The greatest effort seems to have gone into getting the look of the fight scenes correctly in an otherwise bland film.

Moretz manages to convey some of the delicate and bittersweet shades of love and romance with a maturity that prevents the movie from becoming a sob-fest. Therefore, the story moves at a brisk pace.

The film stops short of being something truly memorable but has just the right amount of witty turns, deft plot twists, funny situations and interesting characters.

With its simple dialogues and also because it is in essence a gorgeous-looking tableaux, enjoy this slick slice of cinema more for its visuals rather than anything else.

The sometimes-cluttered plot aside, this slickly-shot film manages to pass muster. A big reason why you might want to see this film is because Pierce Brosnan is in it. And indeed, it is on his able shoulders that this movie rests.

Thin plot aside, *TMNT* is peppered with just enough humour and maintains a strident pace throughout.

While an ensemble cast is indeed impressive, you might feel that so much more could have been done with the story in terms of excitement. Stallone and Arnie fans might also feel a bit shortchanged regarding how much screen time their two favourite characters have got. While the action is indeed high gear, the gore (evidenced in the previous film) is turned down a notch. Nonetheless, it does serve up a decent chunk of old-school action.

Despite the impressive cast (Taylor Swift has a cameo), performances are uneven. Bridges and Streep stand out but the others are somewhat unconvincing. Conceptually, there are also bits reminiscent of *The Matrix* some Orwellian Big Brother ideology and dashes of *Divergent* in an overall attempt to convey the film’s core message – do we sacrifice pain and pleasure in the quest to attain a ‘perfect’ existence?

Despite these chinks, the charming performances, strange characters (don’t miss Del Toro as The Collector), spaceships and of course, the 70s soundtrack (a highlight by itself) make this one a heck of an intergalactic romp.

What’s interesting is that directors Lord and Miller never lose sight about what they’re serving up their audience – a simple and enjoyable comedy based on an old TV show (*21 Jump Street* that ran from 1987 to 1991). Here, all the veiled jokes as well as the blatant gags (Hill and Michael Bacall co-write) might even warrant a second viewing. Go for a load of laughs and stay for the end credits.