Summary
While fans of the series might love the film, Rise of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles is an overlong episode that overstays its welcome.
We have the latest installment of our favorite ninja turtles in form of the upcoming animated movie with Rise of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Movie hitting Netflix Friday. Is the movie worth checking out? Let’s dive in.
The movie opens with a massive chain of events that sees Casey Jones saving Leonardo from battle. Leonardo tells Casey they need to send him back in time to find the key to stop The Krang. We then see Leonardo fend off some bad guys, which transports Casey back in time.
One thing we can bank on in a Turtles movie is Raphael talking about how he is the boss and everyone else getting mad and him fighting with them. If we had a TMNT movie that didn’t have this, I swear it wouldn’t be normal. As we move to Casey Jones, he hunts down April O’Neil, who takes him down to the Turtles, who don’t believe that he has been sent back in time. However, Splinter says he remembers who The Krang is and believes him. The Krang kidnapped Raphael, forcing the Turtles to join forces with Casey to chase him down and save him.
I am not sure where to begin. I thought the story was great because we know the mission, what the Turtles needed to do, and how they would attempt to accomplish it. However, I am unfamiliar with the Nickelodeon show and did not realize they made the TMNT an absolute JOKE. Yes, the Turtles are supposed to be funny, crazy, and over-the-top, but THIS, this is a pure embarrassment to what I grew up on. Also, what in the world did they do to Splinter? Is he a complete joke now? Why?
Another thing I didn’t love was the animation. While it has some highlights of the Turtles we all loved growing up, the alterations are just plain bad. I didn’t love the animated film as it looked incredibly cheap and cheesy. I was just so disappointed by the presentation.
The only redeeming good character switch was for April O’Neil. I loved what they did with her character and how she isn’t just a reporter. She kicks ass and takes names just like the Turtles do. I was also a big fan of the people who voiced the Turtles, but I wish they would’ve given them better dialogue while not in the middle of battle.
Even with all that being said, the film isn’t terrible overall. It just is entirely rough around the edges. I am sure fans of the Nickelodeon series will have a great time watching it, and good for them. But for me, I was disappointed with so much in the film that I couldn’t find myself enjoying it.
What did you think of the Netflix film Rise of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Movie? Comment below.
You can watch this film with a subscription to Netflix.
Horrid review if im honest. I can almost, ALMOST get not liking the characters and the story. But the animation…? That’s a major slap to the face to the insane amount of effort this extremely talented team put into this film, ESPECIALLY with how terribly the network has treated this show and the time constraints they were put under. Both the show and the movie objectively have stellar animation, and saying otherwise just feels either nitpicky, or just looking for reasons to dislike this movie. Also, why would you even review it without watching the show? You do know its a direct continuation, right? That’s like watching the final lord of the rings movie without having watched those that come before. The quality of the movie is honestly enhanced by tenfold with actual context from the show, as a lot of what occurs is directly tied to previously known lore and bits from the show. You’re severely under qualified to give an honest and unbiased review, especially how this whole article feels like you’re holding onto dear life to nostalgia rather than viewing rise as it’s own new thing. Again, not even watching the show? And thinking this isn’t biased whatsoever? Really? Yikes.
In all honesty, this review just screams “I didn’t like it because it wasn’t the original.” I get really liking the source material, but you can’t expect every rendition to be just like the original. And the fact you didn’t watch the series before watching the movie is also a red flag. It just means you’re missing out on so much context. Then you dunk on the animation, which doesn’t make any sense. Like what mental gymnastics do you have to do to say the animation is cheap? It honestly just feels like you made that point because you wanted to find another excuse to make it sound like a bad movie. I’d be way more forgiving of this review if you found it bad, but at least didn’t try to compare it to the original and treated it as its own thing. This review is just biased and is clearly nostalgia blind. Please I encourage you to watch the series and the movie again and think of it as it’s own thing.
Why are people like this allowed to review anything? The “author’ seems upset simply because it wasn’t like the original. How was the animation bad? In any way? You are the worst type of reviewer. The reason nice, fresh takes cannot exist without a problem.
I encourage everyone to ignore this fool. Please. Blinded by nostalgia and telling clear lies just to give it a bad review. Wonder what other films have been reviewed negatively based on nothing by biased takes. Don’t take this reviewer seriously in any way shape or form. Had they given critique that makes SENSE, then sure but giving it a 2.5 just proved their biasness. In any case, now we know who to never take seriously. This guy.
The animation was…what? Show me one singular scene from this movie that wasn’t absolutely phenomenal.
It’s awesome that you liked the previous ninja turtles, but you can’t use them as a reason to not enjoy the movie. Remember, this is a different ninja turtle movie that is meant to be…wait for it…DIFFERENT. If you wanted the exact same story and nostalgia and all that, just go watch the previous turtles. But to get mad at the new movie because it’s not the same? The whole point of making a new version was to have a new story, not to feed your nostalgia. It literally makes no logistic sense that you find the animation bad. Cheap and cheesy? Like, did you even watch the movie?