Before this film came out, I would have never put the TMNT fanbase on par with the Star Wars and Star Trek fanbase as far as being insanely hypocritical, knee-jerking and nitpicky as those two. But boy on boy...do you people deserve to sit right alongside the most annoying fanboys/girls of the two "Star" franchises.
I, like most of the people on this board, grew up with the 80s\90s cartoon. I wore out my VHS copy of the three live action films (even the third, I loved it as a kid) and my older brother and me amassed a rather large assortment of the action figures for a time.
As I grew older my love of the TMNT dwindled as I found other fandoms and broadened my horizons. It wasn't until the 2007 film came out that my love of the property ignited again. It was around that time that I discovered the Mirage comics and and 2k3 cartoon and decided to revisit the live action films and the old cartoon.
The TMNT franchise is one of the most enduring of my life. They mean a good deal to me and I can safely say that this new film is the second best TMNT ever made.
There is absolutely NOTHING about this film that in any way tarnishes what came before. And the most important thing fanboys totally and willfully refuse to acknowledge is that the TMNT have ALWAYS changes. They are like every other damn comic book series in exist-they change in style, mood, and origin with every incarnation. They've been darker and gritty, over-the-top and comical to the point of parody, and a mix between the two ever since they arrived on the scene in the panels of the Mirage comics.
One of the worst things about long time fandoms is that nostalgia and entitlement create a false sense of ownership within many a fanboy/girl. You grew up with this franchise so you think it belongs to you. You think you are OWED the nostalgic feelings of your childhood by every person and team that tries to tackle your beloved franchise. You think your head-canon is the only proper way the TMNT, Star Wars, Star Trek, Batman, Doctor Who, Spider-Man etc...should be. You refuse to share, because how dare they change and reboot YOUR special thing? How dare they introduce a new generation to the TMNT!? They don't deserve it, because it's YOURS!
So what do you do with this false sense of pathetic entitlement? You nitpick, you bitch, you whine and cry and stomp your feet. You hold the new thing up to a standard you NEVER held the old shows or films too because OMG THIS NEW THING IS DIFFERENT AND THEY DON'T CARE ABOUT ME AND WHAT I WANT!!!!!
The way you people act, it's hard not to picture the stereotype you so desperately want to do away with: That of a 30 something neckbeard with bad hygiene hunched over a keyboard in a darkened room in your mom basement raging at all the jerks who dare tarnish your precious childhood memories with something SLIGHTLY new.
Everybody raves about the 1990 film like it's some art-house masterpiece when in reality it's just as commercial and pop-friendly as the 2014 film. But those pesky rose-tinted glasses refuse to lift to reveal the films true nature: A tonally goofy little action film with guys in rubber turtle suits. Now don't get me wrong. I adore the 1990 film like the rest of you. It's still my favorite film of the franchise. But unlike the rest of you I can separate my nostalgia from the damn thing and see it's faults. You people inflate almost every aspect of the film to make it seem bigger and better than what it is. You go on about how dark and gritty and it is. Mmmm, yea it represents the dirty nature of NYC pretty ok. Yea, it has the flavor of the Mirage comic...but it's still largely a comedy/action family film. It still throws out gags and one liners left and right. It's still relatively light hearted.
And don't get me started on the farmhouse segment of the film...where it descends into some truly cheesy and melodramatic drama. Try as you will to act like the 2014 film is like, "the worst muvi EVA!" It's more tonally consistent than the 1990 film.
The truth is ever since the words "Michael Bay" and "TMNT" were uttered the internet decided to hate this movie. This isn't apologist talk, this is fact. Nobody-not the big pop culture/movie sites nor the random blogger or fan were willing to take a "Well, lets see how it goes" stance. Nope. It was all "MICHAELBAYRAPEDMYCHILDHOODTHISMOVIEWILLSUCKIHATEEVERYTHINGOMGGGGGGGG!" from day one. I've never seen such an inherently goofy franchise treated like it's f--king world class entertainment.
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ihatespike
10 years ago
You can geek-shame all you want, it doesn't invalidate the complaints against the newer star wars films, Batman and robin or this *beep*
As a little kid I LIKED Batman and robin, but you know what? It was a crappy movie then and it's a crappy movie now.
"Kids these days like it!" Isn't a reason for people to not complain when a movie sucks.
If no one complained about Batman and Robin, we'd still be watching bat nipples, and the Nolan trilogy (while not perfect, certainly worlds better than B&R) might not have happened.
Michael Bay knows he makes *beep* movies and he doesn't care because people want to golly-gosh-ain't-THAT-bad their way through his "films".
*beep* that. I am NOT a perfectionist. I enjoy plenty of so-so adaptations and silly action films, but I will not settle for his lazy, noisy, mindless, lecherous TRASH.
You want to eat your garbage and say "yum!"? Go ahead, but I won't do it, and I'm not sorry.
Platonic love exists: scientists stumped.
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T-eschberger
10 years ago
WTF are you even blathering about?
Way to totally miss my point.
I won't even counter your Bay comment as we all know he didn't direct this film. You can try to warp reality all you want by stating Bay directed this movie just to fit your man-child tirade, but it will never work.
I'm not talking about the people who genuinely think the movie is crap. It's completely understandable why people would think the movie is crap. I'm referring to the idiotic fanboys like yourself who let nostalgia completely blind them to the faults and comparisons of the past incarnations of the TMNT.
Nostalgia and a sense of entitlement blind you idiots. You can jerk-off all over your DVD's of the 80s cartoon and 90s film all you want. It's totally ok to LIKE that better than this new film. But to suggest that this new film somehow insults the "legacy" of the franchise or act like the 1990 is somehow "better" just because you have fond memories of scratching your ass while watching it is laughable. ALL of the TMNT films are pretty stupid, not matter how dark that rose tint is.
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ihatespike
10 years ago
Bay didn't direct it, so why do we still have his signature objectifying close-ups of Megan Fox? Cornball characters very pointedly lusting after her like that's funny? Ceaseless, mindless action sequences, in-your-face product placement, and too much cgi. If it isn't M.B., it sure stinks like him and I'm tired of it.
You can call me an idiot all you want, you can call me a crazy nerd all you want. I don't expect perfect movies, but I won't settle for lazy trash. If I saw everything through tinted glasses, I'd still think Batman and Robin was a good movie. The old turtle stuff had issues. This movie could have been a real shot to massively improve on things with the tech we have today.
what do we get? Megan Fox, a plot ripped off the amazing Spiderman, shreddformer, and the ugliest damn cgi booger/turtles I've ever seen.
the people who hate this movie based solely on how much they love tmnt, are about as silly as the people who love it based on how much they love tmnt.
On its own it's just another empty piece of mediocre crap. Compared to how much they could have improved on the old but enjoyable formula, it's a disappointing trainwreck.
Platonic love exists: scientists stumped.
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T-eschberger
10 years ago
So you're literally ignoring reality to assert Bay directed the film?
I can see you're too far gone to even talk to.
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ihatespike
10 years ago
If you're talking to me, then you're mistaken. I know Michael Bay was a producer and not a director. I never said otherwise. What I DID say was that he clearly influenced this movie with his notoriously annoying tropes.
Platonic love exists: scientists stumped.
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michaeluk26
9 years ago
Dude, you deserve a round of applause for that post. 100% nailed it. Maybe the best post about fanboi entitlements I've ever seen on IMDb.
Haters gonna hate
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