Why does Sacks want to do this? So he can then unleash an antidote to said toxin and thus become … rich. (Why this young girl saved her pet turtles only to then dump them in the sewers is left unexplained.) The Turtles’ mortal enemies, the Foot Clan, led by the evil Master Shredder, are here, too, only this time, the Foot is in cahoots with a billionaire scientist/industrialist named Eric Sacks (William Fichtner) to unleash a deadly toxin on New York City. In other words, they were her turtles all along. But this time, their journalist gal-pal April O’Neil (Megan Fox) turns out to have been the young daughter of the now-dead scientist who was working on the turtles before their lab was torched. They still started life as four ordinary baby turtles who wound up getting hit with an experimental mutagen that transformed them into humanoids.
The film maintains the Turtles’ familiar character traits (Michelangelo, the catchphrase-uttering jokester Raphael, the loose-cannon Leonardo, the serious leader Donatello, the nerd), but revises their backstory somewhat. Watch a Video About the Bizarre History of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
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The movie wants to be a kickass action spectacle first. There’s plenty of humor in Ninja Turtles, but it feels welded on. It’s clear on which side of this divide Liebesman and Bay’s allegiances lie. You could understand why they were a hit in the late 1980s and early ‘90s, when pastiche ruled the day. (You can learn more about it here.) Before they became popular among young children, the original heroes were a surreal lark inserted into an action scenario that was equal parts parodic and sincere. There’s always been a weird discrepancy in the Ninja Turtles concept. Your kids may not mind it, but it’s more insistent than it is fun. This new Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, directed by Jonathan Liebesman ( Wrath of the Titans, Battle: L.A.) and produced by Michael Bay ( Armageddon, Armageddon) is largely indistinguishable from any number of bloated superhero spectacles that have already graced our screens. Portentous when it should be goofy, lumbering when it should be spry, this reboot of the comic/movie/TV show wants to reimagine the beloved, tongue-in-cheek kids’ phenomenon into a more weighty, pseudorealistic action spectacle. If the antic whimsy of Guardians of the Galaxy or Hercules or even Lucy is too much for you, you could always check out the more serious goings-on in Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.
Photo: Industrial Light & Magic / Paramount