Much like Phantasm III, TMNT II: Secret of the Ooze is a perfect example of what happens when the studio executives have more power over a film than the actual creators. While the original TMNT film was a near-perfect adaptation of the Mirage comic book series with only a hint of the cartoon, TMNT II draws nearly all its inspiration and atmosphere from the animated series, resulting in a very kid-oriented film that doesn’t withstand the test of time as admirably as the original.
Following their showdown with the Shredder and the Foot Clan, the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (Leonardo, Raphael, Donatello and Michealangelo) are kicking back and scarfing pizza. However, the Shredder has survived, albeit brutally scarred from being crushed in a dump truck, and quickly rebuilds the Foot. Dr. Jordan Perry (David Warner), an employee of the TGRI chemical production plant (the same plant which created the ooze that mutated the TMNT) is taken prisoner by the Foot and forced to create two new mutants for their devious schemes. The result is Tokka and Rahzar, a super-strong snapping turtle and wolf duo who have the brain-power of infants. Now the TMNT and their new pal, Kino, have to figure out a way to take down the Foot once and for all.
By the time TMNT II was in production parents in the early 90’s were throwing a fit over the violence seen in the Ninja Turtle media, particularly the first movie. As a result of picketing soccer moms, several changes were made to the film. For one thing, the TMNT were not allowed to use their weapons on any of the Foot Soldiers, resulting in them barely using their weapons at all. Or, in Mike’s case, his nunchakus were completely forbidden. To go off on a tangent, Mike’s nunchakus were the source of much controversy as they were considered too violent a weapon, which lead to them being edited out of the cartoon series over in Europe and eventually removed from the show all-together.
Then there are the two new mutants on the block, Tokka and Rahzar. They look fantastic, sure, but their threat-level was virtually neutered by the decision to make them “babies”. As a matter of fact, original plans were for the film’s evil mutants to actually be Bebop and Rocksteady (Shredder’s lackeys from the animated series), but creators Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird managed to put their collective feet down and keep the pair of mutant numbskulls out of the film.
And there’s the TMNT’s new human ally, the kid-friendly Kino. The absence of their previous human friend, the ultra-violent Casey Jones, is sorely felt in this film. While the actor who played Kino is without a doubt a very talented martial artist, his presence is more-or-less annoying.
There are a few upsides to this film, though. The special effects provided by Jim Henson Studios are a major improvement over their work in the first film. While the lip-syncing isn’t perfect at least you can no longer see the mouths of the actors inside the suit behind Don’s teeth. Tokka and Rahzar are also a visual achievement, looking incredibly menacing despite their meager intellects. Super Shredder (portrayed by pro wrestler Kevin Nash) also looks phenomenal, though he can only be seen briefly at the film’s climax.
Another major improvement is the fight choreography. In the first film, the Turtles mostly just round-house kicked everybody and looked very stiff and clunky. The martial arts have undergone a major upgrade, with the Turtles moving a lot faster and acting more flexible. While the fighting still has a lot of cartoonish sight gags and annoying improv-comedy, when they’re actually fighting they’re really quite convincing.
However, not even the presence of one of my favorite character actors, David Warner, can overcome possibly the biggest and most memorable flaw of TMNT II: Vanilla Freakin’ Ice. The entire “Ninja Rap” sequence at the night club is downright embarrassing. The inclusion of Vanilla Ice is virtually unforgivable and he’s left a stain on the franchise that can never ever be erased. To this day, when many people think of the Ninja Turtles, they think of the Ninja Rap. God dammit.
While it does have its entertainment value, TMNT II still has too many noticeable studio-mandated alterations. The pop culture, the *bad* pop culture, also dates it terribly and not in an endearing sort of way. I have to give the movie a C-. Perhaps if it wasn’t for Vanilla Ice I could have rated this movie just a little bit higher.
Grade: C-
Dragonball Z movie 13: “Wrath of the Dragon”
After cantering along, relying on lukewarm rehashes of television episodes or boring returning villains that just wouldn’t go away, the Dragonball Z movie franchise finally manages to get its act together for the 13th and final installment. And damn, does the franchise go out with a bang!
Gohan and Videl are hoodwinked by a creepy old man named Hoi into helping him release a great hero, Tappion, from his prison within an enchanted music box (these are the strongest people in the Universe, not the smartest). Using the power of the Dragonballs, the heroes release Tappion, but as it turns out, he wasn’t incarcerated in the music box all by himself. By setting Tappion free they also unleash Hirudegarn, a monstrous dragon which devours people and lays waste to entire planets.
“Wrath of the Dragon” seems to be pretty self-aware that it’s going to be the grand finale of the franchise, so it places a pretty big emphasis on “grand”. Unlike previous Dragonball Z movies, “Wrath of the Dragon” has consistently gorgeous animation from start to finish. While other sequels save the budget for the fight scenes, leaving the rest of the movie to look bland and ugly, Toei Studios maintain a level of highest quality in every scene. This really looks like it belongs in a movie theater.
“Wrath of the Dragon” also has something going for it that previous Dragonball Z movies sorely lacked: a story. The back-story of Tappion, Hirudegarn and Hoi is very epic, giving the characters a memorable quality. In previous films, the villains tend to be very generic copycats of villains from the TV series, but Hirudegarn, a giant dragon-creature made of mist, is quite unique. The story is more up to the quality of the first three Dragonball Z movies, where they dared to be different. Tappion’s back story is rather tragic and he’s one of the better characters to come along in the era of Dragonball Z where anything and everything revolved around Saiyans. While it’s a shame we never got to see more of him, he does leave a lasting effect on Trunks.
Speaking of Trunks, he gets quite the spotlight in this movie. I’ve never been a fan of Trunks, to be honest. His entrance into the TV series marked the decline of my interest, as all the characters I came to love from Dragonball and early DBZ were pushed aside to make room for one new Super Saiyan after another. Yet, through-out this movie I don’t find myself annoyed by Trunks hardly at all. The overall tone of the film thankfully avoids goofy and silly humor (something “Fusion Reborn” had an overabundance of) and leans heavily toward a dark angle, with cities being destroyed and innocent bystanders being eaten alive. Perhaps it’s because they avoided the silly slapstick humor that I managed to tolerate Trunks and Goten.
It’s also good to see Goku alive again. He’d been dead for so many movies I almost forgot he was ever alive. I also smirked with approval when Vegeta made his big entrance for the final battle with Hirundegarn. I was nearly worried he wasn’t going to show up. Original non-Saiyan characters, the characters I like the most, don’t get much of a spotlight in this film, regrettably. Bulma manages to get in a bit of screen time, but Krillen (one of my favorite characters) is used for a brief moment of typical comic relief and doesn’t even get to fight. Even more depressing is that Piccolo is noticeably absent from the final movie. Master Roshi makes a quick cameo with his usual drunken lecherous antics, but it seemed rather pointless.
I suppose my only real complaint aside from the lack of my favorite characters is the final solution to Hirundegarn. It looked great thanks to more of Toei’s magnificent animation, but it seemed rather convenient and out of the blue; sort’ve watering down the villain’s threat into “Oh, well I guess he wasn’t that big a problem, after all”. There are also a few lines about racial bigotry that are delivered rather poorly, giving a “Now you know…”-vibe to them.
“Wrath of the Dragon” is easily one of the best films in the Dragonball Z franchise, like they knew they were saving the best for last. It looks gorgeous, has some brilliant fight scenes and features plenty of Super Saiyan action (if that’s your sorta thing). I have to give it a B+. Up there with “World’s Strongest” and “Tree of Might”.
Grade: B+
G.I. Joe Spy Troops: the Movie
The first installment in a brand new G.I. Joe animated continuity, “Spy Troops” would see a sequel film, “Valor vs. Venom” and a television series, “Sigma Six”. For a 45 minute-long movie made to sell toys, Spy Troops is actually pretty good. The CG animation takes a little getting used to, but the writing is very witty and the action maintains a cinematic feel. With a greater length and a bigger budget it might have made a decent feature film.
G.I. Joe, America’s daring, highly trained special missions force, have just perfected a new technology: Mind Interface Remote Control (“MIRC”). It allows soldiers to flawlessly command vehicles from a safe distance. Well, Cobra, a ruthless terrorist organization determined to rule the world, infiltrates G.I. Joe headquarters and steals the MIRC technology. G.I. Joe must now plan an assault on Cobra Mountain to get the technology back.
The CG animation used for the film ranges somewhere in between “theatrical” and “television”. It’s nowhere near the quality of a movie you’d see in theaters, but at the same time, its leagues ahead of CG animated television shows. The quality is overall very good with the 3D animation giving the action sequences a very theatrical flare to them; it almost feels like a Hollywood movie. At the same time, the “realism” of the CG animation is hindered by some cartoonish by-passing of the laws of physics. Characters punch helicopters with their fists, destroying them, bounce off walls like ping pong balls or obliterate gigantic 10 ton boulders with a Magnum. In a traditionally animated cartoon these sorts of things are forgivable, but when you’re going for “realism” with CG animation, this kind of stuff sticks out like a sore thumb.
The voice-acting is performed by Canada’s immensely talented Ocean Group, who are no strangers to the world of G.I. Joe. As a matter of fact, they did the DiC series of G.I. Joe (seasons 3-4, the ones after G.I. Joe the Movie) as well as G.I. Joe Extreme. Surprisingly, though, not a single member of the Ocean Group voices a character they played during the DiC series. That might actually be a good thing, as honestly, the voices in the DiC G.I. Joe cartoon sucked. The actors this time around are given characters that more strongly suit their talents. Scott McNeil plays a fantastic Destro, Blu Mankuma’s Heavy Duty has an aura of “cool” and Michael Dobson does an exceptional Cobra Commander. Now, my one regret is that Scott McNeil didn’t reprise the role of Cobra Commander, as he voiced the character in the final season of the DiC series, after the original actor, Chris Latta, left. While I enjoyed Dobson’s approach to the character (Dobson also voiced Starscream, Latta’s other famous role, in the Transformers Armada, Energon and Cybertron cartoons), I’ve always preferred McNeil’s impression.
The voices aren’t perfect, though. Beach Head is completely miscast and it almost hurts. They chose to give him a “radical” surfer dialect when he’s supposed to be the ball-busting, no nonsense drill sergeant of the team. Thankfully, this was corrected in Valor vs. Venom. There’s also Dr. Mindbender, who loses half his charm without his stereotypical East German mad scientist accent. Zartan is okay, but really would have been better had he been given the voice over effects that the actor from the original Sunbow cartoon received. Other characters, like Dusty and Flint, are completely forgettable and devoid of any personality.
This is also quite possibly the best animated incarnation of Snake Eyes and Storm Shadow. No doubt we should thank Larry Hama, author of every issue of the Marvel G.I. Joe comic, who wrote the script for this film. Hama’s take on the characters are iconic and really shine through. A few poor casting decisions (Beach Head) betray his script, but for the most part, it still comes off as a Hama story.
G.I. Joe Spy Troops isn’t perfect, but I liked it more than Valor vs. Venom. The DVD also comes with a plethora of extras, including a making-of featurette, a music video and a complete collection of those awesome CG commercials when the new line of G.I. Joe toys first hit the market.
Grade: B-
Teen Titans: Trouble in Tokyo
With the Teen Titans animated series now cancelled after a 5 season-long run, Teen Titans: Trouble in Tokyo is meant as a last hoorah for the cast of characters. In some ways, yes, it achieves its goal, as you get to see the Titans fighting crime one last time, and anything is better than nothing, I suppose. But, at the same time, it falls short of everything it *could* have been, being a stand alone one-shot story rather than tie-up the numerous loose ends left after the end of season 5. You can’t help but feel a little let down, that even with this extra movie, all those nagging plot threads remain untouched.
Titans Tower is attacked by a mysterious ninja named Psycho-Tech. The Teen Titans (Robin, Starfire, Raven, Cyborg and Beast Boy) apprehend and interrogate the ninja, but only manage to get a name and a location from him before he escapes: Brushogun and Tokyo. Intrigued, the Titans head to Tokyo to investigate. There, they meet up with Commander Daikyo, the head of the Tokyo special police force, a legion of highly-trained quasi-futuristic soldiers who have reduced crime in Tokyo by 200%. The Titans feel like a third wheel at first, as Commander Daikyo’s forces outshine them, and decide to spend their time in Tokyo as a little vacation. Robin, however, continues his detective work which leads to a rematch with Psycho-Tech. The rematch is bittersweet, as Robin unintentionally kills Psycho-Tech and the Teen Titans become wanted criminals all over Tokyo.
As I mentioned, all the plot threads from the last season are completely ignored, such as Slade’s schemes or Terra’s amnesia. This is a completely self-contained adventure requiring little knowledge of the television series other than who the characters are and what powers they have. So if you were expecting any significant story development or closure, you won’t be finding it here. The only plot thread they approach, I suppose, is the relationship between Robin and Starfire. Though, truthfully, they’d already taken care of that in the last season. This was just annoying and redundant.
They manage to cram in every single Japanese stereotype and anime cliché known to man in an hour and a half. There’s catgirls, giant robots, karaoke, sushi bars, Dance-Dance Revolution, Guitar Hero, homages to Lupin III, Astro Boy, and Akira…the works. It’s cute at first, but soon you realize that the whole *point* of the movie was to cram in stupid anime references to satiate slobbering otaku Asian-wannabes. It goes downhill from there. Teen Titans has always been about pumping the septic tank of hackneyed anime conventions, but this was just overkill. As a person who knows Japanese, it was also irritating to read the stupid “Easter Eggs” all over the Tokyo buildings and billboards (characters names as well as utter gibberish were smattered all over the place in katakana). There were also a few spelling and grammatical errors in a few important places that could’ve been avoided with a little more research. True, this won’t bother anybody who can’t speak or read Japanese, but it shows a sign of laziness on the part of the creative staff.
Thankfully, there is no Pufi Ami Yumi music through any of the movie, which was something I was truly dreading (they represent the worst kind of J-Pop Japan has to offer). There is one bit where Beast Boy sings the Teen Titans theme song karaoke-style (he actually sings the translated lyrics of the Japanese version, rather than the standard US theme), but I thought that was kind of neat.
The animation on the part of Dong Woo is as fluid and stylish as ever. While I hate the annoying anime reactions and tired old sight gags (characters turning into midgets with giant heads and running around in circles yelling at each other), the animation-itself was very good. The fight scenes maintain their typical high-standards and the battle choreography is excellent. The fight with Psycho-Tech at the beginning, as well as the final battle against the gigantic Brushogun monster, are the film’s highlights animation-wise.
I wouldn’t call Trouble in Tokyo a “waste of time” but I would say it was a bit of a let-down, not to mention somewhat creatively bankrupt, relying on so many stupid anime references and Japanese stereotypes. Still, the animation was quite good and the villain was rather unique. It’s worthy of a C. It’s about the same kind of experience as “Batman: Mystery of the Batwoman”; entertaining but totally unnecessary.
Grade: C
Dragonball Z movie 6: “The Return of Cooler”
The Return of Cooler is another one of my favorite Dragonball Z movies and a very epic conclusion to Cooler’s story arc. The Return of Cooler is also longer than the previous film (62 minutes as opposed to the 45 minute-long “Cooler’s Revenge”) and packs in a lot more story and action.
New Namek (homeworld of Piccolo’s people) is suddenly attacked by a planet-eating war world called the Big Gete Star (think Unicron from Transformers the Movie only squishier). Dende, the new Guardian of Earth, senses the disturbance and enlists Goku and friends to save the troubled Namekians. Goku, Gohan, Krillen and the rest arrive on New Namek and face-off against a legion of powerful Cyclopean Drones. The battle is tough, but things only get more complicated when the mastermind behind the planet-chomping operation rears his ugly head: Meta Cooler!
Cooler is easily my favorite returning villain of the Dragonball Z movie franchise and the Return of Cooler is the best of his two appearances. Clocking in at 62 minutes (that’s actually pretty long for a Dragonball Z movie), this movie manages to work-in an excellent story, lots of fight sequences and one of the most epic final battles in any Dragonball Z movie. What I appreciate most about this film is that the odds really *are* against Goku and his friends which actually leads to a thing called “tension”, which tends to be absent from many Dragonball Z movies. More often than not, Goku defeats the lead villain by simply turning to a new level of Super Saiyan or just pulling out some dues ex machina attack, like the Spirit Bomb. This time around, Meta Cooler beats the mortal Hell out of both Goku and Vegeta when they’re at their very best and they actually have to find a way to defeat the enemy by, *gasp!*, using their wits!
This installment also marks the first appearance of Vegeta in a Dragonball Z film (he’d been a regular in the TV series for quite some time, however). His big entrance was exceptionally pleasing, though Cooler does toss him around like a bit of a chump. Although I’ll always prefer Brian Drummond’s rendition of Vegeta from the old Ocean Group dub of the television series, I will admit, Christopher Sabat’s take on the character managed to grow on me. He’s very deep and growly, not quite as hissy-sounding as Drummond’s, and he sounds suitably evil.
Toei’s animation is magnificent all-around. The fight sequences are gloriously violent and perfectly choreographed. This installment contains some of the best aerial battles between characters, deploying numerous “camera” tricks which result in a very dizzying effect. As characters race all over the skies, teleporting from one spot to another, the landscape beneath them spins like crazy. They move really *fast*, you almost have trouble keeping up with them. Meta Cooler’s hordes of Cyclopean Drones are also a nice break from the standard minions the lead villain tosses at the good guys in previous films. While they lack colorful personalities, they’re plethora of attacks, such as grappling arms, machine guns and rocket-launchers, make them a definite visual treat. Meta Cooler-himself looks especially awesome as well as…shiny. Really, really shiny.
A shame to say it, but after this installment, the Dragonball Z movie series becomes a bumpy ride in regards to quality. Up until this point, the only decidedly bad installment was “Lord Slug”. However, from here on out, the movies will range mostly from bad to mediocre with only a few good ones thrown in. So enjoy this movie for now, because you won’t be seeing anything as good until “Wrath of the Dragon”. But, to assign the standard letter grade, I give the Return of Cooler a B+.
Grade: B+