As Tartarugas Ninja: O Retorno

Saw the preview of TMNT on the weekend and I have to say that the comments from ChimpCadet are spot on.

I am one of the older generation of TMNT fans and I can happily say that I greatly enjoyed watching this film. Also the row of children sitting behind me did not make one noise from the start of the film to the end. Which I think is a good sign to universal appeal of this film.

The plot ticks along at a good pace, some of the action sequence are outstanding in terms of action, animation and detail (as stated by ChimpCadet the fight in the rain is a highlight of this film).

On the whole a great film that does well to start the franchise and spawn a sequel or two.

3000 years ago, warrior king Yaotl uncover a portal that turned him immortal. It also turned his men into stone and released 13 powerful monsters. The portal opens every 1000 year with the alignment of stars. After defeating their nemesis Shredder, the Turtles have gone their separate ways. Leonardo has gone to Central America. Donatello and Michelangelo are running their small businesses. Raphael works the night secretly as the vigilante Nightwatcher. The rich Max Winters has hired Karai and the Foot Clan to search for the 13 monsters. He is secretly the immortal Yaotl who has reanimated his stone generals.

This one puts the goofy silly feel of the earlier cartoons on the back burner. It's still there but this has a darker edge to it. The CGI is acceptable with a cartoon look. It has a dark noirish shading. The monsters look scary and mean. The story is simple and works. It's pretty good for fans both old and new.

You've probably been hearing comments of how stunning the animation was. And every last one of those comments are right. It is obvious how much care and attention was put into the look of this film. Everything from the New York City environment to the Turtles themselves looked absolutely fantastic.

The story was sort of a mixed bag. I liked the struggle between the Turtles and how Leonardo is trying his hardest to get the team back together with Raphael trying to pull away. Everything else, however, could've been a little better. There doesn't really seem to be any level of suspense here, save for a fight between two main characters (which looks phenomenal, I might add). I also would've liked to have seen a bit more screen time for Donatello, who always seems to be pushed to the side. And there were some jokes here and there that might make you cringe, most of them involving Michelangelo. But this is still an enjoyable flick for everyone to watch, even if you're not a Turtle fan. It's worth seeing for the animation alone.

TMNT does its job: CGIs are done very nicely, the visual overhaul of the Turtles' design comes near the original comic-look and for a kiddie flick (let's face it TMNTs target audience is well below 14) it is a shade darker, cooler and grown-up than any of the other animation films hitting the Box Office right now.

I was not sure what to expect after some of the reviews I read before seeing TMNT, but have to admit I was pleasantly surprised. Snappy one-liners and some tongue-in-cheek comments younger viewers will not get did really make this a great CGI-movie. Especially the hyper-kinetic camera work and the rather unusual scene setups were really intriguing.

Don't listen to the "It's-not-like-the-comics"-Fanboys and dive into the turtle world, you won't regret it.

Oh, my God, I finally saw TMNT, I don't know how many opportunities to see TMNT in the theater, but it never pulled through. But I finally got to see the movie this morning on DVD; I have to say that over all the movie really worked. While I would still prefer the live action Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles film made back in '90, this was a fun adaption as well. The CGI was always an ifie subject with me, but I think that it worked for the simple fact of where this movie was aimed at, mostly a children's audience, and the dark animation made you feel as if you were in the comics. The voices were a perfect fit and the story was very cool. The only problem I had with the movie is that it seemed to be like more of a video game than an actual movie, it could have just been more creative I think. But the story worked very well.

The turtles are back and they are about to face their biggest villain yet, a bunch of immortal stone monsters who are wishing to stay this way. But it gets harder when Leonardo comes back from the jungle just trying to become a better leader, but Rapheal isn't in the mood when he wants things done his own way. Now the boys must try to fight as one to fight off these monsters, with Splinter, Casey Jones and April O'Neil on their side, they just might be able to pull together and save the city once again.

TMNT is a fun animation movie that I'm sure kids will love. I was 5 when the first Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles movie came out and I admit, I still watch it to this day, I still love the turtles, so I guess I was looking for those old memories. But since this wasn't really aimed towards the old school fans, I think it was somewhat of a disappointment, but it is worth a watch. I definitely think if you enjoy the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles stories, you'll get into TMNT.

6/10