Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Reviewed

“Yo, it's the green machine
Gonna rock the town without being' seen
Have you ever seen a turtle get down?
Slammin' and jammin' to the new swing sound..
Go ninja, go ninja go!”

There was a time when I and a whole lot of you just could not get that song out of our heads (sometimes I still can’t). But hey this isn’t a review of the 1991 TMNT: Secret of the Ooze. This is the brand spanking new turtles movie that will revive and reboot an entire franchise for the big screen.

Hello there, I am sitting in my room, having on my comfortable Pyjama’s and a slice of pizza by my side writing the review for the latest instalment in one of my favourite childhood franchises ever, The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.

The Ninja Turtles initially conceived as a parody to superheroes then (a blind lawyer who fights crime during the night, hint hint) started out as a black and white comic in the 80’s. The turtles then evolved into other markets that made it a global phenomenon. From a whole lot of toys (yes I have TMNT action figures, who doesn’t?) to the 1987 TV series that made them our favourite talking reptiles. So when Nickelodeon acquired the rights to the franchise and announced a new show on the way, I was very much excited by the hopes of more movies as well.

I advise you all to read the original mirage comics and/or watch the 2012 animated series which I think are the best iterations of the turtles.
Enough about the Turtle’s history, let me get into this new movie. Released about three months ago, the movie still currently screening at the Majestic Cinema stars Megan Fox as April O’Neil, Megan Fox as April O'Neil, Will Arnett as Vern Fenwick, William Fichtner as Eric Sacks, Danny Woodburn & Tony Shalhoub as Splinter and finally Alan Ritchson as Raphael, Noel Fisher as Michelangelo, Pete Ploszek and Johnny Knoxville as Leonardo and Jeremy Howard as Donatello.

Going into the movie my expectations were very, very, very high. (note that the word very is used thrice). But in the end, did it deliver? It did and it didn’t. let me break down the movie further.

The writing in the movie was its weakest part. As much as I wanted to love the movie for all its effort for what it wants to be I ended up liking it, but barely. The Turtles have quite the different origin story than in the comics or TV show, which in my opinion heightens the dynamic between the Turtles and April, But at the expense of the dynamic between the Turtles and the Shredder, but mainly between Splinter and the Shredder.

And much unlike most I actually enjoy how the turtles look, despite the negative feedback it mostly received. And the designs like the Turtles lair in the sewers and the city look nice.

The other minor issue I had with the movie would be the score. Bryan Tyler’s score for this movie for me felt rather out of place. It reminded me of 2002’s Spiderman, and that in my mind didn’t match with the whole image of the Turtles.

The film's action in exception of that mind blowingly awesome snow chasing sequence felt rather low, especially doubting if the Turtles were actually going to live up to Ninja name in their title, because they did seem to fight more with their general mass and strength. The movie does however know that it has a sequel coming its way. The ooze that caused the turtles and splinter to mutate was casually mentioned to be of alien origin (Kraang and Dimention X anyone?), thereby keeping some of the origin story intact with the previous incarnations.

All in all, this movie is quite entertaining and fun for all audiences, even though it might enrage a few fanatics.

I give this movie a 6 out 10 on the AasifOmeter.

Audience reviews and ratings

Devin Hewage - “The movie sets up a solid backstory for the turtles but is largely a clichéd action movie.”
5/10

Janith De Zoysa - “It was entertaining, nothing more nothing less.”
7.5/10

Gayantha Perera - “It gave my childhood validation and made something so essentially 90s relevant in this millennium.”
6/10

Darren Ismail - “A  solid reboot of the original series but could have been better.”
8/10

Reviewed by Aasif Faiz