Turtles Forever (2009)

Awesome Movie

Fun premise, good actors, bad writing. This film seemed to have potential at the beginning but it quickly devolves into a trite action film. Ultimately it's very boring.

The acting in this movie is really good.

Watching it is like watching the spectacle of a class clown at their best: you laugh at their jokes, instigate their defiance, and "ooooh" when they get in trouble.

I'm going to admit right now to some bias simply because I was a fan of the 1987 "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles" cartoon and I probably haven't seen that show in literally decades. It's sad how I know I used to watch it, but now I can't recall the plot of a single episode! This movie (I'm calling it that and not a special) makes it so that you don't need to be a fan of either show to know how awesome it is! It's probably the biggest reference to other versions of characters ever! I will admit that I seem to recall the 1987 Ninja Turtles as being more competent than this. This was still amazing, especially how it could even serve as a finale to the franchise as a whole.But what do you know? They made a 2012 Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles cartoon and they actually recycled this plot for one of those episodes! It's a wonderful tribute to all things Ninja Turtle related and to the significance of adaptation in general. It works great as a satire of different mediums and as a tribute to them. The plot is that the 1987 Ninja Turtles used a trans dimensional teleporter to end up in the 2003 Ninja Turtles world. As if that weren't enough, they meet up with the 1984 comic book Ninja Turtles.The best thing is probably seeing how well these different art styles are put together. It never looks out of place but blends together perfectly. I saw little of the 2003 cartoon but you needn't be a fan to love this. I especially love how the story just keeps building on itself for an unbelievable climax. I must have remembered Bebop and Rocksteady as my favorite characters. Don't worry, they get the last laugh here. ****

When Turtles Forever just emerged on TV, everybody highly anticipated the film. The new (2003) green team fighting the good old Technodrome, Bebop and Rocksteady, and another, more brutal, but also inhumanly cruel Shredder. This was a decent combination of both animated franchises of the time, pretty action-packed, high-spirited in the good old adventure sense, and even Easter Eggs directing to Star Wars did not spoil the story. (For instance, Technodrome began to look much more like the Death Star, and the Shredder becomes an "upgraded" version of Mr. Darth. Aw -- Ah for the moment when he says: if destroying the Turtles means an end to everything, including himself... "SO BE IT!" Yes, -- that's the way a true comic book villain behaves!) Therefore I'm not against these changes, reminding the viewer of SW. It's really fun. Everything in the movie is bright, dynamic, strongly positive, and the fans would love it... if not for a small, but irritating nuance.I think the story's somehow spoiled by the authors' irony (let's not say sarcasm) about the 87 Turtles and their world. April, pursued by a giant mutant banana (everybody got, what did he really want from the girl? No, not just to dinner off her -- look once more at 87's April pretty figure and all those big... dignities, then you'll surely guess the scary banana's intentions). It's not that serious, I know. It's just... unpleasant to watch.But, despite all this, I daresay it's a good movie. In the end, we see both the green teams saying farewell. It'a nice emotional moment, and no irony this time. "Turtle Power!!"In a word -- every era has their own Ninja Turtles. It's good the estafette was transferred to another ones.

I like this crossover overall, but the execution was wanting. The 80s turtles are reduced to cowardly, incompetent, childish fools, with their individual quirks and personalities stripped away. (As silly as the 87 cartoon was, the green team was certainly not comprised of "four Mikeys" as 2003 Raphael suggests). It's really aggravating. 80s Shredder and Krang are given little to do and what little seriousness they had on the original cartoon is taken away. They serve as idiotic foils for the newer villains and little else. They weren't integrated into the plot that well either. The only 87 characters given the proper treatment at all were Bebop, Rocksteady, and Splinter.It was cool to see the Mirage turtles included (and how they knocked down the 2003 turtles a few pegs). The plot itself was interesting, and the comedy and action generally worked well. It's just hard to praise this one when one half of its crossover is so shamefully treated. Honestly, it felt more like a "hey look at how cool the 2003 turtles are!" most of the time, rather than a celebration of the franchise as a whole. It's unfortunate.

This movie is for fans and non-fans alike. It starts off with the Turtles in it's latest incarnation (2003 4kids series) viewing a news report of a robbery broken up by four turtles..but not by them..At a risk of spoiling, I will not go into further detail. As a fan of the shows and the various versions of the Turtles, I really enjoyed this movie.Funny thing is this movie wasn't promoted well, if not at all (which is sad because this could have been released in the theaters and would have made a lot of money... I happened upon this movie by accident and have a "Kool-Aid smile" for it's humor, story, action, and nostalgia. This made for TV movie did what the previous shows and the theatrical release did not.It gave the fans a action packed, humor-filled completion to a wonderful franchise... Thank you to all that were involved....And here's hoping that this was not the end to it all.