Strong martial arts violence,  Some mild language

93 Minutes

Ninja… vanish!

Synopsis

Four little turtles crawl threw some ooze with a rat and suddenly they begin to grow and speak!  The rat, Splinter, was smart to begin with and named each of the little turtles.  As a pet to his former master he watched and learned his master’s fine art of Ninja.  When his master was murdered, Splinter fled.  As his young turtle children grew he began to teach them the art of ninja he had learned from his master.  Now in their teens, the Turtles have managed to keep a low profile, but a local ninja gang called The Foot, drives them from their existence in the sewers and forces them to do battle.  Caught somewhere in the middle is local newscaster April O’Neil, who has been hot on the trail of the Foot faction as well.  Soon she needs the protection of the Turtles and they all find themselves in grave danger.

Review

This original live action version of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles is a great movie for the family.  It has action for the kids, jokes for the adults, and enough of an even plot for both adult and child to get.  It seems impossible to take seriously and that’s kind of the idea.  TMNT is all about fun and entertainment and it does so in a very clever way.  It’s wit and detailed writing makes each of the character’s very alive and very true to their cartoon created selves.  Though it doesn’t rely entirely on the creation from animation, it develops and explains it’s own history to those that know nothing of cartoon or comic.  The origin and creation of the Turtles and their arch nemesis, The Shredder, are panned out easily and simply with decent motivators to each side.  Meanwhile there is fun martial art battles and lots of quirky one liners to keep you busy.  There’s a reason this dynasty has lasted as many years as it has.  It’s the kind of fun that’s built to last.

Cast

• Judith Haog as April O’Neil
• Elias Koteas as Casey Jones
• John Pais as Raphael
• David Forman as Leonardo
• Michelin Sisti as Michelangelo
• Leif Tildon as Donatello
• Micheal Turney as Danny
• Jay Patterson as Charles
• James Saito as The Shredder
• Toshiro Obata as Master Tatsu

Casey Jones was the real stand-out character in this film.  He was a scene thief.  His character really leaned the movie more into the comic genre and strayed it away from getting too serious with the Raphael and Splinter drama.  Also the chemistry between Casey and April is honestly some of the best I’ve ever seen, and who would imagine that kind of sexual tension in a movie with grown men in Turtle and Rat costumes?  Toshiro Obata as Master Tatsu was a really fun stoic adversary, even more so than Shredder himself who was a lot more elusive.  The entire cast played their parts well and all had an excellent chemistry together, especially those Turtles.

Ratings and Suggestions

This is an excellent family movie.  It’s funny, has great action, an entertaining story, and it has a lot more complexity and depth to it than you would expect.  It’s great for anyone and everyone.  If you haven’t seen go and buy it.  It’s in bins at most department stores for $5 or less or they have the 3-Packs for $12 and it will be worth every penny.  It’s one of the better movies in it’s genre.  I give Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles a solid Three and a Half out of Four Stars.

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