Nerds That Geek Movie Review: 'TMNT'

Written by Scott Edwards

​There are two types of people in this world, there are leaders and those who need to be led.  I would love to say that I am a leader of sorts, I know at work I am the go to and people will blindly follow me, but when it comes to real life, I am still lacking that trait.  There is nothing wrong with not being a leader, you just need to figure out who the right person is to follow.  When you do, life becomes very simple and you do not have to worry about a thing. But if you choose the wrong person to follow, well, what can I tell you, you will have to come up with excuses of why you have been so foolish and not holding yourself accountable for your actions.

Leonardo has been sent away to continue his training to become a better leader at his master’s request.  Leo is not doing what he was told to however, he is not thinking about better things to bring back to the city, he is taking care of issues in Central America first hand.  Not being able to control what he is doing, Leo believes that he has failed his master and does not want to go home, but when he is discovered by April in the jungle, he starts to have a change of heart.  Hearing that his brothers are not continuing their training, but working meaningless jobs, Leo finds out that he is the glue that holds his family together.

Arriving home, Leo is greeted by his brothers and his master, but one member of the family does not seem too happy to see him.  Raph has been doing his own thing and even though the rest of the group does not know his secret identity, the Nightwatcher has been patrolling the streets at night and keeping the city safe in the turtle’s absence.  Needing to get everyone back on the same page, Leo takes his brothers out to look over the city, but when they get word that something is going down, they jump back into action like the good old days.  Finding the Foot being beat up by a large hairy monster, the group is content to sit and enjoy the show, but when it is apparent that the monster will not stop when it is finished with their enemies, the turtles jump into action.  Being defeated, the group knows that they need to get back into shape for their next battle and having monsters showing up in their city is something that they will definitely have to prepare for.

On the other side of town, Max Winters knows exactly what is about to happen to the city and has employed April O’Neil to acquire the great general statues from all over the world for him.  Max is looking to have a family reunion with his old crew that were prepared to take over the world three thousand years ago, but now he is looking to end his reign on earth and become a mere mortal once again.  Needing to capture the thirteen monsters that are loose on the planet to close the portal he mistakenly opened so long ago and ending the curse he has put on the land; his resurrected generals do not feel the same way.  After being trapped in stone for three thousand years, they are ready for battle and to finish what they started.  Max knows what must be done, but he will need to band together as much help as possible to close the portal and send his former family into the abyss. 

Legends and lore have changed the outlook for the turtle’s movie franchise, but in a very good way.  Even though this movie was animated, it does not make it any less of a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle movie and a good one at that. It even follows how the live action series had left off, so I guess it is part of the saga that the third film should have ended with.  But the turtles in this movie, although they kick some serious butt and emotions once again and with a power struggle between Raph and Leo, you can see that there is much more to the green machine than just action and jokes.  Was I surprised with this movie?  Yes, and pleasantly since it was more focused on the family again and each member’s struggles rather than jokes and outdated references that nobody would get if they were not born into that era.  Happy Viewing.

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