(Review) Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles

THIS adventure film is based on the popular 1980s comic book ­characters who later starred in their own ­animated TV series.
Now, thanks to advances in ­motion-capture technology, our heroic teenage mutant turtles – ­Leonardo (Pete Plosze with voice by Johnny Knoxville), Donatello ­(Jeremy Howard), ­Michelangelo (Noel Fisher) and ­Raphael (Alan Ritchson) – as well as their adopted father, the mutant rat Splinter (Danny ­Woodburn with voice by Tony Shalhoub), have come to live on the big screen.
And they provide far more facial expressions than the leading lady in this film, Megan Fox, who plays reporter April O’Neil.
The backstory of the villainous Shredder and his evil Foot Clan, and how the turtles grew up in the ­sewers, is narrated by Splinter with comicbook panels serving as a backdrop.
Then the story shifts to April, who wants to break a story on the Foot Clan who is behind the crime spree in New York, but is stuck covering fluff pieces with her ­cameraman Vern (­Will Arnett).
Nonetheless, she does manage to witness a vigilante thwarting an attempted robbery by the Foot Clan but no one at her TV station, ­especially her boss (Whoopi ­Goldberg), takes her seriously.
April’s determination to find the vigilante has her being taken ­hostage along with other subway users by the Foot Clan who wants to flush out the vigilante.
After a heroic rescue carried out by four shadowy warriors, April comes face to face with four mutant turtles who warn her not to tell ­anyone what she has seen.
Upon hearing their names, April realises that these turtles are ­connected to her past. But when she tells her boss the story, she gets fired.
So she approaches billionaire philanthropist Eric Sacks (William Fichtner), who used to be her late father’s associate and tells him what she has seen, unaware that he works for Shredder.
Fox is a mere pretty face who only has two expressions throughout the film. Sadly, Arnett who is known for his comic timing in other films is underutilised here.
As a whole the plot is predictable and even at about one-and-a-half hours long, the film feels stretched. The best parts are the action scenes and the turtles.
So go watch if you are a fan of the heroes in a half-shell.