Hey everyone. Capone in Chicago here, with a film that taps into a franchise that I know a lot of readers of and writers on this site hold dear. It's a sacred part of many of your childhoods, I know.

My only exposure to the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles were the three films that came out in the early 1990s, and for the most part, I remember being entertained by at least the first one enough to go see the sequels. But the films never inspired me to check out the comic book source material or watch the television incarnation of the band of martial arts-trained, talking creatures, each bearing the name of a master painter. I went into TMNT genuinely excited to see it. The idea of doing a fully computer-animated version of the group opens up a world of possibilities that the live-action films did not. So imagine my disappointment to get more of the same — the same jokes, the same type of story, the same conflicts and issues the boys face with maturity and their skills as ninjas. And rather than focus on a potentially awesome story about an army of monsters set loose on an unsuspecting world, the film spends more time with the inner conflicts in the group. All of this combined to leave me saying "Is that it?" by the conclusion.

Without going into too much detail about the plot (I honestly don't think it's worth it), the film opens with the team not together any longer. The group's sensei, an oversize rodent named Master Splinter (the late Mako), attempts to pull the boys — Leonardo, Michelangelo, Donatello, and Raphael — back together after a mega-rich industrialist (voiced by Patrick Stewart) attempts to gather up the aforementioned army of creatures. My favorite part of the film is the Foot Clan, led by Karai (Zhang Ziyi), a stealthy ninja group whose mission and allegiance is not always clear. Other voice are provided by Sarah Michelle Gellar and Chris Evans as the Turtles' human companions April and Casey. And I'm pretty sure I heard Kevin Smith tooling around as a minor character but really adding nothing to the proceedings.

First-time feature director Kevin Monroe (who also wrote the film) comes from the video game world, and it shows. The visuals here are pretty great sometimes, but the bland story and standard-issue rock music soundtrack left me severely underwhelmed. That being said, the film's conclusion sets up what I think would be a much better sequel featuring the return of the group's primary nemesis, who would undoubtedly put a serious hurt on the Turtles. TMNT is an OK reboot of the franchise, but there is room to grow and improve.

Capone