Paramount Pictures
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The world is reeling from the loss of a true legend, as "Star Trek" and "X-Men" actor Patrick Stewart has died at the age of 86. Words like legend or icon get thrown around a lot, but in this case, it's more than warranted. And while he was certainly known best to the world as Jean-Luc Picard and Professor Charles Xavier, Stewart was an actor with decades of credits to his name and a whole lot of range. In 2007, he even got the chance to portray an out-and-out villain in a largely forgotten comic book movie.
"TMNT" was Paramount's attempt to revamp the heroes in a half-shell on the big screen after the franchise had been relegated to animation on TV for some time. Directed by Kevin Munroe, it stands somewhere in the middle of the pack in a ranking of the "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles" movies. Not nearly as bad as "Out of the Shadows" but not nearly as good as "Mutant Mayhem," it's probably best described as serviceable. Be that as it may, Stewart notably lent his powerful voice to the film's big bad, which wasn't Shredder for once.
The movie actually picks up after the gang has defeated The Shredder. Unfortunately, they've also grown apart as a family, and Splinter (Mako Iwamatsu and Greg Baldwin) is struggling to keep them together. He becomes even more worried when strange things begin to brew in New York City. Before long, it falls to the Turtles to renew their bond if they're to have any hope of taking down a wicked industrialist's army of ancient monsters.
It's Stewart who provides the voice of that evil industrialist, aka Max Winters. "American Dad" had proved that Stewart was an underrated comedic genius but here, for as much as the Turtles and co. are known for humor, the actor is in full blown baddie mode.
Patrick Stewart played Max Winters, a lesser-known Ninja Turtles villain, in TMNT
Paramount Pictures
What's interesting is that Max Winters was actually created specifically for this movie. He wasn't pulled from the pages of the comics, even though the "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles" source material has quite a few villains to pull from. It was an interesting choice, too. Patrick Stewart fit the role like a glove, with his booming, deep voice making Max feel genuinely threatening.
The character has a pretty rich backstory as well. He was once known as Yaotl, a warlord who sought to achieve world domination long ago. He then attempted to attain immortality via the power from a portal that opens once every 30 centuries. However, he eventually came to see living forever as being a curse rather than a gift. Stewart helped make all of that shine through.
In our original review, /Film called "TMNT" a "fun pop culture flashback" but "not much more." Again, it's middle of the pack for most fans. Be that as it may, Stewart's performance as Max Winters is undoubtedly a highlight. The movie also features a pre-Captain America Chris Evans as Casey Jones, which is pretty interesting in retrospect.
"TMNT" probably isn't going to make it onto the list of Stewart's best non-"Star Trek" performances. The man was simply too good for too long, and there are so many great things he was involved with. But he didn't get to flex his chops as a villain nearly often enough, and this is an example of him in that mode that doesn't get brought up too often but is certainly deserving of recognition.
