‘Rise of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Movie’ Review: A Less-Than-Radical Entry in the Cowabunga Canon

Although their recognition peaked lengthy earlier than most of at this time’s precise youngsters have been born, the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles by no means actually went away. We’re solely six years faraway from the latest live-action movie primarily based on the pizza-loving reptiles, and it was simply two months in the past {that a} new TMNT online game was launched. Ant Ward and Andy Suriano’s “Rise of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Film,” which arrives on Netflix this week, is predicated on the animated collection that aired on Nickelodeon from 2018 to 2020. Whereas unlikely to convey any nostalgia-minded followers of the collection’ early-’90s heyday again into the fold, “Rise” is a serviceable — if additionally forgettable — entry within the cowabunga canon.

It could be tough to overstate how obsessive about ninjas and martial arts youngsters have been within the ’90s, with the franchise driving the identical wave as “Mortal Kombat,” “Mighty Morphin Energy Rangers” and the “3 Ninjas” films. (That the majority of this was cribbed from Japanese popular culture didn’t happen to these of us who have been children on the time, in fact.) Most of these franchises persist, although the wave they’re driving now’s one among nostalgia — which, seen from a sure perspective, is perhaps essentially the most worthwhile and ubiquitous style in existence.

To say that the plot of “Rise” borrows liberally from “The Terminator” could be placing it evenly; to imagine that the movie’s meant viewers is aware of or cares would most likely be improper. It begins within the devastated New York Metropolis of 2044, the place Masters Leonardo (Ben Schwartz) and Michelangelo (Brandon Mychal Smith) are so near being defeated by an alien race often known as the Krang that they do one thing determined: open a portal and ship longtime ally Casey Jones (Haley Joel Osment) again in time in order that the catastrophe they’re dealing with will be stopped earlier than it begins.

The issue with this isn’t that it’s by-product. It’s that, if solely by advantage of being completely different from the overwhelming majority of “TMNT” fare we’ve already seen over the past 30-plus years, the long run timeline is extra compelling than the one we get. Michelangelo and Leonardo have superior talents we’ve by no means seen from them earlier than, laser blasts and explosions blanket the battlefield, and there’s a direct sense of urgency that the remainder of the movie is sorely missing. It’s downright apocalyptic, actually, and feels moments away from utter smash. “Center-Aged Mutant Ninja Turtles” won’t roll off the tongue as simply, however it most likely would have been a greater film.

That wouldn’t depart a lot time for fan service, although. What little we all know of this future timeline tells us that there’d be no pizza for the ninja turtles to dine on, to not point out fewer moments of levity when “radical” and/or “bodacious” could be applicable to say. The catchphrases and fun-loving air of those heroes in a half shell is a big a part of their enchantment, and “Rise” is cautious to not deviate from a components that’s stored the franchise no less than semi-relevant for many years. For the kiddos this continuation of the Nickelodeon present is clearly focusing on, that’ll seemingly be sufficient — by no means thoughts that it feels much less like an precise film and extra like a “very particular episode” of the collection.

There are some variations that carry over from the present, nevertheless. Right here, the brothers have precise mystic powers along with their ninjutsu abilities; they’re additionally extra visually distinct from each other than ordinary, with Raphael (Omar Benson Miller) being a lot bigger than his siblings and the ever-erudite Donatello (Josh Brener) donning a full face protecting whereas citing ideas just like the grandfather paradox to assist his brothers perceive time journey. However none of that forestalls “Rise” from feeling samey. A longtime devotee similar to myself would by no means recommend that it’s time for the ninja turtles to go away, however it is perhaps time for them to develop up — if solely just a bit.