(Spoilers)
When I heard about this film I had such mixed feelings for it. TMNT was of course one of my favourite cartoons growing up so the nostalgia that it would offer would just be fantastic but I also had reservations. Could this film really work on the big screen? If I’m honest I probably went into this film expecting it to be pretty awful but this always helps.
TMNT was a surprise success in my opinion. For what it is I was majorly impressed. You have to enter into the ridiculousness of this story if you are to have any chance of enjoying it. Of course these characters and the story lend themselves better to a cartoon setting rather than a film one. However what was so good about this film was just how self-aware it was. Much like 22 Jump Street earlier in the year that played on its sequel quips here TMNT constantly reminds of just how ridiculous it is through different characters and situations which almost make your doubts ok. This is predominately a film for kids and I honestly think it is a really solid film in this way, saying that I enjoyed it a lot and I’m twenty. There is a lot of humour in this movie, it is patchy but a good amount of it actually is funny. The constant references to popular culture were probably the highlight of this feature, “Maybe she’s a Jedi” etc.
Once the action actual gets going it was pretty impressive and it was clear to see the influence of Michael Bay however the time it takes to kick in is a problem. The first section of the film is far too slow moving and it takes too long for the turtles to make a proper appearance. As this film is for kids I’m not sure that their attention span would cope with this all that well as even I was struggling, despite this once things did get moving I was never bored. The script wasn’t great and moments in it were cringe-worthy but overall for the content I didn’t think it was all that bad. Megan Fox wasn’t even as annoying as she usually is. One thing I was hoping for was a throw back to the original theme tune and although it didn’t feature there was a subtle nod to it which I loved and I’m sure fans will appreciate this. What has been created here is a film that can be enjoyed by the current youngsters and of course the original fans of the TV show. Adults and children will enjoy this film for different reasons and it is this variation which is where the strength of the film lies. There were even some really nice shots in this film, one of my favourite was featured in the finale as Shredder falls to the ground from height, I was really impressed with this shot however to accompany this was a lot of shaky camera work too however in the grand scheme of things this never really bothers me all that much.
TMNT has been written off by many before even entering the cinema, I was one of those people – I had a little hope though and I was right to. If you were a fan of the show you should enjoy the film and if you can enter into the spirit of the story you should have a similar experience. A TMNT movie can only ever be so good just because of its nature but this one is pretty great.
BIGGEST FLAW – Slow start
BIGGEST ACHIEVEMENT – Popular culture references
Rating – 7.5/10
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