Review of TMNT (2007) by Ray J — 09 Mar 2010

The Turtles return to the big screen after far too long. This time the costumes and live action have gone and been replaced with CG... A good move seeing as most "kids" film are computer generated these days and it also allows for the Characters to perform moves and stunts they previously wouldn't have been able too.

The Story is nice, not amazing and a tiny bit too complicated especially as this was being marketed as a "kids" film. The film however is not very long so by the time it reaches the end it will all make perfect sense. This isn't a remake nor does it once try to explain the turtles origin, it just assumes the viewer knows who the characters are. There are even nods to the older live action movies by showing "famous" props from the 90's cinematic outings(the Shredder's helmet, the time septre, canister of ooze) which would suggest this film is actually Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 4...

This is never made clear though and it really isn't important.

Having Karai in the movie was great, however if the film was a continuation of the previous films they could've explained who she was. unless you are a fan of the comics or even the 4kids animated show you would have NO idea who she was.

This isn't a Disney film so the film was never going to look as amazing as most CGI offerings, however that said this film does have one of the most beautiful pieces of animation ever seen in an CGI film... the rooftop fight between Raph and Leo... the rain effects, the colours, the whole thing is simply stunning. Shame the rest of the film couldn't better that scene.

A nice addition to the series, newcomers to the franchise may be a little confused. This is the darkest film of the series, but hardcore fans will want something darker. The story is fun, but nothing amazing, and for a film a film about 13 monsters you only get to see a few in action. The violence itself is lacking as always. However the Leo and Raph fight has alot of tension, and actually seeing a Turtle using his weapon with the intention of killing another is shocking to see..esp in a film marketed at the younger audience. There is still plenty of action throughout and it's well done.

Now that Nickelodeon own the entire franchise and a new reboot TMNT film coming to the big screen, who knows what the future will bring.