Casey Jones: The Movie

Casey Jones loves playing hockey, but he’s violent, even for the rink, breaking the bones of his own teammates. Unfortunately, his temper gets him kicked off his own team.  Wandering the streets, Casey trashes all his equipment and soon ends up at his mother’s home.  As he rounds the corner, a kid is painting a dragon on her building, so Casey teaches him a lesson before heading inside. Later, Casey tries to clean the paint off the wall, but the boy returns with his gang, the Purple Dragons.  They beat up Casey and leave him in the street to bleed.  Casey drags himself into the house, and passes out on the kitchen floor, where his mom finds him the next morning.  Casey promises her that things will get better, but she is ready to leave.

As April O’Neil of Channel 6 News reports on the downturn in the city’s lower East side, Casey starts training.  He does everything possible to become stronger, so he can make things better for the innocents that still call this city home.  Finally, he again encounters into the Purple Dragons that beat him.  Casey dons his new menacing mask, and heads out to clean up the streets.Using golf clubs, a hockey stick, and baseball bats, he beats all the gang members to a bloody pulp before vanishing into the night.  He soon encounters car jackers, and attacks them too.  No criminal is safe.

As Casey readies a finishing blow, a shadowy figure steals his bat. Casey tries to retrieve it, but the newcomer is well trained, and his hard shell and nunchaku make him formidable.  But their fight is soon interrupted by Foot Clan ninja.The two repel the intruders, and Casey unmasks one, revealing his former teammate and cousin, Sid.  Before the two can fight things out, Foot reinforcements arrive with a giant pink talking blob.  Sid gets the drop on Casey, but Casey’s new friend, Michelangelo, grabs him and escapes into the sewers, where he introduces Casey to his fellow mutant turtles. As Casey becomes acquainted with his allies, a woman he saved alerts the media about a new vigilante hero roaming the streets.  He’s not to be trifled with, whether you’re a Purple Dragon or a lowlife pizza thief.

This movie was a five-minute short that became a 35-minute film.  It draws heavily on the first TMNT movie and 1987 cartoon (especially for character design).  The story itself is fairly straightforward, relating the origins of Casey Jones, with Hilarion Banks emulating Elias Koteas from the original films.  The acting as a whole was very strong, and some of the casting choices definitely helped the film feel like a part of the mythos.  Robbie Rist returned as the voice of Michelangelo; Hilarion Banks sounded and looked like a young Elias Koteas; and both added a bit of an informal connection to the other movies.  While the costumes looked a bit silly, for the small budget used the film is a great look at the turtles’ best friend.  This film would easily fit into the TMNT universe.

The most important part of the film that gives it a unique quality is its realism.  Putting aside Michelangelo and Krang, Casey’s rise is portrayed as realistically as possible.  A guy pushed too far takes justice into his own hands.  Every aspect through the first 20 minutes could be real.  What’s more, the filmmakers also added realism to Casey’s actions.  Something missing from the other films (and certainly all the cartoons) is what would happen if a man beat people with bats, sticks, and clubs.  They would bleed and some would die.  This film presented that as a fact that Casey accepted wholeheartedly, without remorse.  This Casey Jones is a real vigilante, and he will not be bound by fear or conscience.

The film is a great addition to the TMNT family.  Casey has often been underdeveloped, so seeing a real (albeit fan made) production about his rise as a hero was a brilliant idea.  The film is well acted, well made, and overall a great little piece that every TMNT fan should watch.  Check it out here.