Nickelodeon

PG 13. 101 min.

It was 1987 and most likely The Bangles Walk Like an Egyptian was playing on the boombox when the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles first crawled out of the sewer. Their first wave of young devotees are now almost old enough to be grandparents.

So even though I wasn't a youngster when the turtles burst on the scene I do remember them with fondness. I thought it was a clever idea, just perfect for pre adolescent boys, and with the inclusion of a strong female character April O'Neill (Megan Fox), girls too. As you might recall she is the fearless reporter that discovers the turtles in the first place! It’s easy to like something so obviously designed in good fun and not trying to beat you over the head with a message like Captain Planet or the modern day demise of Archie Andrews. They're turtles for God sake! And not only turtles but ninjas and teenagers as well!

I really worried the producers here might try to take this series too far over the top, you know, lot's more noise and violence and dirty language etc. but rest easy it's still and at the same demographic whether or not we are part of it.

The plot is reasonably simple as well.

Besides telling the story of how the four reptilian heroes came to be in flashback, there's also a dangerous plan for them to foil.

The main bad guy here (William Fichtener) is a treacherous son of a bitch whose roots go all the way back to the scientific experiments that gave the turtles their powers.

He has teamed up with Shredder (and the evil Foot clan), their perennial arch enemies, to release a deadly gas all over the city! Of course the villain also have the antidote which they plan to trade to the citizens for total control!

The only thing that can stop them is, well you guessed it, turtle power!

That's about as complicated as it gets, nothing that a 12 year-old couldn't figure out (or me either actually).

There special effects are fairly standard but spectacular when compared to what was available decades ago. These turtles actually look real, and even though I think I liked the voices from the cartoons better, they still sound like smart ass teenagers.

I may have even like the movie better had they spend more time devoted to the interaction among the stars than the actual fighting itself but it was still fun.

More fun than THE AVENGERS and a lot less whiny than SPIDERMAN!

B

WSS