TMNT [PG]
Write off this fourth Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles movie as strictly for the kids if you will, but to do so is a disservice to the people who not only created it, but also the fans who kept it alive for so long. Considering that the franchise has been around since 1984, many kids who grew up on it now have kids of their own, a fact of which writer-director Kevin Munroe is fully aware. With a keen respect for the world that evolved from what was meant to be a one-time superhero parody comic by Northampton, Mass. artists Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird, Munroe gives fans the closest thing to their vision since the movies and television series began in 1987. With this tale of apocalyptic doom, he creates four distinct personalities in these half-shell heroes and creates situations that bring out those traits that make them clash with each other, and those that make them so great together. Visually, the movie is a bit too dark, and while the CGI is pretty photorealistic, Hong Kong animation studio Imagi attempts to pack more detail into every frame than their computers can render effectively. Still, Munroe shows he is no mercenary, selling his passion for what at first glance might be just greasy kids’ stuff or mock turtle soup. –Robert Newton