3D Blu-ray Movie Reviews

Way back in the mid to late 1980s, I was an avid comic book collector, and one of my favorite discoveries around that time was a brand-new and independently produced comic called Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. It lacked the polish and grandeur of the Marvel and DC titles, but it was raw, edgy, and totally original. There was no shortage of blood on the katana, if you get my drift. Not long after that, however, mainstream pop culture bastardized it into a puke-inducing kiddie cartoon and toy franchise. The once-hardcore vigilante turtles suddenly became pizza-eating wisecrackers who over-frequently used words like dude and cowabunga. It also spawned three diaper-filling live-action films, and I abandoned all hope after that.

Now, decades later, the Ninja Turtles are back to reclaim some of their original glory. This latest film wisely replaces four actors in rubber suits with motion-capture computer graphics and infuses some much-needed hardcore ass-kicking to offset the juvenile humor. Their unique personalities are still intact—the leader, the hothead, the brain, and the smart-ass—and their interpersonal banter has never been better.

The 3D is some of the best I’ve seen yet. The visual clarity and depth of field are first rate, with no strobing, halos, or ghosting effects. Projectiles, debris, and weaponry fly out at you with impressive verve and maintain foreground focus in perfect juxtaposition with the back- ground elements, even when the action is at its most frenetic. The sequence that best showcases this is the snowy mountain avalanche chase. I watched it four times. The 2D version is aces, too. Picture clarity and contrast are consistently sharp, while colors and textures are strikingly vivid.

For those not yet equipped for Dolby Atmos, the soundtrack will defer to the equivalent of 7.1 Dolby TrueHD lossless audio. Explosions, gunfire, kicks, punches, and all sorts of amped-up chaos come at you from all directions in a superlative mix. Center-channel dialogue is also strong and never gets overwhelmed by the sound effects and hard-hitting score.

Extras include numerous featurettes, an extended ending, and a music video. They lose a point for not including the theatrical trailers. DVD and Digital Copy included.

Yes, the action is ludicrously implausible, and the plot is loaded with preposterous contrivances. The humor still panders to the kiddies a little more than I care for, but despite all of that, I really dug this movie.

Blu-Ray 3D
Studio: Paramount, 2014
Aspect Ratio: 2.40:1
Audio Format: Dolby Atmos
Length: 101 mins.
MPAA Rating: PG-13
Director: Jonathan Liebesman
Starring: Megan Fox, Will Arnett, William Fichtner