So I decided to relive my ill-spent youth and waste an evening watching "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles." I was pleasantly surprised.
It was not profound, nor a masterpiece, nor perfect in any way. However, there was a great deal more emotional weight to the plot than I'd expected...even if the emotional arc was still almost entirely predictable. The most powerful scene in the movie was between two protagonists and it had been set up quite nicely.
I may sound like I'm damning with faint praise here, but I'm really not. Any time Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles of all things can be made less than totally shallow, it's a win. I was happy to see them pitch a nice slow-ball set-up for a sequel, because the CGI and voice-work were both quite fun to watch, but I'm a bit worried that they won't have anything comparable to bring to the table in terms of an emotional dynamic.
...mind you, it wasn't brimming over with pathos, but any sort of cathartic character development in a cartoon remake is pretty nifty. It reminded me a little of the only TMNT fic I have ever read: a lyrical number set post 9-11 in which they'd all grown up some. I've forgotten the title. Probably time to look it up again.
...and now I want to people Planet Darwin entirely with Jungle Ninjas! The potential of those chain-mace things is just too much fun.
UPDATE: the fic is "Take A Breath, City" by Zara Hemla. Gosh do I love the Internet Wayback Machine and caching.
It was not profound, nor a masterpiece, nor perfect in any way. However, there was a great deal more emotional weight to the plot than I'd expected...even if the emotional arc was still almost entirely predictable. The most powerful scene in the movie was between two protagonists and it had been set up quite nicely.
I may sound like I'm damning with faint praise here, but I'm really not. Any time Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles of all things can be made less than totally shallow, it's a win. I was happy to see them pitch a nice slow-ball set-up for a sequel, because the CGI and voice-work were both quite fun to watch, but I'm a bit worried that they won't have anything comparable to bring to the table in terms of an emotional dynamic.
...mind you, it wasn't brimming over with pathos, but any sort of cathartic character development in a cartoon remake is pretty nifty. It reminded me a little of the only TMNT fic I have ever read: a lyrical number set post 9-11 in which they'd all grown up some. I've forgotten the title. Probably time to look it up again.
...and now I want to people Planet Darwin entirely with Jungle Ninjas! The potential of those chain-mace things is just too much fun.
UPDATE: the fic is "Take A Breath, City" by Zara Hemla. Gosh do I love the Internet Wayback Machine and caching.
no subject
Date: 2007-10-29 12:56 am (UTC)