TMNT: les tortues ninja

Saw the preview of TMNT on the weekend and I have to say that the comments from ChimpCadet are spot on.

I am one of the older generation of TMNT fans and I can happily say that I greatly enjoyed watching this film. Also the row of children sitting behind me did not make one noise from the start of the film to the end. Which I think is a good sign to universal appeal of this film.

The plot ticks along at a good pace, some of the action sequence are outstanding in terms of action, animation and detail (as stated by ChimpCadet the fight in the rain is a highlight of this film).

On the whole a great film that does well to start the franchise and spawn a sequel or two.

TMNT does its job: CGIs are done very nicely, the visual overhaul of the Turtles' design comes near the original comic-look and for a kiddie flick (let's face it TMNTs target audience is well below 14) it is a shade darker, cooler and grown-up than any of the other animation films hitting the Box Office right now.

I was not sure what to expect after some of the reviews I read before seeing TMNT, but have to admit I was pleasantly surprised. Snappy one-liners and some tongue-in-cheek comments younger viewers will not get did really make this a great CGI-movie. Especially the hyper-kinetic camera work and the rather unusual scene setups were really intriguing.

Don't listen to the "It's-not-like-the-comics"-Fanboys and dive into the turtle world, you won't regret it.

This is one of my favorite animations and has some of the best action and visuals in any animation

I went into this feature not quite knowing what to expect. I grew up with the turtles and was a huge fan of the comic book, the cartoon series (the original, of course), and the movies (only the first two). Growing up with the first two movies, I was really hoping that this one would be live-action. I will have to say though, that I was not at all disappointed in this feature.

At the beginning of the movie, I was slightly disappointed in who the rivals were. It seemed very far fetched, even for a Ninja Turtles movie. However, about half-way through the movie, I found myself forgetting about the not-quite-so-wonderful way the story line was set up. I'm not going to give away too much, but let's just say that the feud that has existed between Leo and Raph reaches an interesting point in this movie.

Overall, I would have to say that any turtles fan should give this film a shot. Try to not go into it with expectations set by the first two movies. Just think of this as a stand-alone movie, even though it does roughly follow the story-line set by the first two. If nothing else, the CGA is wonderful and the voice acting isn't so bad either.

Greetings again from the darkness. Reinventing a once popular franchise is always a bit of a gamble since the built-in audience will be very critical to changes and building a new audience can be extremely difficult. The secret usually lies in the ability to recapture the good parts from the original and add modern touches in order to attract new viewers.

Director Kevin Munroe delivers some witty one-liners and a couple of nice fight scenes all wrapped up in a terrific new animation style that lends itself very well to the dark side of sewers and big cities. Additionally, some complicated interaction between Leonardo and Rafael add a dimension not normally seen with the Turtles. All the necessary elements are there: the fight scenes (in keeping with the PG rating) are action packed, but with very little real violence; the bad guys are bent on world domination, even though the familiar Shredder is gone; the Turtle brothers struggle at times, but of course come together as a team when necessary; and the funny one-liners will make all ages giggle.

The downsides are the opening stage-setting scene, which will be a bit boring and hard to follow for the youngsters and the lack of any type of catchy music for the characters. Michaelangelo remains the fun-loving one, but he and Donnatello are pretty minor characters, and a big complaint is the lack of edge to Casey Jones. Instead of a hockey mask, he should probably dress as the Sta-Puff Marshmallow Man. Still, none of that takes away from a fun film with a beautiful look.

Voice acting is pretty well done by the likes of Chris Evans, Sarah Michelle Gellar, Patrick Stewart, Mako, Kevin Smith and Ziyi Zhang. So take the kids and if you were once a Turtle fan, you should treat yourself to the fine new version. Cowabunga!!