Guest writer Neverbot stops in to explain why we all need to quit freaking out over the new TMNT.
Last month William Fichtner [Shotgun banker from The Dark Knight] confirmed he had been cast to play Shredder in the forthcoming Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles movie. The initial announcement had me excited, I like him as an actor and it was a pleasant addition considering some other individuals set to share the screen with my favorite fearsome fighting team.
I continued reading, knowing there had to be some disappointment.
Since the announcement that Michael Bay was involved, I haven’t read one article that didn’t upset me in one way or another. You see, Ninja Turtles is something of a sacred cow for me, a favored universe since early childhood. I grew up with the cartoons and live action movies, collected comic books and action figures, and bonded with some of my best friends over our respective favorite mutant reptiles, so I’ve had a knee-jerk emotional reaction to each slight against the characters and universe that I love.
Surely this announcement would be no different. Fichtner’s character is reported to be called Eric Sachs… Eric Sachs? Shredder’s name is Oroku Saki not Eric Sachs (clearly an attempt at an English version of his true name), he’s the bad ass Japanese leader of the Foot Clan, not some lame-ass white guy (chill out lame-ass white guys, I’m one of you).
I had found the disappointment I was looking for. Then I realized, that’s just it, if we look for things to be upset about we’re going to find them. This applies to any piece of entertainment, not just this franchise. So I began to evaluate the incarnations of the series we have gotten so far and it doesn’t take long to realize that there isn’t one popular interpretation that doesn’t have it’s flaws.
Whether it’s a bad joke, a Vanilla Ice cameo, a questionable plot or a long lost female turtle never before established, there are faults to be found. I let them go because I enjoy the universe. Why should this be any different?
Turtles don’t have breasts, mutated or otherwise.
We as geeks have a choice to make, to be overly critical of the movies and television we are given or to appreciate them for what they are. I’m not saying don’t be critical at all, just don’t miss the forest for the scientifically improbable-mutated-sentient-ectotherms.
I for one am glad that this thing I loved as a child is still relevant, is still appreciated and is still around. I would rather have a high budget live action movie with some flaws than no movie at all.
It’s a great time to be a geek everybody, let’s not ruin it for ourselves.
Cowabunga.