Now, I know that Rise didn’t have a warm welcome from TMNT fans myself included when it premiered. As the show went on I dug the changes for the most part. It’s a multiverse. The biggest one was Raph (Alligator Snapping Turtle) he’s The Leader of The Group transformed from the norm by the nuclear goop. The Oldest and the Biggest. Leo’s (Red-Eared Slider) more Chillax. Mikey’s (Box Turtle) Doctor Delicate Touch. And Donnie’s (Softshell Turtle) Inspector Gadget. I wasn’t a Donnie fan initially but Rise they might’ve convinced me. For those who didn’t watch the show, the Turtles got Mystic Weapons. Kinda like The 2k3 Lost Episodes with Tengu Shredder. That might’ve inspired the whole series. And April’s black. You won’t need to watch the series to understand the movie for the most part. Andy Suriano and Ant Ward made it as a possible sendoff to the show while leaving the door open for more seasons and movies if Nick comes to their senses. If not it is what it is. You can tell they had a higher budget. And there will be spoilers ahead. And don’t worry Leo this is the poster shot.
Casey Jones comes from a Apocalyptic Future where the KRANG basically Annihilated The Planet. In the series Cassandra was a female Casey. The one in the future is her son, Casey Jones II. Tod didn’t make it. All the Turtles are dead. Master Leonardo and Mickey send him back to the past. Find The Key. Stop The KRANG. And grab a slice. Like The Terminator. And they ain’t dealing with the average KRANG. They are VICIOUS. Mind Reading, KRANG Zombies, Eat People on a Channel 6 Helicopter. The whole movie they just tryin to stay alive. Even The Foot are afraid of them. Hypno and Warren probably had the right idea. Stole a plane and ran for the hills. KRANG 1 is the leader. KRANG 2 The Bloodthirsty Sister. Then there’s KRANG 3 The Scientist silent bit deadly. The KRANG Triplets kinda pay homage to Past KRANG. 80s KRANG. Ch’rell. And KRAANG Subprime. Did I also mention that they created The Shredder’s Armor?
The Technodrome is like this Gigantic Nasty Eyeball in the sky that shoots lasers its insane. They don’t even need their exo-suits if anything it only cranked up their threat level to the MAX. Even Splinter made fun of KRANG 2’S character development. KRANG 1 was giving them Turtles the tentacles. He got a Sonic Scream that stripped their powers throughout the film. They got no powers. Oh and Raph got captured. Now that is a Avengers Level Threat. For a min they had me thinking Raph was gonna die.
Leo and Raph had a heated argument earlier. It’s like the usually Leo/Raph rivalry but in reverse. Raph wants him to take things seriously. Leo just wanna be a teenager. Once Raph gets TAKEN he goes full Commando Leo on everybody. Cmon guys! We gotta save Raph. Leo’s usually the one with the plan. He’s my Favorite Turtle (now I’m torn between him and Donnie). Cool headed. Best ninja there is. The moment Donnie’s Battle Shell cracks you know something’s wrong.
Most of the film the Turtles are divided. Aren’t on the same page. The KRANG all like Ok we gonna get revenge. Kill everybody. Get the key back. Unleash the Technodrome. And catch up on House of The Dragon. Any questions? KRANG OUT. Even Casey calls him out. Leo! Listen to your team! Oh and your brothers die in the future! Think Leo Think!
I really like this version of Casey Jones. Mature dude. Got a hockey chainsaw. Seen plenty of battles. Got a grabbling hook on his arm courtesy of Donnie Tech. I can tell he takes a lot from Master Leonardo. I thought he sounded familiar He was Sora from Kingdom Hearts. Haley Joel Osment did a fantastic job. Really all of the voice casts. I’d take him over 2012 Casey in a heartbeat. If that ain’t a hero I don’t know what is. If the show ever got a season 3 or Turtles Forever 2 becames a thing I wouldn’t mind seeing more of him.
Once Leo gets his shell together the gang reunite they found Raph. But he’s been KRANGED. KRANG eye over his head. And he got a Shredder claw! Kinda reminded of that time in the 2k3 series where all the turtles are having nightmares. In one of them Raphael became Shredder.
KRANG got the key. Technodrome launched. But it ain’t over til the fat lady sings. Hope is a Ninja’s greatest weapon. That and a fire soundtrack. Donnie and Mikey hack the Technodrome. April, Casey, and Splinter fight KRANG 2 with a giant lazer suit. And Leo faces KRANG 1 sitting on a giant Triceraton skull. So The Triceratons are Godzilla Size in this interation. Bigger than Raph’s Kaiju form. Krang 1 wearing this cheetah like suit.
Donnie had to remove his battleshell merging with The Technodrome. Now that’s character development. Then KRANG 1 cut its short. It was fun while it lasted. Now all hope seemed lost. The Turtles bout to get KRANGIFIED. Leo makes one final plea to his brother.
Leo: Raph I’m sorry. I didn’t know what you meant earlier. Now I do. Fight it. Your family needs you.
Raph snaps out of it. Brotherly love prevails. Hero Music starts playing. Turtles get all pumped up. We Are. The Teenage! Mutant! Ninja! Turtles! It’s enough to make a grown man cry. This is the first time they said TMNT.
All the action scenes are phenomenal. Series and Movie. Like TMNT The Anime. It’s one of those things you can slow down at 0.25x speed just to appreciate the details. Kudos to Flying Bark Productions. They worked on What If, Glitch Techs, And Rise. They’re currently working on the Avatar TLA films. If it’s anything like this in 2D I’m down.
Turtles combined their mystic powers. Raph turned into a Kaiju. Donnie hooks him up with a Jetpack. Mickey give him an Iron Fist. And Leo opens a portal right at Krang 1. They say there signature catchphrase. Hot Soup! KRANG still whopped their butts with one finger. KRANG Beast.
Mikey and Donnie are down. Raph breaks their fall. Leo vs KRANG. And then Leo sacrified himself paralleling 2012 Leo sacrifice in the season 1 finale, Showdown. Casey closed the portal. Technodrome destroyed like the Death Star. Both of them trapped in what might be Dimension X. Might not be the case. The KRANG had some kinda Survival of The Fittest thing going on in there. That don’t stop KRANG from beating the absolute snot out of Leo. Wipe that grin off your face!
Everyone’s crying. Donnie hardly showed any tear in the show up to this point. He miss his twin. Mikey tried to open a portal one time just like Future Mikey did. He got Doctor Strange magic. But like Future Mikey he starts turning into pure energy like the Power Stone. Ralph and Donnie share the power kinda like Guardians of The Galaxy. Brothers have a group hug. Earth is saved. And Krang 1 trapped in that prison realm all by himself. Mikey even gave him a sly wink. So long sucker. Casey finally gets that slice he never thought he wanted. Everyone stares at the sunset then Raph tries to beat Leo’s pizza record.