According to Me: A Fresh take on TMNT

Alright, now that the scare of Bay-Zilla has passed, let's talk about Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. According to the leaked script for Bay's movie, the focus would be on Casey Jones who would be a security guard instead of the hockey masked vigilante we all know and love and the turtles would be in the background. Now this sounds bad, but I think there's potential in the idea of focusing on Casey.

Now let me explain BEFORE I'm torn to shreds. I'm a big TMNT fan and Casey Jones is in fact my favorite character from the Ninja Turtles universe. That being said he seems to get kinda shafted in most of the adaptations. In the first movie he was awesome, but wasn't seen again until the terrible third movie. He was basically an afterthought in the 2007 CGI movie and hasn't even been brought up at all in the new cartoon(Yet). The best he got was in the 2003 cartoon.

Now, aside from the fact I really like him, why is focusing on him in a NINJA TURTLES movie a good thing? The formula of April being the first human ally is done way too much. I get it's how the story is meant to go, it's a part of the comics, the movies, the cartoons, etc. But that's just it. It's been done way too many times. We all know how it will go and has really been done to death. How April is in the new cartoon is a fresh take yes, but it's still April meeting the Turtles.

If the movie was told from Casey's perspective as a vigilante, meeting the Turtles for the first time, it gives us the same kind of introduction as it does with April though with more action from the get go. A good example is a wonderfully made fan film about Casey Jones

This could very well be the first 30 minutes of a TMNT movie. If it was part of a larger movie then yes somethings would need to be explored upon a little more, but the thing is that it could be told like this

Casey Jones is a vigilante, killing people with sports equipment. The Turtles have been at the vigilante game a little longer and decide to stop him, but also help him see that he doesn't need to use lethal force. They fight Casey for a bit, before the Foot Clan arrives and they need Casey's help to bring them down. It ends with the Turtles squaring off against Shredder while Casey and a Turtle trained April O'Neil fight off a mix of Purple Dragons and Foot Ninja.

I'm not saying it SHOULD go like this, but I do think having Casey as a central character would be beneficial. As I said before, Casey would give the audience someone to connect with in the same way we would connect with April. A basically average, ordinary person meeting beings that are extraordinary.

I didnt mind the April change because i really don't care all that much about her. Im all about the Turtles and Splinter.

@Smart_Dork_Dude said:

Now let me explain BEFORE I'm torn to shreds.

HA HA

shreds.

like shredder. hahahaahahahah

soooo funny!

ahahahaha

but yeah, the idea about having a bigger role for casey isn't bad, I liked the guy in the cartoons. but the turtles still need the spotlight

@Jorgevy: I'm not saying to take the focus entirely off the Turtles, just leave them in a bit of mystery for a bit before full on revealing them. Look at 08 Incredible Hulk. It was the middle of the movie before you got to see The Hulk fully revealed. Before that he was in the shadows and stuff.

The "In the shadows" thing works great for the TMNT as they ARE ninjas and ninjas do hide in the shadows.

I get the feeling that the kid who had Leather Head as a pet before he was flushed down the toilet is Casey. Don't know why but I get the feeling the show wants everything to be connected.

@MatKrenz said:

I get the feeling that the kid who had Leather Head as a pet before he was flushed down the toilet is Casey. Don't know why but I get the feeling the show wants everything to be connected.

Huh, I thought I was the only one who thought that. I actually rewatched the scene a couple times to see if I could spot a hockey mask anywhere.

@Smart_Dork_Dude: yeah but they can be in the spotlight and still be mysterious. the problem is with this new age, by the time you see the trailer you already saw them fully. so maybe more of a backgroun/personality mystery, but that still won't work that nicely because people already know the turtles, it'll only work on the general movie goer

@Jorgevy said:

@Smart_Dork_Dude: yeah but they can be in the spotlight and still be mysterious. the problem is with this new age, by the time you see the trailer you already saw them fully. so maybe more of a backgroun/personality mystery, but that still won't work that nicely because people already know the turtles, it'll only work on the general movie goer

True, but it's a cinematic technique I enjoy, especially with weird and odd creatures. I guess it's the horror fan in me, loving to see the monster of the movie fully revealed.

@Smart_Dork_Dude: ah, well Im not a horro fan though XD.

either way I just hope Bay doesn't screw it up

@Jorgevy said:

@Smart_Dork_Dude: ah, well Im not a horro fan though XD.

either way I just hope Bay doesn't screw it up

I'm pretty sure Bay may have been booted off the project since we haven't heard ANYTHING about it or his involvement in a little over a year

@Smart_Dork_Dude: wow hope SO!

Bay is till on the project and on the suggestion above. Nah, it should focus on the turtles. Personally I think the movie should actually be the first part of a trilogy. Start off the turtles and setting up their world by having them first confront Baxter Stockman or the purple dragons (led by Hun because he's awesome), then move into either of the other two mentioned above and start introducing the foot in the second movie. And end with the third movie and the turtles facing off against the shredder.

They should definitively take cues from the 2003 tv show (ignoring fast forward and after) because that was the best thing to happen to the turtles in decades.