I went to see this on Monday, and it wasn't half bad, my little cousin liked it too. It had some funny bits, and there was some great action sequences, but the human animation was more than a little frightening.

[ edited by Noclaf on 2007-03-22 19:27 ]

Noclaf | March 22, 22:25 CET

This is the only video I've found so far that features SMG. It's kind of a mega trailer, so lots of spoilers for the movie. SMG shows up about 2 minutes in.

jam2 | March 22, 23:15 CET

I want to go see it this weekend but I don't know if I'll get to. I have to drive to Jersey. :(

war_machine | March 22, 23:27 CET

I saw TMNT, and really enjoyed it.

Brian Lynch | March 22, 23:34 CET

I was one of the few kids who didn't like TMNT (the TV series). But I was such a girly girl back then, I didn't like Power Rangers or Captain Planet either.

[ edited by fortunateizzi on 2007-03-22 21:15 ]

fortunateizzi | March 23, 00:14 CET

Well, Power Rangers genuinely sucked, whereas TMNT and even Captain Power had some redeeming qualities and were often fun. So no big deal on missing out on one of those three.

There were far better `90s cartoons during that period though (Batman: The Animated Series, and especially Gargoyles)

The newer TMNT, the cartoon that started in 2003 I think, was pretty cool going by the first two seasons I was able to see.

I'm pretty excited to see this film. It looks like fun.

Kris | March 23, 01:58 CET

Thanks Kris for mentioning one of my favourite shows back in the day. I remember adoring Gargoyles back when it was on; I was pretty young (probably 10 or so?) but already thought that it was a step above the other shows in terms of complexity. And I was already old enough to start getting disappointed when the show became less of an arc and more a string of one-offs (in the Avalon period). Plus, Trek actors!

I was a huge fan of TMNT, from the ages of about 4 to 10. I only caught the 80s/early 90s era though, not the newer one.

Don't know if I'm going to see this or not. Nostalgia might not be enough, so it might depend on the quality of the word-of-mouth (and the reviews).

WilliamTheB | March 23, 03:06 CET

I loved TMNT back in the day and I hope to go see it this weekend. The trailers so far make it seem like a really good movie. And having Sarah in it is like a bonus. :)

maje | March 23, 03:32 CET

Saw this last weekend. Not terrible, but a bit of a mess. Nice to see Sarah beating people up again (kinda).

Jona | March 23, 05:51 CET

http://iesb.net/index.php?option=com_d4j_ezine&task=read&page=1&category=2&article=2117&Itemid=29

First review I have come across and its good. Good stuff..

jerryst3161 | March 23, 06:20 CET

I'm a lifelong fan of the TMNT, especially the original comics (which are still being made). They're far, far darker than any other incarnations of the Turtles; for example, in the first issue, Shredder gets stabbed through the chest and then knocked off a rooftop when he tries to detonate a thermal bomb to kill the Turtles (who have slain all the Foot Soldiers in a bloody battle).

That said, I have a soft spot for the original cartoon and the sequel movies, but I genuinely love the first movie, and the recent cartoon was very enjoyable and way closer to the comics than I expected...then it went all Fast Forward.

But this one...despite SMG being in it, it just kind of looks like a desecration of my childhood, as well as the original TMNT. I mean...Chris Evans as Casey Jones? What?

I'm still seeing it, though, out of obligations to both my Whedonverse and TMNT fandoms.

UnpluggedCrazy | March 23, 06:55 CET

Cool about Sarah, will take the kids to see it.

cheryl | March 23, 06:58 CET

WilliamTheB said, regarding Gargoyles:

"I was already old enough to start getting disappointed when the show became less of an arc and more a string of one-offs (in the Avalon period)."

Some of the Avalon World Tour episodes were strong, though you're right that things got less arc-ish overall. My gripe was that the rest of the Manhattan clan was left out for so long. To be fair though, a lot of those one-offs picked up threads from previous arcs since Goliath, Elisa, Angela, and Bronx met many old allies and villains on their journeys. And some of the threads hinted at or begun during the Avalon episodes were picked up and came together into some pretty big revelations and events later on. The show didn't end withe the Avalon one-offs though, when they returned to New York it was back to arcs with a 2-parter and a 3-parter to finish the series off.

There was a third season called The Goliath Chronicles that ABC ran for 13 episodes (the first two seasons totalled something like 65 eps or more), but the creator Greg Weisman wasn't a part of those and they aren't considered canon. Most fans of the franchise agree that the quality went downhill for those. Weisman has picked up the story again from the end of Season 2 though, in comic book form, he's writing it the same as he did when he was running the show as its' Joss and writing many of the episodes. The third issue is about to be released next week. Well worth checking out.

Also, DVDs. Season 1 is nice and cheap, Season 2 Part 1 can probably be found for a decent price as well. I hadn't seen the series since it aired like 13 years ago and it was worth the nostalgic trip. It holds up perfectly and, though it can't go near certain situations and themes, it was obviously made for adult watchability as well as for kids.

Kris | March 23, 08:09 CET