In 1984, comic book writers Kevin Eastman & Peter Laird created a comic book titled, “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.” A parody of Frank Miller’s take on “Daredevil.” Four turtles and a rat are splashed by chemicals, instead of Matt Murdock who will grow up to be “The Man Without Fear.” Several Years Later, Splinter trains his adopted sons the art of ninjutsu. Names are Leonardo, Rapheal, (my favorite) Michaelangelo & Donatello. Named after pioneers in the Italian Renaissance. Together, they fight their archenemy Shredder.
A cartoon gained notoriety with families tunning their TVs. The cartoon aired a total of ten seasons racking a grand total of 193 episodes from 1987-1996. Thanks to the cartoon, TMNT spawned a franchise including merchandise, toys, costumes, video games, different TV iterations like my personal favorite, the 2003 cartoon and a movie trilogy from 1990-1993.
In 2009, Paramount & Nickelodeon bought the rights to TMNT. A Year Later, they recruited Michael Bay to produce a live-action reboot wit with the titular team as aliens. This sparked controversy from fans. In response to backlash, they scrapped the idea in favor of staying true to the source material.
Released in 2014, (same year Guardians of the Galaxy came out) the live-action reboot earned negative reviews from critics, fans and movie goers alike. Although panned, it made enough money at the box office. A sequel known as “Out of the Shadows” was panned both critically and commercially forcing Paramount and Nickelodeon to cancel a third installment. Recently, Seth Rogen co-wrote and co-produced an animated theatrical reboot titled, “Mutant Mayhem” I plan on watching it on Paramount Plus. Anyway, I wanna share my thoughts on the 2014 reboot.
It doesn’t matter if SPOILERS are listed. This reboot is terrible.
Good & Evil
Good: Johnny Knoxville, Alan Ritchson, Noel Fisher, Will Arnett, William Fichtner & Tony Shalhoub all did a decent job for their respective performances.
Whoopi Goldberg makes a brief appearance as April’s boss.
Action Sequences are amazing. My favorite part’s a chase scene down a snowy hill.
Brian Tyler (The Expendables 1-3, Crazy Rich Asians) orchestrated the soundtrack.
Vernon quotes a lyric from the OG cartoon. “Heroes in the half-shell.”
Unlike the OG cartoon, Vernon’s not a bumbling idiot who constantly gets into trouble. This time, he helps April and the turtles.
Shredder’s armor is friggin’ awesome. He looks like a “Dark Souls” boss.
Before he kicks the bucket, Shredder gives a thumbs up. A reference to “Terminator 2: Judgement Day.”
Opening Sequence pays homages to the comics.
A Fart Scene made me laugh so hard.
Before the climactic battle, the turtles have an elevator scene. They beatbox and play with their weapons as instruments. A silly yet heartwarming moment as brothers before they embark on the point of no return.
Mikey sings “Happy Together.” The song’s also used in other works.
- An ad for Super Smash Bros on Nintendo 64.
- Adaptation
- Freaky Friday 2003
- The Simpsons Movie
- The Boys’s sixth episode (titled, The Bloody Doors Off) of second season.
Evil: Megan Fox did a terrible job for her performance as April. She may look sexy, but she lacks the acting chops. Scarlett Johannson’s yummy and a talented actress.
Jonathan Liebesman failed directing. He didn’t double check the script for rewrites.
Michael Bay produced this stinker.
I understand they’re turtles but, their faces look like “Shrek” on steroids.
Sacks’ villainous scheme is to get rich. He’s already wealthy. Basically, sums up J.K. Rowling as a sellout for writing the “Fantastic Beasts” films and a TV adaptation of “Harry Potter.” What a has-been.
The reboot wasted a golden opportunity with Sacks as the new Shredder. He mentioned he was adopted by a Japanese warlord. It would’ve made legit sense taking over his father’s criminal empire to finish what he started.
Before Raph & April leave the sewer to rescue to Leo, Donnie & Mikey, they didn’t take Splinter to a hospital or provide medical attention.
The finale battle takes place on top of a corporate building with Shredder planning to release the poison across New York. Wait a minute? That’s the climax from “The Amazing Spider-Man.” To paraphrase Chris Rock in “Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back.” “I think Marvel’s gonna sue somebody.”
After an intense chase scene down a snowy hill, Karai’s never seen again. Until the sequel.
Here’s a list of stuff the 2014 reboot ruins the source material.
- April lacks her signature red hair.
- April’s a big dummy for getting herself fired. She tries to convince her boss the turtles fought the Foot Clan.
- You can clearly see Shredder’s face in the shadows. In the cartoons, his face is offscreen like Ms. Bellum from “The Powerpuff Girls.”
- April’s connected to the turtles and Splinter’s origins. A flashback show them drinking a serum. April never took them to a sewer for shelter. Their actual origin was just four random turtles and rat get splashed by chemicals in a nearby sewer.
- Splinter never had a connection to his owner, Yoshi.
- Splinter’s somehow fluent in Japanese. He taught the turtles using a training book (written in Japanese) on how to be a ninja. Daniel-San from “The Karate Kid” didn’t use a book to learn karate. Mr. Miyagi taught him the “Wax On, Wax Off” technique.” This feels like any “How To..” cartoon starring Goofy.
- After beating Raph, Shredder walks away. He didn’t bother to kill him and his brothers. Shredder would never do something stupid. Should’ve taken Scott Evil’s advice by killing the good guy with a gun. Rather than sending him to a death trap the hero will eventually escape using his tools and wit.
The Final Verdict: D, FOR DOGGY DOO DOO!
The live-action 2014 reboot is a really bad adaptation of the titular team. It pales in comparison to “Guardians of the Galaxy.” Skip this and Out of Shadows. If you wanna watch a faithful adaptation, watch the 2003 cartoon.
Nickthemoviecritic.com 