Written by Daniel Cohen and Logan J. Fowler
Release Date: August 8, 2014
Starring: Megan Fox, Will Arnett, William Ficthner, Whoopi Goldberg and the voices of Tony Shalhoub and Johnny Knoxville
Directed By: Jonathan Liebesman (Battle: Los Angeles)
Plot: 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 O’Neil and her cameraman Vern Fenwick to save the city and unravel Shredder’s diabolical plan.
Pre-Trailer Thoughts: I was optimistic after the teaser, and at this point I’m done thinking about what could go wrong. It’s Ninja Turtles. I’m ready. –DC
Pre-Trailer Thoughts: I love the turtles. Have since I was a kid. But man, I got worries about this one. –-LJF
http://youtu.be/bNT-CT25clM
Rate the Trailer (1-5): Four out of Five. Everyone is still beyond negative and pessimistic after this trailer. I got to be honest, if you’re a die hard Ninja Turtles fan like myself, I don’t understand for the life of me what the problem is with this trailer? This is Ninja Turtles. This is it. What is not Ninja Turtles about this? I don’t get it. Leonardo is clearly the leader. Raphael is clearly the troubled renegade. Michelangelo is the jokester. Donatello is the tech guy. April faints. Splinter is wise as hell. They are fighting a bunch of foot soldiers dressed in black. They are doing crazy flips. It’s awesome! The only character that made me queasy was Shredder. I don’t know what the hell is going on there. Is someone in the suit? Is it a robot? That’s a wait and see. But other than that, this is pure Ninja Turtles. Get over it. –DC
Rate the trailer (1-5): Three out of five. Ok so, this trailer is the best one available. You got the turtles spouting one liners, solid action, and the identification that Fichtner is MAYBE NOT Shredder? Holy cowabunga! Also Will Arnett just looks like he’s having a good time, and I love the guy so he’ll elevate the material for sure. I still hate the design of the turtles in some areas (why are they so massive, face still look like Shrek) and Shredder looks like Silver Samurai and Wolverine had a baby together. Poor artistic choice for the bad guy. Megan Fox is forever a casting waste and her line delivery is atrocious, even when there is a joke about the turtle being “aliens,” which is a nod to the script in its early stages.
But let me be straight: the turtles are front and center in this one and they really tried to capture the feel of them as personalities. My only beef is that having comedic timing with guys who look like green football players on steroids doesn’t really mold together. Oh well. At least they are trying. And the CGI has definitely improved since trailer one, so that’s a plus. –-LJF
Theater, Rent, No Thanks, Undecided? Theater. This is my entire childhood put on screen. I’m actually kind of nervous because my expectations were definitely tempered with this movie, but after that trailer, I’m setting myself up for disappointment. I’m starting to get goosebumps.–DC
Theater, Rent, No Thanks, Undecided? Undecided. I’ll admit, this trailer kind of put more in the theater territory than anything else, but fear of disappointment keeps from that being 100%. I want to love this movie, I really do. As a fan of the product I want nothing more than satisfaction. I just can’t deal with some of the choices here. Yes I am throwing my “fanboy” hat on with this, and I really don’t care. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles has had some many different types of incarnations, alternations, gimmicks, and factors that made each of its unique spins on the franchise stand out for better or worse. Most of the time, I haven’t been bothered by what has been changed in newer adaptations. I’m hoping that it’ll ring true for this outing, but from what I’ve seen, I’m still kind of put off. Not as much as before, but still enough to make me hesitate. I’ll see how I feel come release day. –LJF
