My expectations for Minority Report were a little higher than they were for the average film. After all, the video game was excellent with the story (almost) holding its own against the gameplay. The fact that Tom Cruise is the lead is also intriguing since he was so popular back in the day and the concept was great. I also saw a clip of it a while back and it was pretty cool how stores could find out what you wanted through an eye scan as you walked in the store. This was a film with a lot of potential, but my hopes crashed into the ground once the film actually started. This is definitely not a title that I would recommend!
The film starts out by introducing us to this new world. Pre Crime has officers who are able to go travel around and stop crimes before they actually occur. At first, I thought that they were time travelling, which would have created a lot of plot questions, but they just go to the location of the crime and stop it from being committed. This is possible through the three pre cogs that exist at their main headquarters. They can predict a murder a day before it happens or sometimes only a few hours in advance. John Anderton is the main person in charge of finding out where the murder is taking place by analyzing the visions that the pre cogs have. It’s a tough job, but someone’s got to do it! One day, the pre cogs announce that John will murder someone so now he must run for his life and prove that he is innocent! Of course, we have to wonder…is he innocent?
I guess I should start out with the beginning. We get a random bunch of scenes with people being murdered and everything is gritty and chaotic. We eventually see that this is to show how gruesome murder is and how John is around to prevent it. Then we see the scene like 5-8 more times as John tries to figure out where the murder is. Let’s not forget that we see a lady drowning about a dozen or so times as well. Murder is a main theme of the film so it’s to be expected that we’ll see a lot of it, but we don’t need to keep seeing it over and over again. Telling us what John is about to do would have a similar effect. It’s also just not a very good way to start a film. You need a beginning that makes you want to watch the film, not one that chases you away!
Also, this film takes place in the future and there’s a lot that they can do with that. Unfortunately, they never delve into any of the interesting parts. I like to see how films imagine the future to be because they can be close to the truth in some instances and far removed in others. I can see eye scans delivering personal advertisements in the far future and likewise with hover cars. (Although I doubt they’ll be building any vertical roads in the near or far future) We only get glimpses of these things and they were all more interesting than the main plot.
Why? The actual plot is a pretty sound one and it’s like a thriller with a bit of mystery in it. What stops the film from being enjoyable is the unnecessary grotesqueness in several scenes. We have a guy who’s eyeball is missing and it’s really hard to look at him. Now, in real life it’s just sad to see that happen to someone, but in a film…do we need to see this? I don’t think so since it’s just there for shock value. Another set of scenes would be the eyeball transaction. Ugh..
This was easily one of the worst collection of scenes in the film. John decides that he needs new eye balls so he goes to an illegal surgeon. This surgeon isn’t very hygenienic by the way and he used to be a bigger criminal. He’s still illegal, but this is a more subtle practice. He reminds John of this once John is paralyzed and it’s easy to expect the worst. Even without the worst happening, the whole scene is very gross and we even see John’s old eyes in a plastic bag. Just thinking about it makes me wince.
No, it doesn’t stop there! After the long transfer, John goes to the kitchen to make himself a sandwich. He ends up biting a chunk out of a mold sandwich and then he downs it with a green colored milk. Now they’re just adding insult to injury aren’t they? That was pretty gross and it certainly didn’t help the film. The Doctor’s assistant is also pretty bad and she adds nothing to the story except to make you feel bad for John.
Your suspense for disbelief will also need to be decently high to accept the fact that the Government allows Pre Crime to have so much power. Their spider bots can go into your house without a warrant to scan your eyes. I really don’t think that will be happening anytime soon. These spider bots are also not as advanced as they should be since jumping into a pool is enough to fool their heat sensors. Is that really all it takes to evade these guys? My dog Sonic would be able to sniff out the villains faster than the bots! All right, I’ve covered most of the bases for the film. Now, let’s talk about the characters.
John Anderton is the main character of the story and he certainly has a lot more drama than the average lead. After a traumatic event caused him to lose his son, John split up with his wife and became addicted to the “clear” whistle. It’s basically a drug and it’s a pretty low time for John. He works at Pre Crime to prevent murder from ever happening again. It’s definitely a move that makes sense in response to this and I don’t mind that he’s still broken up about what happened. It’s been years, but you never forget something like that. Turning to drugs is definitely going too far though since he can vent his frustration through other means.
John has his big choice during the climax of the film. Do the legal thing and bring the villain to justice or take out the gun and fire. Ethically, we all know what he should do, but it’s still a hard choice to make in person. I won’t disagree with John’s choice, but I don’t really like how he went about it. Letting the man grab the gun at one point is really not cool and it shows that John should have kept his guard up a little more. John’s a pretty good fighter and he takes on many officers from Pre Crime. The fight scenes were pretty fun even though there weren’t many of them and I would have liked to have seen more of the shockwave gun in action. John is a pretty good character overall. He made some pretty big mistakes, but he’s pretty heroic throughout. I would have liked him more though if he had skipped the drugs and also tried to help the pre cogs sooner.
Lamar is an old man who proudly helped to establish Pre Crime. He’s always wanted a chance to end murder once and for all and this was his ticket. Now he is finally preparing to retire and leave the organization to John. Then the big frame up happens and things quickly start to change. Lamar may seem like a nice old man, but I definitely don’t care for him. He doesn’t really possess any of the traits that make a character likable for me, while possessing a few that make it natural for me to dislike him. The character did well inside of his role and it was a necessary one, but I still don’t care for him. Essentially, he was a good addition to the film, but I don’t really sympathize with his plight.
Agatha is the main pre cog from the three members and she’s the only one who is shown to be able to talk with the others. (Not that the other two were really in a state to do that) She doesn’t talk all that often, but she definitely helps John out a lot when he is in a pinch. Her fate isn’t very great at the beginning since the Pre Cogs are basically forced to watch the future and alert the people to who will be murdered next. Their minds are always connected to the network so they don’t have much of a choice about anything. It’s a pretty rough way to live and Agatha finally gets her chance for freedom later on. Of course, if the cops catch her and Anderton…it’s all over. She didn’t really have a chance to become a very likable character since she doesn’t really get to adjust to the modern world. She seems like she’s a good person and that’ll have to do.
Danny is the cop who’s trying to find John during the film. He’s pretty tough and he never backs down from a fight. I typically like the type of character that he is since he is always serious about his job. Danny is going to do whatever it takes to bring John in and he never doubts his cause. I will admit that his reaction times are rather slow though and he didn’t have the greatest ending to his character arc. Luckily, he did get a solid fight scene in the film so we know that he really isn’t all talk. I dare say that he was a more likable character than the main lead although it can be debatable. Perhaps he put too much trust in the magical ball that foretold the future though…
Lara is John’s ex wife and she plays a large role towards the end of the film. I was surprised by it since it appeared like her role would be small at best. She turns out to be pretty good by the end although she certainly made her share of mistakes during the film. Given the circumstances, Lara ends up being one of the better characters in the film. I would have preferred if she could have landed a solid blow on one of the villains at some point, but it wasn’t to be.
It’s also disappointing to see the fact that the Pre Cogs are just left in the pool for eternity to help Pre Crime out. Doesn’t anyone see something wrong with this system? It’s obviously not a pleasant experience for the three Pre Cogs and someone should do something about this. It makes you wonder how ethical the world that they live in is. Sure, they’ve effectively gotten rid of murder in that area, but there are still many other crimes out there. Let’s hope the government is prepared for what comes next.
Overall, Minority Report definitely couldn’t live up to the video game. The game was awesome on all levels and this one was a pale reflection at best. They both contain many identical scenes, but the game managed to really capture you with the plot without resorting to gross moments or excessive murder displays. The film spent too much time trying to shock the audience instead of just going through the story naturally. The dark element involved in the tragedy for the main character may make him more sympathetic, but it doesn’t help the actual film. Such a move will never help the film since a happier sob story would be better. I don’t recommend this film and if you want a futuristic film that actually shows how the future will probably be in 800 years, I recommend Yugioh 3D Bonds Beyond Time!
Overall 3/10
I now have the Platinum! This game was pretty epic and now I’m off to the next one!
It’s time for a classic film review. This title is basically the opposite of TMNT in many ways. Aladdin is a heartwarming story about a man who must risk life and limb to stop the evil plots of those who would harm the kingdom and Princess Jasmine. His name is Aladdin and he has become a very iconic figure in Disney history. Does this film deserve to be called a classic? Let’s see!
Whoops, did I already spoil the plot? Well, that was a rather vague version of it anyway. Princess Jasmine is to be married to a rich prince as per the Kingdom rules, but she doesn’t like any of them. One day, she escapes to the outside world and meets up with Aladdin. They are soon separated and now they know that they are meant to team up as they try to get back together. Unfortunately, Jafar intends to stop this since he wants the crown for himself. Whoever gets the magical lamp to summon the Genie may end up having a great advantage over the other!
Aladdin is the main lead of the film, but the title probably gave that away. He’s essentially what you would expect for the main character. He likes to defy the authorities and he steals food from the shop owners whenever he can. He talks a really good game (Like 99% of the current film protagonists) and then proceeds to get crushed by the weakest of minions. “You’re only in trouble if you get caught” is one of his most wince worthy moments since he gets caught immediately after saying this. Haven’t we seen enough characters who talk their way to the finish line only to be defeated instantly in combat? I can’t say that it’s very entertaining. Aladdin is also one of those guys who immediately falls in love at the drop of a hat and it hurts his overall character arc. He tends to hesitate a lot, which makes him fall short when the stakes are at their highest. He also tries to lie his way through situations and the fame of being a prince gets to him. He just fell into so many character holes throughout the film that I can’t say that Aladdin is one of the better main characters. He could have been good, but he was a little too generic and not someone that I could really root for.
Jasmine is a pretty decent character and it’s easy to sympathize with her plight. An arranged marriage is like a surprise dinner from your worst nightmares. Nothing will turn out as you’ve always pictured and things will just keep going downhill forever. I don’t know why the Sultan won’t just rewrite the rule, but maybe he doesn’t know that he can actually do that. Jasmine’s pet tiger is pretty intense as well and we can thank him for all of the assistance that he gave Jasmine. Unfortunately, Jasmine goes too far with her plan to distract Jafar and she just should have tackled him or grabbed the staff. It would have been a better way to stop him without degrading herself. It’s no exaggeration to say that the scene did hurt the film’s overall rating. Jasmine was a decent character, but the onslaught of romance scenes threw her down a few pegs.
Jafar is definitely a pretty weak villain. He’s just another guy who wants power and romance as he ascends to the top of the food chain. He wants to become the Sultan as quickly as powerful and he sends in his underlings to do the dirty work for him. When it comes down to a fight, Jafar must rely on his staff since he’s really not a fighter. He does get a big moment at the end of the film, but he spoils it since he didn’t think it through. He should have just protected the lamp from being touched..but he was not yet fast enough. Even without the romance, I wasn’t a fan of Jafar, but it certainly didn’t help his case. Iago was a better villain!
Iago is one of the more sinister creatures in the film since he’ll do anything for money and power. He definitely talks big and he doesn’t really back down from anyone. He’s one of those character’s who’s literally all bark and no bite, but that’s just how his character is. His personality may not be as enjoyable if he was a tough fighter, but that’s up for debate I suppose. It’s hard to see how he could turn over a new leaf, but he does know where the money and power now reside….
Abu is Aladdin’s pet monkey and he’s not one of the biggest supporting characters in the film. He has his moments though and he is probably a decent character for some. I don’t really care for him myself, but he keeps things real. He’s a decent fighter and he always goes all out although he is not quite as nice as Aladdin. He reluctantly parts with his piece of bread and he is pretty sad about the whole thing. I may like him more in the sequel…maybe.
The Sultan is one of the main sources of comic relief for the film. He only wants what’s best for Jasmine, but his thirst for fame and glory blind him to this and he tries for her to get married as quickly as possible. He lacks strength of character so he is easily manipulated by Jafar. It’s too bad for him because the Sultan is still a decent character…or he has the potential to be decent. He plays with his toys during his free time and he can talk a pretty good game. Unfortunately, it is often too little too late and I can’t really forget how he was tricked so many times. He’s charismatic, but you begin to dislike him when you realize how bad some of his decisions are.
Genie is one of the most popular characters of the Aladdin franchise and he’s definitely unforgettable. He basically has unlimited power so he doesn’t need to fear anyone. He gets tricked a few times by Aladdin, but he learns as he goes. Genie doesn’t like to be double crossed and he doesn’t really care too much for being a genie, but he puts on a tough face and endures it. He’s definitely one of the most likable characters in the film and he’s always ready with some good advice for Aladdin. He doesn’t possess a lot of “strength of character” since the lamp is always able to override what he really wants to do. Luckily, that shouldn’t be a problem for him in future appearances.
The animation isn’t bad for this film. I definitely miss the good ole hand drawn days of Disney and this one reminds you why it can be so special. It reminds me of those computer games that were all the rage back in the day. The animation is rather similar. I do think that America was significantly behind Japan at the time in animation, which explains why Transformers and Gundam look better than Aladdin. For what it is, Aladdin still looks good though and you can easily follow what is happening. There aren’t any obvious animation errors. (Although his bread almost appeared to have chocolate in it at some points) All of the character designs quickly became iconic after this film.
There are several songs in this film, but it’s not overdone like in High School Musical. My main complaint would be the fact that it’s really hard to follow the lyrics. The sound effects are too loud during the chase scene so some of Aladdin’s lines can’t really be heard and you’ll get lost midway through the song. The voices were pretty good and the songs were decent, but this isn’t the next “Everything is Awesome” or “Let it Go.” (Although I already forgot the latter one. I need to give that song a listen too….someday) So, the songs didn’t really bother me in this film since the villains didn’t play a major part in it. Nothing’s worse than seeing the villain get a few songs to himself to remind us just how sinister he is!
Unfortunately, there was one extremely wince worthy romance scene that derailed the film faster than a dog will snatch away your bacon from the table. It’s the kind of scene that can really shave a few points off of anything even if it is fairly brief. It’s just something that I don’t want to see in my entertainment and I was surprised that this was in a Disney film. Jasmine decides to distract Jafar with her fake words while Aladdin went for the Lamp. That’s already pretty terrible in itself, but I didn’t expect it to get worse. Unfortunately, words are not enough so Jasmine takes the next step, but it’s a step that should never be taken. There were a lot of other alternatives for Jasmine at the moment and she should have just tackled the villain.
This makes Aladdin look bad as well for two reasons. One, he kept on hesitating and stopping, which made things worse for Jasmine. He ultimately fails in his quest to grab the lamp as well so it was basically all for nothing. The second reason would be the fact that Aladdin allowed this to happen as well. I’d expect some “Brooklyn Rage” (Abridged term) from him and a solid punch. Aladdin could likely beat Jafar in a fist fight and he would just need to prevent Jafar from ordering the Genie to help. That really wouldn’t be too hard for him and then Jasmine could grab the lamp. So, what I’m saying is that drastic measures, which involve degrading yourself to stall the villain is basically a no no. The scene shouldn’t have happened and the fact that Aladdin still failed was pretty awful.
Aside from that scene, the film also does have a lot of romance stuff in it. That’s not typically a good thing and I wouldn’t say that it’s handled all that well here either. The flirting can be pretty irritating after a while and it’s even worse if you don’t care for the two main characters that much. Romance typically doesn’t have a place in any film and this one overdoes it.
At least Aladdin has no trouble with its pacing. A lot of events happen in the short runtime of the film and the plot changes from one scene to the next. Most of the characters got their necessary development and the villain had time for two different plans! Unfortunately, I still didn’t end up liking the characters all that much, but Disney tried. At least I did like (some of) the animal characters in this film. The tiger was hardcore and the birds were also cool. There aren’t many action scenes in the film, but they’re fairly good and the danger scenes inside of the cave of wonders are also well done. The film definitely had a lot of potential.
Overall, Aladdin is definitely one of Disney’s most well known films, but it’s definitely no all star. Frozen would wipe the floor with this film and Aladdin just hasn’t aged all that well. It should be noted that I’ve never been a fan of desert films as it is. (Although that wasn’t really a negative in this film) Aladdin can be a fun watch for the family, but there are just too many scenes that aren’t funny or enjoyable. The critical scene that I mentioned earlier is ultimately what destroyed the film for me. Of course, there were also several other romance scenes that were pretty bad. If you really don’t mind romance and are just happy to see the heroes come out on top no matter how they got there…then you may enjoy this film. Still, if you want to watch a fun animated film, I’d recommend checking out Megaman NT Warrior The Program of Light and Darkness! You won’t be disappointed as that one features the greatest character of all time and some epic action!
Overall 4/10
The Summer is basically over, but we’re still ready for one more big action film right? This film has some pretty steep competition since we’ve already witnessed some all stars in Captain America and Spiderman. Godzilla provided us with an unforgettable cinematic experience and Guardians of The Galaxy continued the MCU’s streak of victories. This means that the Ninja Turtles must try to defeat Robocop, X Men Days of Future Past and Transformers. Can it do this or is it already doomed to lose? The film was essentially about as good as I thought it would be and it didn’t drag on quite as much as I had feared.
The film gives us a quick intro to the turtles as we see them train and get a feel for the surroundings. (This is what the remake film for Batman and the upcoming Dr. Strange film should definitely do) We learn that the Foot Clan was a pretty powerful organization, but the cops eventually forced them to go underground. Now, the Foot Clan is prepared to rise up once again with the mighty Shredder as their leader! Splinter commands the Turtles to refrain from visiting the outside world because they are not yet ready. The Turtles don’t really care though because they have lives to save! April O Neal gets involved after she witnesses a battle between the two sides. She wants to expose the Turtles for the heroes(?) that they are, but they don’t want this. Will the Turtles be able to take down the Shredder and will April get her scoop!? The stakes have never been higher….
First off, I have to give the film some credit for the fight scenes. The battles against the Shredder were pretty intense. I dare say that they were more fun than Wolverine’s battle against the Silver Samurai. It may not be quite up to snuff with something like Cap vs Winter Soldier, but it was still very good. I dare say that the action scenes were better than I had anticipated. The iconic battle between the Shredder and the 4 Turtles atop the tower is easily the best fight, but Splinter’s battle is pretty emotional as well.
Of course, it may not be as enjoyable if you don’t like blowouts. The four turtles are literally unable to damage Shredder in their fights until the very end where the plot demands that the film must have a happy ending. It’s 4 to 1 and Shredder is basically toying with the turtles. There were several times where he could have finished them off and he just didn’t bother. The film also makes sure to show us that Splinter could also take on the 4 turtles at once since he gave the Shredder a better fight. I really feel bad for the Turtles sometimes.
The normal action scenes against the Foot Clan is a little less entertaining. The camera angles weren’t very good so it was hard to get an accurate picture of the action. It was still pretty suspenseful and epic to see the Turtles doing so well in the shadows, but we all knew who would win. I found myself missing the pizza boy from the original films a few different times.
The soundtrack is pretty generic. Nothing that you haven’t heard before. Unfortunately, it ends up being pretty negative thanks to the rap song during the credits. Easily the worst song that I’ve heard in such a mainstream film in a long time. I really don’t like rapping and it tends to make any scene a little less enjoyable. In moderation, it is possible to have a good rap song in the background, but it’s extremely rare. Mostly because I just don’t care for the beat and the lyrics are usually pretty cringe worthy. This is one film where you should make sure to dash out as soon as the credits start. Nobody’s got time for that song!
One issue with the film is naturally the romance. This is a work that is associated with Michael Bay so I’m sure that we all expected the worst. It never gets as drastic as the early Transformer films, but it can still be very annoying and grating on the ears. Michelangelo is constantly flirting, which isn’t cool. He never stops going after April and you really want the other turtles to make him back off. Unfortunately, they tend to ignore him. April’s partner also flirts a lot, although at least he does it in a classier way. If not for one scene where he shows that he doesn’t mind stooping to low levels, he would have actually been a good character. Unfortunately, it’s hard to save such a character. At least there really isn’t much here in terms of fan service, but unnecessary flirting is still pretty bad.
One big complaint that I had with the film was the lack of pizza scenes. If you’re a TMNT fan, then you’ll know that pizza is always very involved in the franchise. It only gets one or two scenes during the flashbacks and a single appearance in the modern times. They claim that it’s a Pizza Hut slice, but it bears to resemblance to any Pizza Hut slice that I’ve ever had! Even if it did have 99 cheeses on it, the actual slice should look similar. The film really dropped the ball there and the tension in the theater was pretty ominous. I think we were all tempted to leave and go to Pizza Hut for a true slice to compare it to the film’s.
Raphael is probably the best turtle from the group, although Leonardo is close. Raphael is basically the tough member of the group, while still being very nice and gentle on the inside. It’s an “epic” plot development where he confesses what he has been holding inside all these years. Everyone else ignores him and you’re supposed to feel bad for the guy. I was just waiting for the plot to continue. Raphael is pretty confident and he may be the strongest turtle, but he’s still no match for the Shredder. Raphael is decently likable, but he’s ultimately generic and he’s essentially the winner by default.
Leonardo is close, but it’s mostly because of the fact that he’s pretty silent compared to the others. He’s the fearless leader, but he spends all of his time trying to prove his superiority to Raphael. He gets one scene where he goes up against the Shredder in a one on one fight. All I will say is that the fight scene lasts for about 2 seconds and it’s very embarrassing. We don’t see anything that proves he has what it takes to be the leader. It’s one thing to be outclassed by the villain, but Leonardo never gets any big moments. He’s just there to fill in the fourth spot. Of course, that’s better than being the flirt of the group, but we’re coming to that.
Donatello wasn’t very likable and that’s because he’s the smart guy of the group. Now, why is that a bad thing? It doesn’t have to be since we have had many cool smart characters in the past. Light Yagami, Bruce Banner, Batman, etc. The problem is that Donatello wants to be “the cool guy” and he has one scene where he proves this to the others. He should just be happy to be the smart guy, but why would he be when Foot soldiers can just hack into his systems? In that case, there’s just no winning for the guy. He definitely seems to be the weakest fighter and he actually doesn’t seem to be very smart….he just uses big words to get that vibe. Nah, he didn’t work for me in this one.
Michelangelo was easily the worst turtle. His fans may be pleased at his contribution to the big fight in the film, but it’s not nearly enough to save him. He flirts with April nonstop throughout the film. It’s pretty sad and his taste in music also isn’t that good. His mind is never on the mission and he’s not very good at hand to hand combat. He actually forgets about Raphael (along with the other turtles) after the turtle had come to save him. Michelangelo isn’t exactly a team player and he never will be at this rate. Without Michelangelo, this film actually had a pretty strong chance of cracking a 7. He just brings the whole thing down since you basically have to tune him out.
April is the main heroine of the film and it’s a little scary to think that she’s more likable than the turtles. Unfortunately, she humors Michelangelo most of the time as she never tells him to give it a rest. There’s also one scene (Most of the trailers showed this) where she faints after talking to the turtles, which was rather unrealistic. She’s a tough reporter and she had already been talking to them. Why would she faint after seeing a turtle without his headband? It seemed to have been included just to be included. I guess it would help us to remember that the turtles are supposed to be scary, but it doesn’t work. Naturally, April gets her big moments where she helps the turtles take out the Shredder.
April also may not be that smart, but it could be another script issue. Her boss doesn’t believe that the turtles are real so April gathers a lot of “evidence” to prove it. Unfortunately, she doesn’t show her boss the pictures of the turtles that she got on her phone. It could be attributed to the fact that maybe she didn’t want to show this to the boss, but why wouldn’t she? She had every reason to show it to the boss since it definitely would have exposed the turtles. As long as April steers clear of the romantic advanced from her partner and Michelangelo, she should continue to be a pretty good character. She just needs to learn to do a better job of remembering what information she has at her disposal.
Sacks is one of the big players in the film. I can’t say that he’s very likable. One could say that his public role in the film is sort of like Harvey Dent’s. He’s shaking his fist at crime and he’s ready to stop the FOOT clan once and for all. Unfortunately, he’s not quite as convincing as Harvey and he is used for a lot of exposition. The exposition was definitely one of the boring moments of the film and we didn’t need another long origin story for the olden days.
Vernon is April’s partner and he wishes that she wouldn’t mind staying on the small jobs. He actually has a fair point since she’s still getting worthwhile things to report and I think April was a little too critical. The exercise convention was actually pretty good and jumping on a trampoline with other adults is hardly as embarrassing as she made it sound. If it was only her with a lot of little toddlers then maybe it would be tricky…maybe. A lot of people really wouldn’t mind considering that it will let them bring home their check. Back to Vernon, unfortunately, he isn’t quite as tough as he likes to think he is. He gets one attack at the very end of the film, but it’s not much. He does have one scene, which basically wrecks his character so you can’t really root for him by the end.
The Shredder is a pretty great villain. It’s interesting how he only talks in japanese when he doesn’t have the armor on, but becomes fluent in English with it. I’m guessing that the armor has an auto translator or something, but it’s definitely possible that the Shredder knows both languages. Nevertheless, he performs well in combat and that’s what counts. His goal is definitely a little dubious though and he better have the antidote at the ready. His fighting skills are so good that it will be tough for a sequel to top him as a villain. Although with the cliffhanger…I may not need to worry about this too much. The Shredder is definitely one of the highlights of the film.
Splinter is pretty powerful and he’s a likable fighter when he’s in on the action. That being said, I definitely disagree with some of his decisions. There’s no good reason to keep the turtles from patrolling the streets at night. The cops already took out most of the FOOT and when does he think the turtles will ever be ready? They’re already pretty tough and there’s a limit to how strong you will end up becoming. He was definitely too strict at that point, but I’m sure that he’ll lighten up from now on….although it may be too late for that.
Did I mention that the script for the film is pretty….retro? Unfortunately, this doesn’t seem to have been planned, but a lot of the lines are rather dated and they’re pretty cheesy as well. “Use an innocent as bait!” or something along those lines is uttered by the big bad Shredder! He acts as if no villain has ever done this before and his right hand woman even seems pretty shocked at the prospect. The music also quickly goes into its dramatic phase to highlight the scene as an important gamechanger. If these guys are villains, they shouldn’t have a problem with using civilians as bait. There were quite a few other lines that I could mention since they’re scattered throughout the film. I like a little cheesy dialogue in the films, but then it should be consistent and make the rest of the film cheesy as well.
I would definitely say that TMNT is a better adaption of the franchise than the Transformer films. Of course, there is less to wreck in a TMNT film, but they still covered most of the bases without depowering the turtles too much. One could argue that they’re slightly more impressive here than in their own series. I wouldn’t go that far, but they are pretty tough. The designs still look pretty terrible to me though. I seriously hope that they change the designs for the sequel and return them to how they looked in the old films or a model that looks a little bit more like the cartoons. I’m definitely all right with the Shredder’s design though since it’s pretty intense.
Overall, This film is kind of like Robocop. It’s just a fun film without anything to help it stand above the crowd. The main drawback is the excessive flirting from both Michelangelo and Vernon. Without that, the film didn’t really have any big flaws. Of course, that’s enough to hurt it a lot and the end credits scene was pretty bad as well. (The rap song hurts your ears as well) The cliffhanger may be intriguing to some and generic to others. Either way, I can safely say that I am looking forward to the next TMNT film. It should be a good one, although it won’t be great. I recommend this film if you survived through the first Transformers film to see how you compare the two. Both of them take a few shots at the original sources so that should be interesting. (Karai’s role is very disappointing for her fans and the “Cowabunga” term is used, but the Turtles look very bad in that scene…it’s one of those things) If you don’t like to see the main heroine get harassed by everyone for the entire film…this won’t be the title for you.
Overall 6/10
I’ve only read the first book in the series, but it’s off to a decent start. Haruyuki is just as unlikable as in the TV show, but at least Silver Crow is (sometimes) decent enough to hold his own. I’m looking forward to seeing the fights escalate as things heat up in the plot. I shall have a review for this series when it finishes….so this could take a while!
Overall 7/10
My stats in the game!
12/42 Trophies
PS3 Trophy% 17%
The rest of the stats only cover my online appearances.
Online Record 5-4
Points Scored vs Against 150-195
H2h Skill Points 506
Skill Level 1
Avg Off TDs 1.75
Avg FG 1.62
Avg Def TD .25
Offensive Ypg vs Allowed 216.12-289.38
Avg Off Plays vs Defensive Plays 35.50-32.62
Passing Ypg vs Allowed 170.38-167.38
Rushing Ypg vs Allowed 45.75-51.12
3rd Down% 33
Avg Punts 1.38
Avg Giveaways vs Takeaways 2.38-2.88
Average Sacks vs Allowed 1.75-1.62
Avg Interceptions vs Thrown 2.38-2.00
Turnover Diff 1.21
Avg Time of Possession 60.08
Online Match Record 5-4 (One of the Ls on the list I technically won because my opponent disconnected or quit the match)
W 14-9 Cowboys vs Ravens
W 9-0 Cowboys vs Titans
L 22-35 Patriots vs Panthers
L 12-27 Patriots vs Broncos
L 16-20 Patriots vs Seahawks
L 13-38 Giants vs Eagles
W 17-24 Patriots vs Saints
W 47-42 Patriots vs Ravens
It’s definitely been a while since I got to play a new Madden game. In case you are not aware, I am a huge fan of the Madden franchise. I’ve played almost every one of the titles since 2002 and they were all rock solid. I’ll admit that Madden 2010 may have slipped a little, but it was still a blast. 2011 and 2012 were also enjoyable experiences so I was all set to grab this one. I didn’t realize that it had already dropped to 6 dollars so it was a steal! Madden 2015 just came out so I’m sure that this game’s online days are numbered. That being said, I’m really glad that I finally got to try the online experience because it is amazing! This is easily the best Madden title for the PS3!
I also know that I need to make this one last because I likely won’t be getting one of the newer Madden games anytime soon! There is no Madden 2014 because they decided to come out with the special Madden 25 package. I’m looking forward to playing it, but it’s still going for 25! I love these games, but I always wait for the price drops since they’re so frequent. I wouldn’t expect to see another Madden review on this site for even a year, but maybe I’ll surprise you guys and get one of the few titles that I missed for Christmas!
Back to the game! Madden 2013 uses a lot of elements from the past games while changing things up. I know that everyone has already heard the stories and some are still upset that EA refuses to change the formula with any drastic measures. There’s no need to change a system that is already great and EA still does provide a unique experience each time. In this game, the defense is probably the most notable change, but the whole game is really impacted. Is it in a good way? It depends on the effect. I won’t really explain the rules because I’m sure that you are familiar with the NFL. If not, it’s an easy game to figure out.
One of the ways that Madden seems to have changed is how fiercely the cornerbacks will go after the ball. It is essentially impossible to throw a deep ball anymore. You can still do it of course, but you’ll be forced to watch your receiver get shoved out of the way as the cornerback snags it for a pick 6. Sometimes, your receiver will just stand there and wait for the football while the cornerback jumps up for the steal. They can jump extremely high by the way and they aren’t opposed to catching the ball with one hand in a rather fancy athletic movement. One way to stop this is to quickly take control of your receiver and turn around to grab the ball. Of course, this is a Lot trickier than it sounds and it requires perfect precision on your part. More often than not, this won’t work. Once in a while, your player will actually catch the ball, but you’ll have already thrown a lot of interceptions by that point.
It’s great for the defense and I’ve always enjoyed getting an interception. It’s pretty thrilling and it’s one of my favorite plays along with kickoff/punt returns. On the flipside, it makes you hesitate to throw the football. You’ll find yourself relying on basic screen passes and other short throws because you can’t risk going downfield. Throwing it into the centerfield for your tight end is usually a decently safe throw, but I miss the days where I felt comfortable throwing to any part of the field. You can definitely forget about slants unless your receiver is in a great position. So, this is definitely a mixed bag.
One area where the game really excels at is how realistic the hits are. It’s great to see your player get tackled or to record a sack on your own. You really feel the hit and it’s usually interesting to see how your player will go down. Sometimes the game will even revert to slow motion although that could just be the frame rate hitting the ball. This is more like the Football that we’re used too!
The graphics for the game are always pretty solid and that doesn’t change in this installment. You can clearly see all of the players and every option available on the field. You’ll never find yourself squinting to see something and the field looks as real as ever. I definitely have no complaints with the game on this front and the commentary is also good. There are some obvious mistakes like when they say that there are 15 minutes left when only 6 are on the clock. Some of the lines can get a little old when you hear them so often, but I actually enjoy it. It really makes the game feel professional and it means that I won’t have to listen to any (awful imo) music like in some of the other titles. Remember NFL Street? Great game, but the music was pretty terrible. I’m not a fan of EA’s music so the commentary means that the music has to go away. I don’t think it plays at all during the games anymore and that’s fine by me!
The game does have one annoying cutscene that plays after every timeout. If you call a timeout, your opponent’s player will meet up with one of the staff for a drink of water. The trainer will get him the water and the player always stops the guy from leaving so that he can get a second drink. This happens every single time and it gets old rather quickly. The character models are constantly chewing as well although I believe that it’s supposed to depict them talking to each other. Trust me, you’ll wish that it wasn’t there after a while!
If this game had one big weakness, it would be how they’ve made every action a lot more complicated. Gone are the days where you only needed to worry about running and where to throw the ball. Now there are so many buttons to press! You have to remember to hit a button so that you don’t fumble, there’s a button to sprint as per usual, but you can also tilt one of the joysticks to bring your head down and charge. There are like three different ways to juke and you really need the hit stick on the defensive side or the opponent will just break your tackles. I don’t think the game really needs to be this complex. It wouldn’t be so bad either if your player wouldn’t fumble all the time. Never run right into the opponent player without pressing something or you’re almost guaranteed to fumble. So much for my wild charges into the crowd eh?
Franchise mode is long gone and now we have the Connected Careers mode. It’s essentially the same thing so it’s all good. You can play as the Coach or as the players. I only use the latter of course and you can even add yourself to the game through Gameface. The EA account is actually pretty handy since it really does a good job of recording your online stats. The online ranked battles are really where the action is at. It’s almost hard to go back to the classic offline battles when you can fight such talented players online. (Almost is the key word! Regular matches are still a blast.) My current record is 5-4 as of this writing and I already scored over 150 points, which netted me the first few online trophies. The highest one is at 600 points and that is likely where I would stop online gaming for this title. It’s a blast, but I have so many other games where I need to accomplish that I wouldn’t have time for it anymore. The offline world is another story since there are more trophies to get there.
The trophies are pretty fair for the most part, but I think that EA is asking too much for the offline ones. You would basically have to play over 10-20 seasons if you wanted to snag them all unless they expect you to start simulating all of them. There are many workarounds to grab a lot of the trophies, but adjusting sliders and such, but that doesn’t seem right. Thus, I am doomed to have a relatively low trophy% in this title, but I’ll still do my best to snag as many of them as I can. At least there are more trophies to be collected in this one than in the previous Madden titles!
I almost don’t even need to bring up the replay value. The trophies alone can last for weeks or even months. This Madden also has quite a few different modes to play. You can relive famous moments in NFL history and try to complete each of them. The Connected Careers mode can go on for as many seasons as you want and you can play it from the coach’s point of view or from the player’s. The replay value to this game is essentially endless and the servers are actually still up so you can have fun online or offline. The game is really a bargain at 6 dollars and it would have been well worth the original 60 dollars if I had bought it then too. It just goes against my buying code to do that. I only go that far for Smash Bros at this point in time.
Finally, it’s worth noting that EA has done a good job to really make the games feel alive. On the main menu, you can actually see the scores for the current NFL 2014 Pre Season games. Not to mention that there are Facebook and Twitter options inside of the game so that you can post your scores and stats throughout the season. Everything is completely up to date, which is pretty fun. You won’t lose touch with the real world by playing this game and their Origin system helps you to link your account through all of their titles. EA may have a very bad reputation with the average person at the moment, but one can’t deny that their games are great!
Overall, This is an excellent Madden game. As mentioned earlier, I would say that it easily clobbers Madden 08-12. It’s tough to take on the Gamecube ones, but this is easily one of the best installments. I do believe that the game has gotten a little too complicated in some areas, but you can still choose to simplify things based on your playstyle. I got used to it after a game or two and the only troubles that I’m having now are with the audibles. It’s hardly something that will really cost you a game since audibles are pretty rare. I highly recommend getting this game and you’ll have fun for dozens of hours. Madden is one of the only games that can compete with the new Super Smash Bros for how much time you can pour into it! It’s going to be tough for Madden 25 or the new Madden 15 to keep up with this one!
Overall 9/10
Yoshi Stats!
9 Lives
85 Coins
Eggs 92/100
Shuffle Mode Record 5
Stage Stats
1-1 Gold
1-2 Gold
1-3 Gold
2-1 Gold
2-2 Gold
2-3 Gold
2-4 Gold
2-5 Gold
2-6 Gold
3-1 Gold
3-2 Silver
3-3 Silver
3-4 Silver
3-5 Silver
3-6 Silver
3-7 Gold
3-8 Silver
4-1 Silver
4-2 Silver
4-3 Silver
4-4 Silver
4-5 Silver
4-6 Silver
4-7 Silver
4-8 Gold
4-9 Silver
4-10 Silver
5-1 Gold
5-2 Silver
5-3 Silver
5-4 Silver
5-5 Silver
5-6 Silver
5-7 Silver
5-8 Silver
5-9 Silver
5-10 Silver
5-11 Silver
6-1 Silver
6-2 Silver
6-3 Silver
6-4 Silver
6-5 Silver
6-6 Silver
6-7 Silver
6-8 Silver
6-9 Silver
6-10 Silver
6-11 Silver
6-12 Silver
Yoshi has always been a pretty solid supporting character for Mario. He’s a trusted ally who is always ready to help the plumber whenever the hero is in a tough spot. I am definitely glad to see that Yoshi has gotten several games. We had fun with his adventure with Mario on the GBA so a Yoshi solo game should be fun as well right? I’m happy to say that it was definitely a blast and it’s a very unique Mario game thanks to the tilting feature.
The game opens with Bowser going on the attack once again. Using his magical spells, Bowser makes pretty short work out of the opponents. They just don’t have what it takes to defeat these guys. Mario and friends are busy somewhere else to it’s up to Yoshi to save his island. Before he can accomplish such a feat, a new character with unlimited power throws the whole island inside of a book. Yoshi will have to quickly adapt and take out Bowser himself if he is ever to get this being to let him out. It’ll be Yoshi’s toughest adventure yet, but he’s definitely ready for it!
The gameplay is what you would expect from a Mario side scroller right? Well, I’m happy to say that this is not the whole story. I’d be just as happy as the next guy if this played out as the next Super Mario World or Advance, but it’s good for Yoshi to be able to distinguish itself from the famous plumber. There are the usual 2D side scroller elements to be sure, but with a few new twists. The first one is the fact that there is the new tilting feature. You can walk on walls as they become the ground when you tilt the Game Boy. You can use this feature to jump higher, move obstacles out of the way, and much more. Using the tilting feature is all about strategy and it also makes the usual actions like jumping and walking a little more strategic.
Yoshi’s famous boots are back as well and it’s fun to jump on the enemies. I forget if his boots will allow you to stop on spiky enemies or not, but it’s a nice addition. Of course, you can always choose to eat your opponents, which is Yoshi’s most iconic attack. As with most Mario games, there are 6 worlds. There aren’t any bonus levels that I’m aware of, but given that this is like the Mario games…I wouldn’t be surprised if there was one for getting all of the Gold Medals. The 6 worlds vary in length. The last world had as many as 12 levels in it while the first only had 3. It’s a nice balance though and the game will definitely last you for a decent amount of time on your initial playthrough. (That’s before we even begin to count the replay value factor! Not bad if I do say so myself!)
As you play through the game, you will notice that there aren’t many boss fights. There is actually only one boss fight in the entire game and you also get a level where you have to avoid Bowser’s flames. Pretty tricky stuff eh? I’ll admit that the game loses some minor points by tossing out the bosses, but not enough to make it drop in the overall rating. The actual levels are still very fun.
Each level has a goal. There are the levels where you have to run to the goal, levels where you collect eggs, defeat enemies, spare enemies, and so on. It makes the levels a little more challenging since you can’t just worry about getting to the end. Each level has 4 sections as well, which helps to make them a little longer. Some levels even have two goals at once, which can really make you work for the win. Clearing the goals will give you a silver medal and you can earn a Gold if you really over performed on the requirements. Getting the golds can definitely be tough and you’ll really have to play the level a lot to get a feel for how you should go about completing it.
The graphics are pretty nice and I can definitely say that they are a cut above the King of Fighters game. They are still using sprites, but everything looks so neat and colorful. This is definitely what I want to see from a big Nintendo game. You can tell that they put the necessary effort into it. The drawings look pretty decent as well. The game may not be ready to challenge something like the New Super Mario Bros just yet, but we’re getting there.
The soundtrack is very good as well. This is to be expected for any game that is related to the Mario series. The stage themes are pretty soothing and they help to enhance the experience. Admittedly, they may not be that memorable, but it doesn’t take away from the fact that they are still some very good tunes. The sound effects are all iconic at this point and you’ll have fun zipping from one place to the next. This game definitely holds up pretty well in all aspects.
There are at least 5 different mini games to unlock in this title. There was one that was already unlocked when I got the game, but I don’t know how to unlock the others. Maybe I need to get all of the Gold Medals and all of the Eggs to get them. That definitely adds to the replay value and just trying to get all of the Gold Ranks will take some time. Moreover, the gameplay is a lot of fun so you may want to just have fun going through some of them without worrying about the goals.
Now, did the tilting actually improve the game? Well, it was an interesting effect and it did make the game more unique. It’s hard to say whether it actually helped or not though since I still would have had a lot of fun without it. The tilting was just there and it added another dimension to the gameplay. It definitely didn’t make it worse and I actually prefer it to the new concept of motion based gaming. It’s too bad that the whole tilting thing basically died out. I guess it’s because you can tilt while using motion controls anyway.
Overall, Yoshi Topsy Turvy is definitely another great sidescroller from Nintendo. I still find the regular Mario games to be more fun, but it’s a very tried and true formula. It’s good to see Nintendo taking some risks with the tilting effects and Yoshi deserved to have another title for himself. It’s not every day that we see the happy dinosaur take on Bowser! Trust me, Yoshi is not to be trifled with. “Yoshi was not amused” is one of the final lines in the game and Yoshi’s expression is pretty fierce in that instant. This dinosaur definitely has the bite to back up his bark. I definitely recommend this to any gamer and especially to Nintendo fans. Don’t let the tilting effect scare you away since it’s done pretty well. This game has enough content to keep you busy for quite a while and the most important part is that it’s just fun to play. It’s easy to just pick it up and try out a few levels at any time. This is why the Mario games have gotten so popular over the years. This definitely makes me a little more excited to get Yoshi’s new 3DS game!
Overall 7/10
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