Caffeinated Clint
Jonathan Liebesman, director of “Battle : Los Angeles”, “Texas Chainsaw Massacre : The Beginning” and “Wrath of the Titans”, directing the new “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles” movie?
Granted, with Michael Bay and his Platinum Dunes crowd on producing duties, this filmish reboot of the ’80s pop-culture phenomenon was always going to be a depature from the other films in the series .. but Liebesman? really!?
Here’s how I read this : Paramount now has the rights to the “Turtles” (Warner/New Line released the last one, the entertaining but unsuccessful CGI entry “TMNT”) and the fact they’ve got Michael Bay onboard, and now a director who shares Bay’s love of explosions and gun-fire, would indicate they’re wanting less for the kids who grew up with the “Turtles” series and something more for those that have laid down their cash for the past three “Transformers” movies.
But I dunno if a “Turtles” movie calls for expensive special effects, orange-doused explosions, and slow-mo fights between hardshells and metal-men!?
The one thing going for this project, and it’s the element that has me holding out hope for the project, is the anointment of “Mission : Impossible” 3 & 4 scribes Josh Applebaum and Andre Nemec on writing duties. Those guys do terrific stuff; maybe they can pen something so splendid that even Dennis Dugan- not that I’d wish his “Turtles” movie upon anyone, could you imagine Adam Sandler as Casey Jones?! – couldn’t screw up the movie if he were helming.
What do you think, guys? Are Liebesman and Plantinum Dunes the right people to relaunch the pizza-eating green guys?
