Saturday, March 24, 2007

Turtles Make Great Pets. Ninjas, Not So Much...


Everybody loves turtles. Those little green guys are nature's underachievers. Sure, they're slow and not too bright, but they're so darn cute! That is, until they grow up and become pizza eating teenagers. Then the cuteness fades, and they get tossed down a sewer drain. For most turtles, that would be the end. But for four lucky green dudes, it was just the beginning. And they would be the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.

Now this was a hell of a concept...15 years ago. Fast forward to today, and the concept has been resurrected in a film that opened this weekend. Yes, everyone's favorite surfer dude turtles are back for more kung-fu action against the Foot clan. Between pizza breaks and poor catch phrases, of course.

The film is done entirely in CGI, so those of you having flashbacks to the live-action films from the 90's need not worry. It's also supposed to be a "darker" flick, geared more toward the adult audience that remembers the turtles from way back when. Still, was anyone clamouring for this project? The turtles were great in their heyday, but much like the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise, their ship has sailed.

I'm not saying that this is bad movie. If you're a big TMNT fan, it's worth seeing on the big screen. But for the casual fans, it's probably best to just rent the DVD. And beyond that...well, that's the problem with this movie. If you weren't a fan of the franchise before, you're probably not going to see this film. It's just not the type of property that will draw in newcomers.

It's nice to see Hollywood branching out and bringing back old franchises that deserve another go at the big screen (like the upcoming Transformers movie), but not every property needs that treatment. Next thing you know, they'll be making another Inspector Gadget movie. I'm sure Matthew Broderick could use the work...

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