The first reviews for the Michael Bay produced and Jonathan Liebesman directed TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES movie are coming in from across the pond, and they are, well, not hugely positive. Germain Lussier of SlashFilm.com says “It’s an okay way to pass an hour or so, but you’ll forget about it minutes later,” while IGN‘s Eric Goldman says “[the film] isn’t great, nor is it a disaster.”
Some other grabs:
The Hollywood Reporter: “Liebesman relies on his genre-film resume to keep events moving at a brisk clip and the motion-capture process employed to facilitate live-action integration with cutting-edge VFX looks superior onscreen, sharply and smoothly rendering some thrilling action scenes and delivering impactful 3D character detail. However, the drawn-out two-hour runtime and the nonstop cartoonish violence may deter some would-be fans, or perhaps the adults who pay for their movie tickets.”
HitFix: “The greatest thing this film brings to the table is a kinetic fighting style that makes the Turtles seem like they are actual physical threats to the bad guys. There are three big action scenes where the film kicks into a higher degree of fun that, taken together, add up to just enough of a thrill for me to recommend the film. There’s one in particular that is inventive and impressive, and if the whole movie had been able to demonstrate that same level of energy, then I might be more enthusiastic about it.”
To be honest, it sounds like everything I’d expected it to be. Well, I of course expected it to be bloody awful, so the average mumbles it’s getting is a slight improvement. Here’s that official synopsis:
The city needs heroes… Darkness has settled over New York City as Shredder and his evil Foot Clan have an iron grip on everything from the police to the politicians. The future is grim until four unlikely outcast brothers rise from the sewers and discover their destiny as Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. The Turtles must work with fearless reporter April and her wise-cracking cameraman Vern Fenwick to save the city and unravel Shredder’s diabolical plan.
We’ll bring your our thoughts just as soon as it’s screened to us, but for now, and to continue the heavy coverage leading up to this Friday’s North American release, here’s two new featurettes for the film; one called “Meet April O’Neil” and the other “Meet Vern Fenwick”.
Meet April O’Neil
Meet Vern Fenwick
TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES will open in the UK on the 17th of October.
Source: Paramount
