Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (2014) Movie Review

With Nickelodeon obtaining the rights to the TMNT franchise, a reboot with Michael Bay as producer saw the light of day in 2014. But is it convincing, or just another cash-grab?

Genre: Action / Adventure / Comedy

Director: Jonathan Liebesman

Cast: Pete Ploszek, Johnny Knoxville, Alan Ritchson, Noel Fisher, Jeremy Howard, Megan Fox, Will Arnett, Danny Woodburn, Tony Shalhoub, William Fichtner & Tohoru Masamune.

Run Time: 101 min.

US Release: 08 August 2014

UK Release: 17 October 2014

German Release: 16 October 2014

As the release of Out of the Shadows looms imminently around the corner, I decided to look back and review the first flick of this rebooted series. Following the bankruptcy of the animation studio Imagi, which led, among other reasons, to a TMNT sequel being cancelled, Nickelodeon quickly grabbed the rights to the heroic mutants’ franchise.

— WARNING, THIS REVIEW CONTAINS SPOILERS! —

When reporter April O’Neil (Fox) witnesses four shadowy figures stopping the mysterious Foot Clan from robbing the docks, she follows the vigilantes onto a rooftop, only to reveal them to be the four anthropomorphic turtles: Leonardo (Knoxville), Raphael (Ritchson), Michelangelo (Fisher), and Donatello (Howard).

April tells her father’s old partner Eric Sacks (Fichtner) about her findings of the turtles, not knowing that he is Shredder’s (Masamune) apprentice. When Splinter (Shalhoub) orders the brothers to bring April to him, she soon realises that they are the test subjects of her late father’s lab tests, which she freed during a fire. In the meantime, Sacks tells Shredder about the Turtles, who orders the Foot Clan to capture them. During the battle, Splinter is seriously injured, while Leonardo, Michelangelo, and Donatello are brought to extract the mutagen out of their blood.

April teams up with Raphael to rescue his brothers. Sacks reveals to April that it was he who killed her father, and that he is planning on releasing a virus in New York, with the antidote created from the mutagen. A big showdown ensues, in which the brothers must defeat Shredder before he can release the virus, as April fights off Sacks. 

Plans for a reboot of the film series came into motion when Nickelodeon purchased all of Mirage Studio’s rights to the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles property. In 2010, sibling corporation Paramount brought Michael Bay on board to produce a new blockbuster; however, first-pitch ideas drew massive backlash when it was revealed that the Turtles’ backstory would be changed, turning them into aliens.

Bay’s new iteration of the iconic turtle brothers is a narrative mess and, worse, basically spits on its source material. To stitch together a semi-cohesive plot, writers Joseph Applebaum, Adnré Nemec, and Evan Daugherty stuffed the story with as many conveniences as possible. They tied April O’Neil’s backstory directly to the creation of Splinter and the Turtles, while further disrespecting lore with the inclusion of the character Erick Sacks, who was originally meant to be Shredder’s public persona.

Fortunately, the fanbase revolted against the news, forcing the studio to intervene and make last-minute reshoots that caused massive plot holes and a structure that felt disjointed. Then there is the fact that the Turtles feel more like side characters in their own franchise, while April O’Neil takes centre stage. 

The dialogue ain’t much better. Much of it is toned down to juvenile farth jokes, cheesy conversations, plus an overreliance on exposition.

Megan Fox is completely miscast as April O’Neil. This might be her worst performance to date, giving a wooden, one-dimensional portrayal as NYC’s top reporter. Not only did Fox not understand the character, but the director plus writers treated O’Neil more as a sexual object. Even worse, they made her the central character, shoving the four mutant turtles to the side, in their own flick.

The four mutated brothers are the highlight of this blockbuster. Not only were they given distinctive personalities, but the motion-capture performance is top-of-the-line, with Ploszek, Fischer, Howard, and especially Ritchson delivering exceptional physical performances. Alan Ritchson also manages to capture Raphael’s hot-headed temperament magnificently. The same can be said about Master Splinter, who was perfectly written as a father figure, especially given Tony Shalhoub’s superb voice acting. 

The biggest casting catastrophe, though, was that of the villains. William Fichtner’s Eric Sacks was depicted as a one-note “villain corporate mogul” with no clear motivations, thanks to last-minute rewrites. The archenemy Shredder, played by Tohoru Masamune, was barely given any screen time, hidden behind an ugly, ridiculous robotic suit that looked more like a mix of Japanese armour and a Transformer.

Finally, Will Arnett was another massive miscast as Vernon Fenwick. Not only was the character stripped of his signature cowardice, but it felt more like Arnett was playing Fenwick as in his usual roles. 

Visually, the film carries all the typical Michael Bay-isms: the fast-paced action sequences, big explosions. While the kinetic camera movement effectively captures energy-loaded action, it has become somewhat boring to see in a Bay film, even when it is not directed by him. The aggressive, artificial lens flares, as well as the quick cuts in combination with a sort of shaky-cam technique, did not make things any better.

The effects, on the other hand, did actually look jaw-dropping. I did like the new design for the turtles - making them more realistic, though I do understand if many were put off by the design. I also admire that it gave each brother a visually distinctive style, in terms of accessories plus gear. ILM managed to make interactions between these CGI creatures and real-life actors look genuine. 

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Verdict: Bay’s produced Turtles reboot is nothing more than a copy-paste replacement for the degrading Transformers franchise. Same formula, no story, a big battle at the end on top of a megastructure, with a beam spewing out of it. While I didn’t mind the new design of the Turtles, thinking they looked more realistic than ever, the blueprint for Shredder’s suit looked over the top and ridiculous, reminiscent of a Transformers hybrid. I also thought that the addition of Fichtner’s character, Eric Sacks, was unnecessary, drawing away from the actual story and adding unneeded drama. Megan Fox is completely miscast as April O'Neil, giving a wooden rendition, plus serving more as a visual attraction for male viewership. Overall, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles was a big disappointment. It’s a 3.0 out of 10.

So what did you think of Nickelodeon’s and Bay’s reboot of the Turtles? Do you agree with my sentiments? Let me know in the comments below & if you liked this review, don’t forget to like and share.