介绍:
The latest “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles” movie is directed by Jonathan Liebesman, but the smell of producer Michael Bay permeates the stereotypical popcorn flick.
Based more or less on the 1980s franchise of the same name, the film introduces a somewhat different origin story showing much closer connection between female journalist April O’Neil and the four humanoid reptiles. The team is still up against Foot Clan leader Shredder, who threatens to release a deadly virus to the New York City.
Not much ingenuity is spent on the storyline, the format is almost identical to Michael Bay’s first Transformers film, only this time it is a girl that plays a tiny small part when the heroes are trying to save the day.
There is a notable discrepancy between the first and second halves. In the beginning Megan Fox takes forever to portray the ambitious journalist in a frustrating career path. The extra screen time is completely wasted because once the turtles show up, the career thing is quietly dropped.
Perhaps this is just a conspiracy to delay the appearance of the turtles. The sewer dwellers in Liebesman’s movie can be a bit scary to take in for faint-hearted viewers. It certainly took me quite a while to grow accustomed to their appearances.
The action heavy second half makes it easier to ignore their looks. The Foot Clan and the turtles engage in battles in New York’s underground sewage system, in a mountaintop secret laboratory, during a slide down a snowy mountain and ultimately on the rooftop of a downtown high-rise, the downhill chase being the most inventive and the highlight of the action sequences.
Despite the realistic rendering of the comic figures’ images, the film shows a layer of cartoonish style from time to time, which helps evoke a sense of nostalgia, but also makes it hard to relate with the characters when they get hit.
“Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles”, the rare combination of so many nouns in the title may sound quite a mouthful, but it is no doubt most efficient in generating a huge fan base and sizable sales figures.
Teenagers may be fascinated by stories about mutants and ninjas, but it is the word “teenage” in the title that makes the franchise stand out. Liebesman’s movie is characterized by the same juvenile level humor. The funny, adolescent perspectives on pizza, rap and popular TV shows and films are the saving grace of this tedious reboot.
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