially the absolutely fantastic Jim Henson costumes. The story was surprisingly dark, though it also contained the kid-centric jokes that one should come to expect when viewing these kinds of films. But overall, I thought it was a solid film. I still do – I rewatched the film earlier this year and I still think it holds up (the sequels, however, are garbage).

So with a fondness for the original film property and a feeling that nothing new can ruin my precious childhood memories, I went into the Jonathan Liebesman-directed/Michael Bay-produced Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles movie with open mind. What I got was not as good as the 1990 film project, but also not nearly worth the amount of Internet scorn the film has garnered since it was announced a few years ago. It’s not a great film by any stretch, but it is entertaining enough despite its faults and actually has a few inspired action scenes. This is a movie targeted towards nine-year-old boys, and on that front it is at least successful. It has its faults for sure, but there are also several surprises along the way.

The biggest surprise I had was the performance of Megan Fox. Her initial casting announcement as April O’Neil was met with the hatred of a thousand fanboys online, but she acquits herself nicely in the role. I’m not sure why fans suddenly thought that April O’Neil was some kind of sacred cow that someone as utterly lowly (I guess) as Megan Fox would be unable to play her, but I am really glad to announce loudly that the idiots on the internet were wrong once again – Fox is easily one of the best parts of the movie. I also didn’t find much fault with director Jonathan Liebesman, whose previous films (Wrath of the Titans, Battle: Los Angeles) were not that great. Liebesman’s action sequences typically involve a million jump cuts mixed with incoherent choreography. I didn’t find that to be much of the case here, and a sequence on a snowy mountainside is downright inspired.

I also found the casting of Will Arnett to be enjoyable, even if he doesn’t get too much screen time (he’s Fox’s sidekick throughout and is essentially the audience surrogate character). Arnett is easily the funniest character in the film. The great William Fichtner also gets to be his slimy self, and I’m also happy to announce that all the people complaining about his casting were just dead wrong. Seriously, can people not just wait to see these things before turning on their caps lock buttons? I also can’t find much fault with the voice performances. I really liked Alan Ritchson as Raphael (my favorite turtle, incidentally) and Tony Shalhoub as Splinter (even if Splinter’s character design leaves something to be desired). Casting Johnny Knoxville as the voice of Leonardo is weird, but it isn’t distracting in any way possible.

I have bigger issues, however, with the special effects. It is clear that Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles was shot on a budget much lower than the Transformers film series. The CGI here is pretty bad. The turtles themselves are totally ugly. I have no problem whatsoever with the filmmakers changing up the designs of the turtles themselves and I actually like that they tried to inject each turtle with distinct personality (I don’t mind that they have skateboards or sunglasses or pukka shells or whatever). The designs themselves are just plain ugly to me, however. Raphael and Leonardo are passible, but Michelangelo and Donatello just look awful (Donatello’s voice performance is also bad I thought). Additionally, sets looked rather cheap and sparse to me for the most part. The script is also not as punchy or funny as it should be. The humor should have been more appealing overall.

I don’t think this was a great movie whatsoever. It is totally disposable and cheap entertainment designed to appeal to young males. That is absolutely fine with me. I didn’t find Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles to be the absolute train wreck it was supposed to be either. I thought it was merely ok, and I think there’s actually a lot of room for some solid growth (Casey Jones for part two, please?) in this rebooted film franchise. The original Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles film series should not be held up on an immutable pedestal. The first film holds up, but both sequels are hot garbage. This new film is about on the same level as that first film, and even has a few nods to the original as well. I was never against rebooting this film franchise, and while I don’t think the new Ninja Turtles movie is great, it is nowhere near the disaster the Internet predicted it would be. A total shocker, I know.

-Z-

Franchise Fracas! – Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles

The new Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles movie is coming out (not directed by Michael Bay, despite how other media outlets are reporting it).  I am looking forward to it, though I won’t be able to see it until next Tuesday when my local theater has its $5 movie ticket night.  Anyway, I thought it would be fun to look back at the previous Ninja Turtle movie series to prep for the reboot.

In the late 1980s, the Turtles was the thing.  The cartoon and corresponding toys were HUGE. It seemed that everyone was a fan of the Ninja Turtles and those who weren’t were liars.  Naturally, Hollywood wanted to get in on this and created 1990’s Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.  Zack and I did a previous podcast on this movie (which is currently archived) and we both agreed that this film is pretty great.  And, unlike the animated series around this time, the movie still holds up today.

While the film had some distinct dark elements, it still retains the charm and goofy nature that one would have expected from the Turtles at the time.  It is also one of the last movies to depict 1980s New York (you know, a total shithole).  The action was surprisingly tight considering how limiting those Turtle costumes must have been for the actors.  And the Jim Henson costumes/puppets are amazing.

Now, don’t get me wrong, the film still has some odd ball elements (such as when Casey Jones brutally murders Shredder and it’s played for a laugh), but by and large, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles just works as a fun, enjoyable film.

1991’s follow-up subtitled The Secret of the Ooze is a definite mixed bag.  I remember liking this one when I was little.  That was probably because this film was directed towards younger audiences.  As the story goes, the first film caused outrage among parent groups due to the violence and dark nature (which is hilarious to think about in 2014 terms).  The studio demanded the film be more light-hearted and kid-friendly.  The same thing would happen to the Batman franchise a few years later.  As a result, the Turtles never used their weapons (despite having them with the entire time), obtained an obnoxious teenage sidekick, and much more campy sequences.

Oh yes, and Vanilla Ice.  Can’t forget about Vanilla Ice.

This isn’t a particularly good film, but I understand its cult status.  It falls on that “so bad, it’s good” with a healthy dose of nostalgia.   The film came at the apex of Turtles mania, so I get why people are fond on the film.  For that reason, I feel it earned its place in pop-culture.

Then we get to 1993’s Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles III.  Oh boy.  This movie was just a mistake all the way around.  Like anything big in pop-culture, the Turtles had a short self-life.  The first two films were made quickly and capitalized on the Turtles’ popularity.  By 1993, that popularity had waned.  Though the film did okay at the box office, it was no way as successful as the previous two entries.

Part of the problem was that the kids who were into the Turtles were growing out of it.  I remember I went to go see this movie, but I was totally indifferent to it.  I felt like I had to go because I saw the earlier ones (my childhood misplaced sense of responsibility).

The box office is just one thing.  The movie itself was really terrible.  I appreciate what the filmmakers were trying to do by doing something different, but it just didn’t work.  Several narrative beats and character moments are a bit all over the place (why does Mike, of all turtles, want to stay in feudal Japan again?).  And the film just looked cheap.  What happened to the awesome Jim Henson animatronics from the first two films?

Perhaps part of the problem was that not only did the Turtles fade from the spotlight, but the early ‘90s kind of had a ninja fad going on with other films such as 3 Ninjas and Surf Ninjas.  Those were mostly played for laughs.  Of course, it can be argued that this was started by the Ninja Turtles and it almost makes me think that they started to copy the copy.  Whatever the case may be, the film series died right then and even though the cartoon continued until 1996, people stopped caring.

The Ninja Turtles franchise went through a couple of trying years.  There was a live action series in the style of Power Rangers which featured a female Turtle in the late ‘90s. It bombed.  However, in the mid-2000s, a second, more serious cartoon started airing.  Like the previous animated series, this new Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles quickly found popularity (though not nearly as much as its predecessor), and Hollywood decided to try again with a new movie.

The result was 2007’s computer animated TMNT.  This film is an improvement over the previous two installments, but it didn’t quite work for me.  It is a competently made, but some of the more supernatural elements seemed out of place in a Ninja Turtle film.  I know that sounds silly considering these movies are about human-sized turtles who fight crime, but there you have it.   TMNT was successful, but apparently not enough to warrant a follow-up.  I suppose it is a decent enough finale to the previous three movies (even if it came out 14 years later).

After that, multiple attempts were made to bring the turtles back to the screen.  None were really successful (minus a third animated series) until Platinum Dunes stepped in and gave Jonathan Liebesman the keys.  Will this film re-launch the Turtles film series?  The early reviews are not promising, but it is important to remember that none of the Ninja Turtles were hits with the critics.  As long as the new film is goofy and fun with an interesting-enough story, that really all that should matter, no?

Go Ninja, Go Ninja, Go!

2014 Summer Movie Preview Podcast

Zack and Nick are at it once again as they look ahead at many of the big films coming out this summer!  Which ones are they looking forward to, indifferent towards, and rolling their eyes at?  You’ll only know if you listen to this episode!

Click HERE or on the image to listen to the podcast.

As always, click HERE to follow us on iTunes!

Who Cares about ‘Ninja Turtle’ Changes?

The upcoming reboot of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles directed by Jonathan Liebesman and produced by Michael Bay has been creating larger-than-average controversy online ever since it was announced.  It seems that no matter what is released about this movie, the internet jumps on it and crucifies it to oblivion.  It is absolutely ridiculous.  And the complaints are incredibly widespread having seen them on various talkback forums on sites such as Superhero Hype, Bleeding Cool, and Ain’t It Cool News.

Here is my question: why?  Were the Ninja Turtles that much of a sacred cow that any reboot was going to be met with distain?  Is it a case of Michael Bay hating?  I have seen people irritated that the movie is nothing like the original ‘80s cartoon (completely forgetting the Turtles originated in a comic book years before).  Then, others are upset that it seems like it will be too much like the cartoon.  You cannot have it both ways.

Truth. From the fantastic webcomic Our Valued Customers.

The latest “controversy” is that William Fichtner was revealed to be cast as the Turtles memorable villain the Shredder.  Talking to Screen Rant, he had this to say:

“I actually play a guy named Eric Sachs [Sounds like Sachs? Hard to understand] in the movie. And then he goes through a few stages in his existence.”

Of course, this deviates from the source material by Americanizing the villain.  And, of course, the internet lost its collective shit over it.  Who the hell cares?  After doing some light Wikipedia research, I found that the Shredder character has had so many interpretations in the different adaptations of the Ninja Turtles that there really is not only one way for this character to be done (besides, wouldn’t the most iconic version of the character be the bumbling buffoon version from the ‘80s cartoon?  Is that the version people want?).

If anything, based on the quote, it sounds like this “Eric Sachs” character will be going through some sort of changes throughout the film.  Perhaps he will evolved into the Shredder everyone knows and loves.

Plus, it is William Fichtner.  He can do whatever the fuck he wants.

I dwell on this to illustrate a point.  The movie is not out yet.  We, as an audience, know nothing about it other than some broad strokes.  And, if they make changes, big or small, who cares?  The Ninja Turtles have gone through so many interpretations over time that this film is entitled to muck around to give their own spin for modern audiences.

As I referenced above, I believe a lot of this has to do with Michael Bay hate.  I cannot help, but think that if someone like Christopher Nolan, Joss Whedon, or whoever else the internet still has a collective boner for was making this film, people online would fall over themselves saying how great it all looks.  Maybe I am being too cynical with that last statement, but it is just so over-the-top how media outlets are highlighting the fact this is a Michael Bay film even though he isn’t directing the movie – you’d be surprised how much of a difference that makes (after all, how much Spielberg was in the Transformers films?).

Yeah, this upcoming Ninja Turtle movie is making some bold moves.  Personally, I am really interested to see how it turns out. The Ninja Turtles were a part of my childhood, but I so do not care if they make changes to suit the story they are telling.  So many adaptations today such as the Marvel movies, the Dark Knight Trilogy, and the recent Man of Steel had some radical departures from the source material and those were accepted pretty readily by fans.  I see no reason why this won’t be either.

And, if the film turns out to be a fun, enjoyable romp, I suspect there will be a huge reverse/denial in people saying they ever bashed the film to begin with.

But will the Turtles eat pizza? That is the really issue here.