1. It’s dark in tone – like the original comic series
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles may mostly be remembered for the 1987 cartoon series with its wild and wacky antics, but the comic on which they were based was a lot more serious with a gritty and dark edge. Hell, they decapitated Shredder to finally put an end to him.
In the same transition Godzilla took in the 1960s and 70s, the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles became heroes to children and were far removed from the brooding comics series. In fact, many fans of the comic series slammed creators Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird for “selling out” their creation to become nothing more than a glorified toy commercial.
On the flip side of that, there are those who feel that Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles should not be dark and should be in the same vein of the Marvel movies – light and fun.
What some people have seemed to have forgotten is that the first live action movie, which is held dear by many of the franchise’s fans, was also dark. It had its fair share of Cowabungas and pizza power, but it also featured Raph getting beaten half to death, children stealing and smoking and Shredder being crushed by a garbage truck.
This latest reboot has that tone and it has that edge, but also looks to have the right balance of humour. Eastman and Laird have both said that this entry into the franchise is in-keeping with the comic’s original tone, so maybe this is going to be a good direction.
Originally published June 26, 2014. Updated December 13, 2019.
