When you grow up with something it is hard to imagine it in a different form and that was the problem plaguing me for the first half of this movie. I am used to the turtles in their original animated form, or as live action characters and in this new incarnation, they are neither the old school animation nor live action. Instead, they are lean mean fighting machines. These turtles have rippling biceps and are darker and nastier than the turtles of my youth. The usual one-liners are mostly replaced by angst and self doubt. Leonardo is more cocky and Rafael is even more of a hot head. Donatello's intelligence is minimized, but at least Michelangelo is still the clown of the group. Splinter is an old Jewish grandpa, Casey Jones is a clumsy slapstick artist and April O'Neil is some sort of exotic explorer with a better body than any human being could possibly possess. Oh, and Shredder is nowhere to be found. The Footclan is operated by a woman trying desperately to hold back her Asian accent and failing miserably. yet, through all of those changes, the movie turns out to be quite good, if a bit uneven.
Shredder is replaced by 4 stone creatures trying to hold on to their immortality and 13 odd looking creatures varying in size and oddness. The plot is basically that 3,000 years ago 5 siblings were trying to rule the world and when one found eternal life the other 4 were turned to stone. Seeking redemption, the living brother spends the next 3,000 trying to figure out how to undo that cruse. He awakens his siblings, still in stone form, looking amazing, too. They realize what he is up to and they attempt to turn on him. Enter our Turtles. Our, over the hill, past their prime, always at odds turtles. Raphael and Leonardo come across as real characters with depth and love. They are really the heart of this ride and watching them fight each other is actually really hard to watch because I love them both so much. Yet, they make the movie go. Along with excellent voice work from Sarah Michelle Gellar, Patrick Stewart and Chris Owens. The 4 turtles are voiced by voice over professionals, many of which I recognized from video games and cartoons.
The main problem I had with this movie was the lacking of good fighting and the wise cracking the turtles did while fighting. The live action movies and the cartoons always had good long fights between the turtles and the foot clan and this only had one and even it was minimal. Also, the jokes, few and far between, mostly missed or only garnered little chuckles. There was one exception, for me and it probably made the movie worth it, although I am not sure how many other people find such puns to be as hilarious and I do. Once you let go of what preconceived notions you have about the turtles, it turns out to be a very fun ride of a movie. The animation took a little time to get used to because it just seems so unlike any animation I am accustomed to, but when I got used to it I found it to be very detailed and very well done. I am sure not how well it will do, but they definitely left room for another movie and they made me want to go home and watch The Secret of the ooze, for the jokes, the fighting, the dancing and the Vanilla Ice.
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