Film Addict's January Film Choice

As I haven't been to the cinema this month because there hasn't been anything I particularly want to see, I chose to review one of the films out of my eclectic collection.

Due to a mad obsessive session of watching an old TV show on YouTube, I decided to pick a film adaptation of said TV show.  Ladies and gentlemen, TMNT.  There was a lot about this film that I loved but it derives from my love of the characters and the franchise.

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles were, and still are, some of my favourite fictional characters growing up because they are such a random concept, turtles that were mutated by some alien goo which leads them to grow to an extraordinary size and are able to walk and talk and then were taught ninjitsu by their walking, talking rat master.  TMNT is the 2007 computer-animated film from Kevin Munroe that pretty much continues the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles franchise from the 2003 series following the defeat of the Turtles' archenemy, the Shredder, and Leonardo is sent away by Master Splinter to become a better for his brothers, leaving the other three to their own devices without someone to help guide them.  This film stars Nolan North (Uncharted series, Assassin's Creed series), James Arnold Taylor (Star Wars: Clone Wars, Johnny Test), Mikey Kelley (Invasion America), and Mitchell Whitfield (My Cousin Vinny) as the turtles, Raphael, Leonardo, Michelangelo, and Donatello respectively, Mako Iwamatsu (Pearl Harbor, Memoirs of a Geisha) as their master, Splinter, and Sarah Michelle Gellar (Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Cruel Intentions) and Chris Evans (Captain America: The First Avenger, Fantastic Four) as their human friends, April O'Neil and Casey Jones respectively.  Though not the villain of the story, Patrick Stewart (X-Men series, Star Trek: The Next Generation) is a new character in the franchise, Winters, who unwittingly unleashed monsters into the world millennia before.

Rating: 9

Recommended To: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles fans; animated fans

Favourite Characters: Raphael - always my favourite; Casey Jones - another old favourite; Michelangelo - yet another favourite

Favourite Part: Raphael: We live together, we train together, we fight together, we stand for good together...we are ninjas.  We strike hard, defend and protected and fade into the night and there ain't no bad guy or monster that gonna ever change that.  That's what is important and that's why we will always be...brothers.

Good Points: The introduction of each brother; the story; the relationships between all of the characters

Bad Points: No Shredder

TMNT begins 3000 years before the turtles exist, where a warlord (Stewart), Yaotl, and his four generals open a portal into a parallel universe which contains great power.  When the portal opens, Yaotl gains immortality while his generals are turned to stone and 13 monsters are unleased into our world.  The film then skips forward to the present day to Leonardo "Leo" (Taylor) living in Central America having been sent there by Splinter (Iwanatsu) for more training meaning he has drifted apart from his brothers while Raphael "Raph" (North) has grown apart from Michelangelo "Mikey" (Kelley) and Donatello "Donnie" (Whitfield), becoming nocturnal and taking up the mantle "The Nightwatcher" so to continue combating crime like they did in the good old days when Leo was around.  Mikey is now a children's entertainer called "Cowabunga Carl", wearing a giant foam turtle head over his own and a zip down the front of his shell so to pretend to be in a costume and Donnie is now an IT specialist who consults customers over the phone.  As well as the turtles, April O'Neil (Gellar) and Casey Jones (Evans) have settled down into a normal life: in a relationship with one another and April running a relic acquisition company with Casey's assistance.  While on a trip in Central America, April hears a local folklore that sounds similar to Leo so she goes out to find him to convince to come home so he can help bring the turtles back together as a team.

What I really enjoyed about this film was the individual introductions of each turtle because it reintroduces the turtles and what they are doing to their old fans and gives enough of an introduction into each turtle for new viewers who have little knowledge about the franchise and the turtles.  Even though they're not working together, the introductions sum each turtle up well because Leo comes across as the protective one out of the four through his actions, defending the people of the little village he is near while Raph comes across as the one most eager to fight and in doing so, fight crime, as he stops criminals under the guise of the Nightwatcher with his usual rage fuelling him.  Mikey's and Donnie's segment are much more light-hearted than their brothers as the once formidable Mikey is beaten up by children and the extremely intelligent Donnie is wasting his talents on spending his time being a helpline for people with computer problems.  These two are depicted as providing the comic relief for this film in their introduction while their elder brothers continue to fight one another which is good for a children's film as it can't be all doom and gloom for children and the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles are known for their lighter elements generally.

I loved the story behind this film with the turtles fighting an ancient evil - the monsters that were unleashed on the world unwittingly by Winters millennia ago - that is new to them rather than an old foe because it stands out against the other Turtles stories I have seen through the cartoons as there are a new set of characters for the franchise.  While I missed having the Shredder in the Turtles' story which I will come back to later on, his presence would probably be too intense for the Turtles to handle so soon after being reconnected from being apart for so long.  I loved the conflict that traditionally arises between Leo and Raph because of their similar personalities and how that drove the story as it forced the brothers to recognise that there are problems between them unless they are willing to help one another and accept the dynamic of the turtle team.

The relationship, and in turn the dynamic, between all of the key characters is ultimately my favourite part of this film and franchise because it's primarily a family relationship between the turtles and Splinter as well as Casey and April who could be seen as honorary siblings.  In particular, I enjoy watching Casey and Raph's relationship because Casey knows Raph so well that he knew he was the Nightwatcher (plus he "looks like a giant metal turtle") and even encourages him to continue in this venture even though he would know Raph's family wouldn't approve; his encouragement could be derived from his need to carry on fighting crime like they did in the good old days as a vigilante so encouraging Raph gives him a comrade.

Out of all the characters, Raphael has to be my favourite, a really old favourite, even though there are others, but gun to my head, I would have to say it was Raph, though why would someone hold a gun to my head to find that out.  It might be the fact that he has a more sarcastic personality than the others which I find appealing because I find it funny.  I also find that with him being the more impulsive and rash one, I love him more because I tend to be drawn to that kind of character, even if he is a turtle.

Just like Raph, Casey Jones is a favourite character of mine and always has been, a close second to Raph because of their similar personalities and how well he fits into the turtles' group and yet again, he falls under the description of my typical favourite male character.  As I already said, I love Raph and Casey's relationship because how even though they are similar, they don't seem to clash as much as Raph does with Leo as they didn't grow up in each other's shadows but Casey and Raph still understand one another and have a sibling-like bond because they are close; this is definitely one of the factors that contributes to him being a favourite character of mine.  Another factor that has contributed to Casey being my favourite character in this film is that Chris Evans voices him, I couldn't have been happier, and this was before he was Captain America, my favourite film (and comic book) character of all time.

While Raph and Casey are my ultimate favourites from the film and the entire franchise, I have always found I liked Michelangelo because he's just completely silly but does come out with something either smart or profound occasionally much to everyone's surprise.  He's that spark of humour and comedic timing that makes the franchise such a success from my point of view and a great contrast against the more serious and moody Leo and Raph as it lightens the mood of the more intense situations such as the final battle as well as earlier fights.

The only thing I didn't like about this film was the lack of the Shredder, the turtles' archenemy who they have defeated previously and while watching this film, I felt like I missed him because it just didn't feel right watching the turtles fight against someone else but this may because I'm used to it and it is what I expect from the Turtles as he is in every incarnation that I've seen.  However, while Winters is not really the villain of this story and instead, his generals become the ultimate villains of the film through their actions, I actually found that Winters grew on me; one contributing factor was that he was voiced by Patrick Stewart who has been one of my favourite actors since I was a child.

Raphael: We live together, we train together, we fight together, we stand for good together...we are ninjas.  We strike hard, defend and protected and fade into the night and there ain't no bad guy or monster that gonna ever change that.  That's what is important and that's why we will always be...brothers.

While there are a number of lines that I liked from this film, I loved this one because it truly summed up the message behind the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, they are brothers first and foremost and do everything together and as I've said, I love the relationships between them and it's definitely because I am close to my sister and find films that have a good sibling dynamic shown enjoyable.

I love the Turtles and love the 2003 TV series and this film because I love the various characters as the dynamic is great between them all and while I miss the Shredder in this film, I know I can always see him in the earlier films and TV series.  I am anticipating the new live-action Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle film with the turtles live motion captured even if Michael Bay is involved and Megan Fox is April (which I'm not sure about) because I absolutely love the actor who is playing Raphael, Alan Ritchson.  Even though this film, TMNT, is quite silly in the grand scheme, I think it hits all the right points for the franchise and is one for the fans.

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