Film: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
Cast: Megan Fox, Will Arnett, William Fichtner, Pete Ploszek, Alan Ritchson, Noel Fisher, Jeremy Howard, Whoopi Goldberg, Tohoru Masamune
Directed by: Jonathan Liebesman
Those lovable critters are back. In finer fettle, I must say, thanks to Michael Bay who’s one of the producers of this film and leaves his impress in the pyrotechnics. Besides, how can anyone but anyone not like a music-loving tone deaf Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle who sings the Beatles “Happy Together” to his dearly beloved? Never mind if the rendition’s off key. Never mind if said Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle Michelangelo doesn’t have a hope on terra firma to win the fair hand of aforesaid beloved journo April O’Neil (Megan Fox) whose rear gets the same attention as it does in Bay’s Transformers.
That said, let me add, the spectacular action in this reboot of a much loved franchise based on comic book vigilantes created by Peter Laird and Kevin Eastman is guaranteed to please the hearts of young and old as the pizza-loving Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles re-emerge from the sewers of Gotham to save NYC, the US of A and the whole wide world. In that order. Because the villain Shredder (Tohoru Masamune) and his evil cohorts the Foot Clan in tandem with other villains have world domination in their sights.
Jonathan Liebesman’s 3D live action/animated endeavour is the fifth in the series and underlines themes of bravery, courage, honour and family with the turtles rendered through live action and motion-capture technology. Viewers will warm to the backstory of the four, each named for an Italian Renaissance artist: Leonardo (Pete Ploszek voiced by Johnny Knoxville), Raphael (Alan Ritchson), Michelangelo (Noel Fisher) and Donatello (Jeremy Howard) and April whose late scientist father had attempted the experiment involving a rat and the turtles who have evolved into sentient beefy teens.
The rat became a wise Japanese sensei named Splinter (Danny Woodburn voiced by Tony Shaloub), and trained them in the martial arts.
When April asks her late dad’s friend, industrialist Eric Sacks (William Fichtner), for help she doesn’t know what’s in store. But viewers do, privy as we are to information about the greedy corporate’s use of vile methods to achieve control and domination. It’s all inflected with a good amount of fun though.
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Ronita Torcato
