I would have been nine years old when this came out, but I never cared that much about the turtles. I was aware that the movies came out, but they weren’t even ones that I wanted to see, unlike Masters of the Universe. That’s a long way of saying that this is the first time I’ve watched this movie.
This movie is firmly aimed at kids. There are very few lines that might appeal to adults, and the story seems focused on delivering what kids want to see - the turtles goofing off, and the turtles fighting. For what it is, it’s fairly successful. It moves along, it delivers enough laughs. They don’t skimp on the action.
That’s the most remarkable thing about the movie. There’s action all over the place, and they aren’t shooting it poorly. Most of the sequences are built from modest-length shots that show a clear action. There aren’t these tight-closeup shots of a swinging arm and weapon, or a connecting hit. These are choreographed fight sequences. They’re made more impressive by knowing that these are four guys in layered costumes having to jump around.
The story is pretty weak, but it seems appropriate for the audience. There’s just about nothing for adults, maybe one or two jokes. But I did find the costumes interesting. Logistically, they were a difficult thing to pull off smoothly, but they managed to do it.
The weirdest thing is how unbalanced the characters are. Through most of the movie, Raphael is angry for some reason. The other turtles aren’t developed in any meaningful way. April and Casey Jones are developed more than the other turtles. It isn’t a terrible thing, but it’s a little puzzling. Seeing most of the turtles pal around, they came across more like Bill & Ted than anything else.
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