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| The Ninja Turtles are back! |
"TMNT" hollow, dumb action movie with Bay's influence
Dude, really. These aren't your Dad's Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, and I don't mean that in a good way. The new action reboot "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles" is filled with a hollow energy, paint-by-numbers story and characters and is produced by "Transformers" titan Michael Bay, who casts a tall shadow over what has to be one of the dumbest family movies seen in some time. Darkness has settled over New York City as Shredder and his evil Foot Clan have an iron grip on everything from the police to the politicians. The future is grim until four unlikely outcast brothers rise from the sewers and discover their destiny as Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. The Turtles must work with fearless reporter April O'Neil (Megan Fox) and her wise-cracking cameraman Vern Fenwick (Will Arnett) to save the city and unravel Shredder's diabolical plan. Directed by Jonathan Liebesman ("Wrath of the Titans"), this "TMNT," based on the Peter Laird original characters, lacks the spunk of the original series and has been given an earnest muscularity and mindless energy that feels dumbed down for a film geared for the young set; given the amount of pointless violence, it's all rather troubling, but unsurprising given Bay's involvement. Sure, the visuals and action do pop with energy, but outside of that, there's little going for it: an unoriginal story, cardboard characters and third-rate acting, wasting the talents of the lovely Fox, deserving of a Razzie-award nomination for her awful performance here, as well as solid character actor William Fichtner ("Prison Break"), playing a villain here. Worst of all is the generic storytelling an overly earnest tone that leaves it bereft of some the spirit and tongue-in-cheek humor of the original Turtles, which leaves it a shell of its former "TMNT" self. What you will find is Bay's obvious influence: a bad robot, lots of explosions, one real big car chase: in other words, loads of stupidity and a movie taking itself far, far too seriously. The original "TMNT" was all about fun, this "TMNT" seems intent on making considerable noise ala "Transformers" and sadly, many will buy into this. Even with decent box-office returns likely fueled by thirtysomething parents reliving their childhood, "TMNT" only underscores what a weak summer this has been for children's movies. My advice to families: stay home, rent any Pixar film, and you'll find much greater satisfaction than this dreck.
Wes's Grade: D
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