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Now this
is what I call a fan film. Not only does it make good use of its
resources, but it manages to re-invent the lore it pays tribute to all
the while pleasing the fan base behind it. "Fight the Foot" is a
proposed prologue to the new universe of the Ninja Turtles, a film made
by the Reserve that is supposed to be a gritty re-working of the Turtle
lore while also being respectful to the legacy. Set before April even
meets the Ninja Turtles, we set down on the crime ridden city where
intrepid reporter April is on the trail of the new crime boss Shredder.
This madman is reportedly recruiting gang members and training them in
to his own personal foot soldiers. Armed with a laptop and her intel,
she is hot on his tail, but is about to meet her destiny. When a group
of masked men appear at her door intent on smashing her information and
beating her to death, from the darkness arises a mysterious hero with a
red sash across his eyes who appears seemingly out of nowhere to battle
and take down all of these armed thugs single handedly.
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The actress
who plays April is fantastic offering up the same empathic
portrayal we saw in Judith Hoag in the original Ninja
Turtles movie. All the while the direction is superb with
the proper setting and atmosphere for a gritty new Ninja
Turtles universe. Meanwhile the make up and body suit for
iconic superhero Raphael is absolutely incredible. |
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I was astonished at
how well the director and make up crew are able to create a new Raph who
is part turtle and part humanoid, all the while being perfectly mobile
and believable as a turtle who can whoop any cowardly thug in to
submission if he so chooses. The director makes great use of editing and
shadows not revealing too much of Raph's body leaving just enough
imagination for the audience to guess how he would look in full light,
while also revealing some core aspect of his body armor that give us an
idea of the gritty new reworking of the character. "Fight the Foot" is
only one small chapter in a larger more epic narrative, and the crew
behind this short film do a bang up job of giving Turtles fans something
to chew on while we wait for the upcoming reboot.
With much more money and
much more resources, I would love to see what the crew behind "Fight the
Foot" can do with an unofficial prologue to the Ninja Turtles world as I
think they can offer some interesting surprises and unique twists. This
is why I love fan films.
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