Saturday 30 August 2014

Film Review - Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles




Comic Action Returns

Film: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
Cast: Megan Fox, William Fichtner, Whoopi Goldberg
Directed by: Jonathan Liebesman
Duration: 1 hr 40 mins
Rating:  * * *

A reboot of the franchise and a remake of the 1990 film of the same name, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles may not be the most popular comic book around and the title of the film also suggests that it meant for young kids but TMNT surprisingly turns out to be a decent compact film that has to offer some entertainment for all age groups. It is not the kind of film that you might remember in the years to come, but it is not a dreadful as it appeared to be initially. 

TMNT traces the origins of the story much like the 1990 film. April O’ Neal (Megan Fox) is a television reporter who mostly covers ‘frothy’ lifestyle events. But she is determined to be the next Christiane Amanpour by reporting on serious issues. Meanwhile a spate of crimes hit the city of New York and an underground organization Foot Clan is responsible for it. But a vigilante group is also there fighting the Clan and April happens to witness one such encounter – 6 foot something talking turtles that also happen to by Ninja warriors with other skills beat the bad guys to pulp. 

Turns out they are named after Renaissance artists - Leonardo, Michelangelo, Raphael and Donatello who were trained by a rat called Splinter are quite a handful in their own right. April also discovers an old connection with them and her scientist father. Most films now-a-days have a villain who wants to control the world and here it is Eric Sacks (William Fichtner) a billionaire who wants to create a conflict and make money by resolving it. 

Whoopi Goldberg has a cameo as Aprils boss but her character vanishes out of the blue and doesn’t even make the cursory comeback in the end.

The story is pretty much the standard and predictable one but it’s the characters that make the film more interesting, especially the turtles. Each one has its own trait and they are fun as a team, they look bigger and stronger than the ones we saw in the previous film. 

At 100 odd minutes, the film is pacy and there is enough humor from time to time to keep it light weight, the scene in the elevator for example is a hoot. Technically, the combination of live action along with CGI is quite impressive. And since Michael Bay is one of the producers, it shows in the action scenes which bear his mark. And no prizes for guess whose idea it must have been to show Megan Fox’s backside during a chase scene.

All in all, the turtles offer some harmless entertainment. 

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