Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (2014 Reboot)

[Rusty Spy]

Ok, can I say that I'm not really having that big a problem with the way the turtles look. I guess the only real complaint is the very 'human' looking mouths, but the more I see of them the less awkward they look.

 

But what the fuck. Thick rimmed, taped up glasses? That's probably the dumbest thing I've seen from this movie, and I know for a FACT that nobody in charge of designing these characters put any thought into that beyond 'this character needs to look like a tech genius', cause not only does this imply that this genetically altered turtle was intentionally given poor eyesight, but that the only thing the super smart gadgeteer had to fix a pair of broken glasses was some fucking tape.

 

I know it's a minor thing, but it just bothers me more than anything else.

[Agie]

Donnie looks wonderful! Just look at him! Especially that scream!

[Mando-Whirl-Wind]

Hmmm, honestly I think I'm going to go see it, since it might be the last film of the summer I can go see with my family(my sisters love action movies for some reason XD ). and I think it might actualy turn out decent, I mean the original film took its own liberties, and the fact is that if they wanted to go grimdark they would have adapted the original comics. The only thing that makes me sad is that there is no Casey Jones, though he would have fit perfectly

 

Also, I got this feeling, that every new show and comic and movie of the turtles does their own takes and twists on the character, so here is a thought, from what we know, I have a feeling that Splinter might have been originaly April's father in this timeline... but that's me

[Zaysho]

Hmmm, honestly I think I'm going to go see it, since it might be the last film of the summer I can go see with my family(my sisters love action movies for some reason XD ). and I think it might actualy turn out decent, I mean the original film took its own liberties, and the fact is that if they wanted to go grimdark they would have adapted the original comics. The only thing that makes me sad is that there is no Casey Jones, though he would have fit perfectly

Also, I got this feeling, that every new show and comic and movie of the turtles does their own takes and twists on the character, so here is a thought, from what we know, I have a feeling that Splinter might have been originaly April's father in this timeline... but that's me

The original film could basically be looked at as "Mirage TMNT the Movie" from where I'm sitting. It did take liberties, as far as using the news reporter angle for April and an altered version of the Mirage Shredder, but it's mostly a distillation of the early years of the Mirage comic. The most wildly different thing was Shredder picking kids off the street to create the Foot, but even that feels in character with him being a corruptive force with his own twisted ideal of family who wants to rule all (something IDW is running with heavily). And as I think about it, that Foot is sort of a composite of the Foot and the Purple Dragons (though, in fairness, that's more in hindsight, as the Purple Dragons didn't get any real prominence until the 4Kids cartoon and then when Hun became part of the Mirage canon after that).

And I personally don't like when people say Mirage is "grimdark" suggesting it was dark for the sake of being dark. The "grim n' gritty" reputation of that incarnation is a gross mischaracterization and honestly feels like people say this without having read any of that run (I'm guilty of this myself). It was dark/serious, heavy, and even violent at times, but having been reading through it lately, I don't think it's anywhere near as gratuitous as people make it out to be.

That said, I'm not opposed to this film being its own thing, with its own take on the TMNT universe (IDW is so different from everything before it and it's fucking awesome). It's just that nothing that's been released about this so far really appeals to me, even if they did drop the "Turtles are aliens!" concept they ran with early on. Nostalgia pandering to the Fred Wolf TMNT just puts me off even further, not because I dislike that incarnation, but because of all things they can adapt and bring into this new version, they jump backwards to something that hasn't really been relevant for years (and not in a "why don't bring back x character/concept with a new spin?" but in a "let's go back to the only version apparently anybody knows!" sort of way). That's what it feels like to me so far, anyway.

 

I'd love to be proven wrong, and I fully expect it to be fun but stupid, but I'm almost expecting the second coming of "Next Mutation"... and that's not a good feeling.

[Marcello]

Looks like the Turtles and Splinter will be going up against Wolverinetimus Prime

 

 

[Mando-Whirl-Wind]

Looks like the Turtles and Splinter will be going up against Wolverinetimus Prime

 

 

Perhaps we are getting the Shredder is really a Krang version 

[VO.SUPER]

Wow, in most cases I feel that would look cool, but there is something really stupid about it. After so many cartoons where Shredder kept this minimalist looking armor, so see all this bulk on him seems wrong.

[Zaysho]

Wow, in most cases I feel that would look cool, but there is something really stupid about it. After so many cartoons where Shredder kept this minimalist looking armor, so see all this bulk on him seems wrong.

 

In general, a problem I have with the movie's designs for all the characters unveiled (it's a little early to tell with Splinter) is how busy and overdone they are. Like, on one level they look cool, but I feel like all the extra gear and drapery is more likely to just slow them down. And Shredder is the kind of fighter that definitely strikes hard and fast, and all the heavy armor seems to go against that. In a way, I really like this silhouette shot because it retains what makes Shredder such an imposing and fearsome figure. I can sort of see this version of Shredder giving these Turtles a pretty good fight, since he was made so much bigger to match the ginormous Turtles PD decided to use (which I'm not happy with either, mind). What I don't like is that all the armor and everything turns him into a tank, which seems less... ninja-y.

 

The swiss-army knife idea for his gauntlets is admittedly cool, though... but at the same time, now it's just an excess of blades and spikes. I'm a bit mixed, even though I wasn't fond of the design when it was first revealed.

[Gabz Girl]

Well at least now he looks like someone who could actually shred somebody, like a Shredder. =P

The design itself looks too busy and over complicated. And like Zaysho said it makes the characters look too heavy. If you're a ninja, you wanna be sneaky and fast, not weighed down by all this extra shit. Why did they have to make these ugly Turtles so HUGE in the first place?

[DarkLight]

Kind of makes Leo's bamboo armor seem more impractical compared to Shredder once when they actually get to fight each other.

[Balding Spider]

Looks like the Turtles and Splinter will be going up against Wolverinetimus Prime

Hmm....so is Shredder a land or air type Decepticon in the movie?

[Mando-Whirl-Wind]

I don't see how its any worse than this shredder in the cartoons

[Zaysho]

I don't see how its any worse than this shredder in the cartoons

 

Oh look, one-off form from a bad future that technically doesn't exist and doesn't present itself as a mainstay in the series. Whereas 2014 Shredder is (likely) intended for that particular film series. It's unfair to compare the two, in that sense. Though just comparing it aesthetically... eh, I don't care for it either, much for the same reasons, but Ch'Rell basically just upgraded all his tech to fight the puny resistance that went after him at that point, and it obviously worked against them. Pure design-wise, it's just as not subtle and busy, almost to a ridiculous degree.

[Mando-Whirl-Wind]

Oh look, one-off form from a bad future that technically doesn't exist and doesn't present itself as a mainstay in the series. And going beyond that, I don't particularly care for the design either; though this definitely seems suited to the kinds of things Laird was into.

Ok, ok, I know its not permanent, but this isn't the most bizarre shredder has gone(still getting a kinda Krang vibe though) 

[Zaysho]

Ok, ok, I know its not permanent, but this isn't the most bizarre shredder has gone(still getting a kinda Krang vibe though) 

 

I just don't think it's a fair comparison, though I admit I could've worded it differently. If we're talking aesthetics, then, yeah, I agree, never said it wasn't. That said, I don't think just because 4Kids reached a bizarre level design-wise, it doesn't necessarily this one's any better.

 

I'll be somewhat surprised if they go the Utrom route again. Ch'Rell was a pretty unique take on the idea, and even shades of Ch'Rell's character worked its way into IDW's Krang. I suppose I wouldn't mind if the ooze is, once again, of alien origin and Shredder's involved, I can see them going down that road.

[ishmael205]

it's ok

[redhellc]

Don't get me wrong, I love TMNT, TURTLE POWER, but this reboot isn't for me.

Sorry for quoting your post, I have the same feeling as you. So I decided to take this opportunity and ask:

 

Who is this reboot for?

 

I mean a lot of people were asking for more turtle action, but did anybody asked for this? 

[Zaysho]

Sorry for quoting your post, I have the same feeling as you. So I decided to take this opportunity and ask:

 

You is this reboot for?

 

I mean a lot of people were asking for more turtle action, but did anybody asked for this?

It's not a "reboot" any more than IDW's comic book series or Nickelodeon's TV series are. It's just another branch that has nothing to do with everything else in the franchise. TMNT's actually been pretty good about keeping every incarnation separate, but capable of drawing from each other.

[redhellc]

It's not a "reboot" any more than IDW's comic book series or Nickelodeon's TV series are. It's just another branch that has nothing to do with everything else in the franchise. TMNT's actually been pretty good about keeping every incarnation separate, but capable of drawing from each other.

Well maybe reboot was the wrong word, and like you said incarnation is better.

 

Still I don't see anything good coming out of this, that's why I asked who is this incarnation for?

 

I just realized my error on my last post, I'm gonna correct that. 

[DarkLight]

I figured it was just going to be a reboot of the film series of TMNT.

[Zaysho]

I figured it was just going to be a reboot of the film series of TMNT.

Well, yeah. But there tends to be a little too much buzz and confusion when the word "reboot" gets thrown around, especially when it's made sound like it establishes a new status quo for everything rather than being its own thing most of the time.

 

Well maybe reboot was the wrong word, and like you said incarnation is better.

Still I don't see anything good coming out of this, that's why I asked who is this incarnation for?

I'm not sure myself. I think it's another step of "TMNT for a new generation" the same way the Nick or IDW series are for their respective media. It might try to do a little to grab older fans, but given the general fan reaction I've observed, I don't think it's necessarily being targeted at those fans. Even though it's basically "Fred Wolf TMNT the Movie" in terms of setting, I don't even think people who are mostly only fans of the old cartoon are that interested. It's bizarre thinking that, with the Turtles, we're kind of back in the 90s, with three very different versions available for people to practically pick and choose what they want again: the IDW comic is made with older fans in mind, the Nick cartoon is aimed toward kids and the movie is, probably, somewhere in-between.

[Kevin]

Well at least now he looks like someone who could actually shred somebody, like a Shredder. =P

That gave me a chuckle. 

 

But yeah, I have to agree that design looks too complicated and I personally think it looks way too Transformers-like.

[redhellc]

I'm not sure myself. I think it's another step of "TMNT for a new generation" the same way the Nick or IDW series are for their respective media. It might try to do a little to grab older fans, but given the general fan reaction I've observed, I don't think it's necessarily being targeted at those fans. Even though it's basically "Fred Wolf TMNT the Movie" in terms of setting, I don't even think people who are mostly only fans of the old cartoon are that interested. It's bizarre thinking that, with the Turtles, we're kind of back in the 90s, with three very different versions available for people to practically pick and choose what they want again: the IDW comic is made with older fans in mind, the Nick cartoon is aimed toward kids and the movie is, probably, somewhere in-between.

 

I agree with you, and I think the comic and the show are doing a good job. The thing is if this was to be targeted to the audience of the 80's show, I think changing so much was a really big mistake. I don't want to sound to harsh but some of the fans of the 80's show and movies are a little too critical of the new material, and just want the same turtles but whit better production values. I for example loved the 80's show when I was a kid, and the new show does more for me in one minute of episode than all of this movie's trailers.

 

This movies does nothing to appeal to the fan in me and instead tries too hard to be different just for the sake of it. The fact that Michael Bay is the producer behind the movie makes me doubt even more.

[Marcello]

If you tweet your favorite Turtle from this site, they'll unlock posters of each turtle and when they're all done we'll get a new trailer.

 

http://www.turtlereveal.com/

 

So far Leo, Mikey and Raph are done. For some reason Donatello isn't done, which baffles me, since he is the best turtle.

 

Here are the others with their beautiful designs:

[Ultimate Waffle]

They look like complete shit <3

 

C'mon Donny