Film Preview: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (2014)

Poster

Poster #16

Additional posters can be found below.

Trailer Link

Release Date:

August 8, 2014

Synopsis:

From IMDb: “From their home in the storm sewers of Manhattan, four Ninjitsu-trained turtles, Leonardo, Raphael, Michelangelo and Donatello and their sensei, Master Splinter, battle evil.”

Poster: C (4) / C (5) / C+ (4) / B- / C / C+

Review: A teaser for the fans, but not for anyone else. At least the background color selection is character thematic along with the weapons of choice.

(#5-#13) There are two more sets of character posters. The first set were a tease. This second set (of five this time) is something of a tease, but is also a bit more stylized and appealing to intense fans of the characters. The third set (back to four) is more traditional and, in spite of being only moderately more interesting, at least they put each turtle in his own unique background.

(#14-#16) The final three are more in line with what we might expect from broad-appeal designs. The fourteenth poster has already generated controversy with the turtles leaping from an exploding building with the release date of September 11 at the bottom. The fifteenth is more staid and more appropriate for a child’s bedroom wall. Meanwhile, the sixteenth is a more colorful, appealing design when needed to sell the film at the box office. The characters having their backs to the audience doesn’t help sell it, though.

Trailer: C+ / C / D+

Review: (#1) The bonus for those worried about the direction of the new movie, they may get more concerned after this trailer, only if they were expecting something quite serious. The cheesy one-liner at the end of the trailer pretty much assures the audience that this film will be entirely tongue-in-cheek with a side of excessive action.

(#2) They said you got to see more of the turtles in this trailer. Sure you do. However, not much more and certainly not enough to make the material seem that much more interesting. At worst, it also makes the film seem less interesting and more kid-friendly, which also means juvenile.

(#3) Perhaps fans of the Michael Bay style of moviemaking will be excited about this, but the kitchen-sink style of trailer design will only disappoint those who go to see it and find little that hasn’t been partly spoiled by the trailer. It’s a brash, boring, humorless trailer that might appeal to some, but not to all.