THE FOLLOWING REVIEW CONTAINS SPOILERS OF THE DISCUSSED FILM. READERS DISCRETION IS ADVISED.
The 2000s felt like the prime era for the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles franchise because with the 2003 animated series getting my attention, they finally pulled the trigger on making an animated film way better than the live action predecessor Turtles in Time.
PLOT
The 2007 follow up TMNT follows the infamous group of mutated reptiles who have grown apart after defeating the Shredder. Master Splinter would send Leonardo to Central Training for self improvement as a leader to his brothers. He would stay longer than planned, worrying of failing. When he gets visited by his human friend April O'Neil, who was in the area being hired to ship something back to New York. She does give an update on how his brothers are doing. For Donatello, he gets paid as a virtual IT assistant. Michelangelo would work daily as a masked birthday entertainer. On her perspective, she only notices Raphael sleeps in every day. Little does everyone know except her vigilante boyfriend Casey Jones that the turtle has donned his own persona 'Nightwatcher' to continue his acts of nightly vigilance. Leo would choose to return to NY days after April does, delivering a statue of the deceased General Aguila (Kevin Michael Richardson) to wealthy tycoon Max Winters. What she also doesn't know is that Max is an immortal warlord once known as Yaotl. 3000 years prior, he opened a portal to gain such power, but would also release a total of 13 monsters and petrify his general brethren. Apart from Aguila, the other generals were named Gato (Fred Tatasciore), Serpiente (Paula Mattoli) and Mono. Winters hires Karai, new leader of the Foot Clan, to bring the monsters to him before the portal opens again. On the night of Leo's return, he awakens the generals with an unspecified amulet. They help the Foot take down 10 overnight. Around the time they subdue the first one, the turtles do engage but fail to stop it until the generals intervened. They end up not pursuing it when the police arrive to the scene. This upsets Splinter as his sons broke the rule to not engage in action until they're on the same page. His case is proven when Raph chooses to pursue one of the other monsters with Casey the following night. They encounter a vampiric beast, only to witness it get captured by the Foot and the stone generals. They end up getting spotted and are able to escape, only with the cost of Raph getting struck with a tranquilizer dart and Gato's ninja star. Casey and April would take care of Raph until calling the other turtles for help. When investigating the star and noticing Winter's logo on the dart, it is clear to everyone Winters is Yaotl. Raph wants to pursue him, but Leo still prefers waiting for Splinter's permission, thus leading to the former going alone. As Donnie deduces that the next portal will open at Winters' tower, Splinter insists Leo to bring Raph back. He does find his brother, only to discover he is the Nightwatcher. The discovery would lead to both brothers arguing of who's the better fighter, thus leading to Raph challenging Leo to prove superiority. He ends up winning the fight by breaking Leo's swords and pinning him down, but runs away out of regret he could've killed him. However, he halts when hearing him get subdued by the generals, taking the place of the 13th monster, choosing to go against Yaotl to keep their immortality. When Raph tells Splinter of what happened, he agrees they must go save him. Just as the portal opens, Yaotl would realize what his brethren did. ANd as he realizes their actions, the turtles and Splinter break into the tower alongside April & Casey, taking on Karai & the Foot to get through. Just when they free Leo, Winters explains to April that he's wanting to undo what he did. The generals confess to be against it, as they plan to forge their own monster that'll come from the portal. They offer the Foot an allegiance, but Karai shows honor by refusing and staying at Winters' side. She would join April & Casey to find the final monster while the turtles fight the generals to buy some time. Once the 13th monster crashes into the building, it drags the generals into the portal before it closes. After it does, Karai would leave and warn the turtles that someone from the past will return. Yaotl would then thank the heroes for helping fulfill his wish before his mortality allows him to dissipate into the afterlife. The film would end with Raph retiring the mantle of the Nightwatcher to resume protecting the city with his brothers.
THOUGHTS
The 2000s was the decade I got into this franchise and I was open to any interpretation at this point. So when this came out, I recall having quite a good time and I still do to this day. Since I didn't enjoy Turtles in Time, I chose to have low expectations and that helped me enjoy it more than I should. In all honesty, I do believe Writer/Director Kevin Munroe came through in creating another fun adventure these stories are all about. Do the visual effects match the same quality as Ratatouille? No, but does not need to look impressive. The designs on the central characters were very creative to the point where I don't even care about the rest of the landscape. I deem it good enough because the action scenes feel the most clear at this point. That tracking shot when the heroes fight the Foot again was edited greatly and Mikey skating in the sewers was so damn satisfying. The more I've gotten to look back on this film, the more I've gotten to understand why fans like myself can still enjoy it to this day. To me, I felt a loud message of valuing teamwork and knowing you can't do it all alone. The turtles have been icons for so long because they show the said value teamwork is all about and no matter how many times they bicker, they'll be appreciating each other by the end of it. This is one of examples because Raph is still the rebel that thinks he can do it all alone. From the voice alone, Nolan North shows him as one who chooses to overwork himself to prove his value. This decision to go through such stress would lead to taking it out on people who don't deserve it. In this case, he took it out on Leo which turned into strong resentment. It was always an unspoken rivalry between the two because Raph would always work so hard as a fighter to prove himself as a leader. He would deserve such a position off of his will, but it's not the only thing a leader needs. That is where Leo is arguably the better brother. James Arnold Taylor shows him as one who is building his patience everyday, uses that to avoid the risk of failure. It's very selfless of him because he's doing it for his brothers. He's smart enough to know the work can't be done overnight and doesn't let his temper get the best of him. Here, it blew up big time for Raph and he almost lost a brother for it. Of course had there not been a 3000 year phenomenon, he would never have come home, but the circumstances gave him the chance to do right by his brother for the first time and accepted he's never alone in the fight. Leo was hesitant in coming home in the first place because he wanted to assure progress would happen. It was different from what he expected, but even he knows there are things past his control. He chose to come around after April reached out because even he missed his family. There was no doubt it would be a good decision by the end because he was by their side as they were for him at most necessary. While those two brothers have their banter, the other two are there for the ride. Mikey Kelley maintains Michelangelo as a favorite to everyone because he lives life as is with minimum worry in comparison to his brothers. I don't know if I'd be a birthday mascot, but I respect the hustle. Mitchell Whitfield was also a good choice as Donnie for being the most sensible of the group and replicates Leo's patience in what he chooses to learn. None of these turtles would be who they are without the guidance they got from their father. I don't want to overrate Mako Iwamatsu, but I adored how he got to teach his sons to be the best versions of themselves and doesn't straight up pick a favorite. When he gets to tell Raph no one will ever be a least favorite, it was the closure the latter needed to feel complete. There is no doubt how happy he was for all of the turtles to be on the same page because a team working equally is indeed a healthy family. Apart from Splinter, it's always good to know there's also friends that'll be there. Chris Evans made a good showcase out of Casey because he showed to be one who may be slightly clumsy, but makes up for it when putting himself out there in the field. The big difference he has from Raph is how he knows when to stop. That's important because no matter how hard you work, you're not invincible. Nevertheless, it doesn't ever stop him from doing the right thing which is saving his friends. We all know the turtles would've not made it so far without the first friendship they made with the good natured April. Sarah Michelle Gellar arguably made her the unsung hero because she didn't have to contact Leo, she wanted to because she knew how bad his brothers needed him. That just shows how much of a heart she'll always have to those she cares for. Even she joins the fight for the first time because she knew how important of a crisis that was occurring. She breifly got to scare up with the Foot leader Karai and made it look easy, which said a whole lot. People forget about Yaotl a lot because he's written to be straightforward, but that should never mean disinteresting. Sir Patrick Stewart showed him as one who did live the life of a warlord and has now grown past it to understand the regretful decision of playing God. He got to live long enough to know he messed up and became willing to undo it. Sadly, the brethren he thought to be family did not share the same views. But luckily, the turtles agreed that the right thing had to be done and they stood by his side until such. The public may remember Yaotl for his flaws, but we will remember Winters for his redemption. It's definitely a challenge when doing a story without the Shredder as the main villain, but we all know his impact lives through the Foot. Ziyi Zhang brought a whole other flavor out of Karai the difference she has from her predecessor is that she is all about honor and she chose to live up to it when staying at Winters' side. Even though she respected her employer, we were caught off guard when she implied Shredder was still alive. Making it a big shame we never saw a sequel from this. I still dig this film, but my soft spot doesn't excuse some issues I caught onto story wise upon re-watching. For instance, wasn't it a little too convenient for April to be working for Winters which would bring the turtles into the story. I mean would Leo really come home if April didn't visit him? Because I don't think so. I did think it was cool that the trash can was attached to the garage door, but has the garbage trucks ever tried to take it and find out the hard way? To be honest, that'd be funny to see. I also think the Nightcrawler, but why is it so hard for the family to figure out it's Raph. It's a dead giveaway when saying he just sleeps all day. I find it ridiculous neither Donnie nor Mikey try to connect the dots off of that. Yeah I was laughing when Casey broke the vase on accident, but April should've known how clumsy he'd be to carry a crate containing a heavy ass statue. I don't really get why Winters would be vague about telling the Foot about the monsters. If they're gonna get paid, they shouldn't worry about the difficulty. I also find it difficult to believe no one reported sightings of the bat monster. That feels impossible to miss flying around New York. On top of that, Winters kinda gives himself away when having his logo on the tranq darts. He doesn't even know the turtles exist until the end, yet he's asking to get caught. Leo may be onto something when saying Nightwatcher can't really change the world, but whether or not he was Raph, would he/she affect the turtles in any way? He's a vigilante just like Casey and has the same goal. If you ask me, he's being very territorial about this. I can believe Yaotl wouldn't know the difference on Leo not being the monster, but why would the Foot go along with this lie? Forget making the job easier and getting even with an old flame, they know they're delaying success for grabbing the wrong creature and they got no reason compared to the generals. And let's be honest, it's ridiculous there was no news report about the vortex at Winters' building. You go out of your way with the monster sightings, yet choose to miss this. Other than that, this one can still give a good time. To wrap up, TMNT is a decent animated flick filled with multiple layers of fun recommended for any kind of fan of this
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