So we all saw the new trailer for the upcoming TMNT movie that everyone's been so worked up about. We'll have to wait until next week for Moviebob to talk about it (although, to be fair, I think we all know pretty much what he's going to say), but for now, I would like to weigh in on it.
First off, a quick reminder that Michael Bay is not the director of this movie, just a producer. Instead, we have the Battle LA guy at the helm. (Better?) But quite honestly, I can't tell who had more influence, as the trailer exhibits concepts from both their screenplay cheat sheets: Explosions, super slow-mo, fades to black, etc. We all knew those were coming. What I found interesting - as well as irritating - was the standard Plot Voice Over By Cast Member With Lowest Pitch, in this case presumably the Shredder, where he talked with April O'Neil. He explicitly makes reference to how April's father worked with him to create the super serum that would eventually seep into the sewers to make the Teenage Mutant etc. As if casting Megan Fox didn't already make it clear that Michael Bay either didn't know or didn't care about the whole point of April O'Neil in the first place.
What made April so unique (and here I am specifically referencing the old 90s cartoon) was, ironically, the fact that she was so plain. She was just an average, everyday reporter who stumbled upon the turtles completely by accident, but decided to hang out with them because, well, who wouldn't? In this way, she was sort of a viewer insert character. Everyone wanted to be in her shoes.
But apparently, in this one, everybody has to be connected, so she's the daughter of a scientist who worked with the Shredder to blah blah blah. I will never understand why it's suddenly so important for everything happening 'for a reason,' as if tagging along with four ninja turtles wasn't a good enough reason. And the fact that the movie feels the explicit need to justify her presence, especially since Megan Fox has previously exhibited all the purpose and justification of a Youtube thumbnail, is not a good sign.
Other than that, everything else appears to be in order. The turtles - what little we see of them - seem to give signs of maintaining their proper personalities, and it seems to be heavily implied that we'll get to see the sort of ludicrous, bombastic action that made the original great, rather than succumbing to the endless waves of grit and dust settling on the film industry. But really, the April thing just baffles me. What's next? Irma is Splinter's second cousin? Usagi was originally April's pet rabbit? Do not want.
