Cowabunga.

Cowabunga.

The heroes in a half-shell have finally made their way back to the big screen! And despite the problems I have with the movie, I'm still glad they're back!

I realize that this review is a few weeks late, so I'm just going to make it a short one. Bullet point review, ENGAGE!

The Bad

- Tedious back-story narration.

- Doesn't get good until more than halfway through.

- Cliche one-dimensional villains.

- Conflicts' that lack any emotional punch. (Even 2007's TMNT had more emotional weight.)

Remember this?

- Rapper-Mikey.

- Gratuitous Michael Bay-isms

- Some minor plot hole issues (I will expound later in spoiler-zone.)

- Turtle body slime and weird nose...slits?

Fan-made nose repair. What's so wrong with making them more accessible/adorable?
 Isn't it so much easier to digest?

The Good (that still barely saved the movie for me)

+ TURTLE POWER! Action scenes were adrenaline-fueled (sometimes literally) and hard hitting! Especially the once against Shredder.

+ The Turtles still retaining their fun and funNY selves.

+ "Cowabunga."

 

TURTLE POWER

I had quite a few problems with the movie, as you can see, but in the end they were still able to capture the essence of the turtles - they're fun, loveable, and they kick so much ass! So I'm willing to give the franchise the benefit of the doubt. Maybe when the second film hits, and they can already do away with all the back-story nonsense, we can get some better stories with more of that sweet TMNT action and humor.

Plot, back-story, character design problems aside, the Turtles still kick-ass!

MICMIC RATING: 6.5 / 10

...and now for my plot problems. SPOILER-ZONE! Stop reading if you haven't watched the movie!

A major element of this reboot is obviously going to be the back-story. And with the relatively new TMNT series in Nickelodeon, I can't help but compare how the origin stories were handled.

STILL the definitive Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles of this generation.

- How does Splinter know Shredder? Did he just hear ABOUT him? So I guess they don't really know each other. And yet Splinter seems to really really hate the guy for some reason. Maybe Shredder's just misunderstood, sensei!

Silver Samur...err...Shredder!

- In the cartoon, Splinter was a human that turned into a rat. He was a great martial artist, no less. So it made sense for him to teach martial arts to the Turtles. But here Splinter is a rat who self-thought martial arts. I don't buy it. And even if I did, it definitely weakens Splinter as a character."Master" feels like a nickname he gave himself, instead of a title he earned.

- In the cartoon again, Splinter and Shredder knew each other during their human lives, and they had some history. So a showdown between the two masters felt equal and emotionally driven. In the movie, since they didn't really know each other, their fight felt shallow. There could've been more to it! More that just two strangers fighting each other.

Case in point.

- What does Shredder have to gain from killing the people of New York? He just wants the mutagen for his Foot Clan. He doesn't strike me as someone who's in it for the money. He's killing NY because it benefits Sacks. Hence, inadvertently making Shredder the lackey.

- The turtles were April O'neal's pets?!?!! Fiiiiine, I guess.

April and...her pets?!?!

I think that's it! But again, this is borderline nitpicking already. I know they're minor qualms since I still enjoyed the movie.:)