Note: This is a second, more critical look at the film. For initial impressions, see this review.
When it comes to TMNT, its success will be measured by how well it can stand up to repeat viewings. For fans of the original 1990 live action feature, it’s undoubtedly a movie that comes close to capturing the comic while keeping the lighter tone of the cartoon. TMNT has trouble, stuck with trying to explain connections to prior feature length adaptations while simultaneously crafting its own style. This is why TMNT won’t have the lasting impact.
It must be said that TMNT is hardly a bad film. It’s more than acceptable, capturing the essence of each Turtle and their personalities. Animation is spectacular, and a rooftop, rain-drenched fight between Raphael and Leonardo is a masterpiece of the format. It should be held in high regard amongst those in the animation community for its achievements.
While it continues the personalities built over the course of three movies, countless comics, and 10 seasons worth of a TV series, it fails to bridge the gap between the formats. Notes, in-jokes, and dialogue reference these earlier efforts without explaining why everything has changed over the course of 15 years since the last theatrical release.
There are no references to April being a reporter. True to the comics, she has become a fighter able to hold her own when in combat. It’s a complete turn-around from the helpless April seen previously. Other characters retain their traits, including Casey Jones as a hard-edged vigilante, further confusing the canon.
The Turtles retain their proper personalities, and the focus is clearly on Raphael and Leonardo. Michaelangelo and Donatello are little more than background characters or comic relief. It’s an odd choice on the part of the writers, given the focus on team and brotherhood.
As for the core story arc, this proves disinteresting. Monsters roam the streets, and this leads to a few decent fight sequences if nothing else. The villain doesn’t present a significant threat like the Shredder of old, and the generic monsters are then likewise a lost cause. The interaction between the brothers as they try and put things back together would make for far more interesting cinema, but it’s understandable that kids would never touch the toy line if they didn’t have something to hold their interest.
For all of its stunning technical artistry, there’s still that special “something” about the animatronic live action suits designed by the Jim Henson Creature Shop that could never be duplicated here. This is not a complaint against the CG artists who have truly created fantastic designs for the characters, but more of a dissection of the format. TMNT couldn’t have been in live action, and yet you have to consider if the unlimited options are necessarily a benefit. 
![TMNT [Blu-ray]](http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51bPSHoK-aL._SL120_.jpg)
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