Batman vs Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles

Howdy Rotten Readers! Word shopping a fan based term. So after sitting through a public domain horror film I was asked to do something more mainstream. Yes readers, I do take requests. Feel free to hit me up on Instagram, Facebook and the like and leave title suggestions. That being said, this request was for a team-up I was only aware of the comic book crossover, it was a tad confusing to see Nickelodeon and Warner Brothers hand in hand with this project. This is Batman vs Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.

Pizza party in the Bat Cave!!

Yeah I didn't stutter; as this was released to streaming, DVD and Blu-Ray on June 4^th, this very month. I heard skuttlebutt about it but thought it was wishful fanboy goofiness. I was most definitely wrong. Now certain elements of the comic book series has been passed over as they might have been deemed convoluted or unnecessary. The turtles do not travel through a dimensional tunnel but in fact, drive from New York to Gotham. Big difference. The whole instability of their mutagen properties in another dimension was shelved and honestly good idea.

Shredder has apparently been hobnobbing with Ras Al Ghul. Because there's two conglomerates you want together. League of Assassins and the Foot Clan. Can you just see the T-shirts now? Shredder is offering the mutagen to Ras Al Ghul to make obedient mutants and Shredder gets to dip in the Lazurus Pit to extend his life further with the whole near immortality and all.

But enough about the baddies. The turtles are a bit edgy, Ralphael is a bit of a harsh dick, Donnie's very cerebral as always, Mikey's got jokes and Leo has the proverbial stick up the butt as per usual.

Visiting Powers Industry (little nod to Batman Beyond), Barbara Gordon (for some reason made a college kid again) is fascinated by this clean air and emission free generator when...evil is afoot! Well the Foot Clan start haranguing the scientists in an attempt to steal the generator. Oh FYI, these are not shoddy built robots but human ninjas. And parents, there is some decent violence. Not 80s Action Hero level mind you, but still some blood in the air so you have been warned. About PG rating.

So, do my goggles make me look kind of dumb?

Ninja shenanigans aside, the generator is gone, Babs blabs to Bats about it and he is looking pretty peeved. Not dead parents peeved but at least irked. A bit of footage and Batman is on the case trying to figure out both the appearance of the Foot as well as the Turtles. To be fair, he may not read the New Yorker.

Wayne Enterprises' experimental tech is up for grabs with the exception of their night watchman who pummels quite a few Foot before having a showdown with the Shredder. Also they didn't over power Bats for a change so that's nice to see him being mortal.

Plenty of Easter Eggs for fans of either series. I caught a "My Toe!" reference from the standup arcade of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles:Turtles in Time. Mikey's jokes just poke fun at Gotham. I mean all the damn blimps for example. They never have billboard ads, they don't route any traffic changes, they're never over a stadium. What's with all the damn blimps, Gotham!?! Couldn't help but notice,Baxter Stockman sounds very much like Jeff Goldblum via The Fly so yeah some good gags.

The Craigslist hook-up that shocked the world.

With a mystery to be solved, the World's Greatest Detective is on the case. Along with Damien Wayne/Robin and Batgirl, our caped crusaders fight alongside the Turtles to defeat Ras Al Ghul and Shredder.

The artwork is reminiscent of The Brave and the Bold Batman series with a slight tone of the 2008 TMNT. The designs of the characters are simple enough but not so radical that you couldn't identify these folk. The biggest plus of this film is no huge, overtly elaborate explanation of every character. Even if you are just mildly aware of either comic book, movies or cartoons , the average movie goer can pop this in and get right to the story. Easy peasy.

Also we are spared dead Wayne parents. Yeah Warner Brothers, I am sick to death of Thomas and Martha kill scenes. WE GET IT! We know why his runs around Gotham in a lightweight, ceramic and Kevlar armor beating the crap out of bad guys.   Additional, loved the Batmoble resembled the Animated Series version overall.

 Breeze feels good on my junk tonight.

Thankfully this has the right amount of grim and humor. Hell the title intro scene music feels like a proper mesh of Batman and TMNT so kudos to composer Kevin Riepl (Nancy Drew: Curse of Blackmoor Manor, Nancy Drew: Secret of the Old Clock, Gears of War, Crackdown 2, Silent Night, Aliens: Colonial Marines, Justice League Action and Constantine City of Demons: The Movie) and a serious praise for the slightly loose interpretation of writers James Tynion IV and Freddie Williams II, this was a lot of fun. Recommend this for all ages, we got a decent popcorn film with the right amount of ass kicking, crime solving and of course, Turtle Power.

KER-POW!