Cinematic Releases: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out of the Shadows - Reviewed

The Turtles are back. Did they improve the franchise with this newest sequel?

Let's face it. We're probably never going to get the TMNT movie we'd all love to see. As long as people like Michael Bay continue to get their greedy mitts on beloved properties like these, we will continue to bitch and moan that the powers that be don't have our fandom in their best interest. Of course they don't. They want to make these into hot, money making blockbuster franchises that we'll pay to see no matter what, knowing full well that the fan base will most likely never accept their product as true to form. Other than the mild profanity and Megan Fox's scorching onscreen sexuality, this latest Turtles series is really aimed at kids. And honestly, that's okay. 

We're here and we're ready to kick some........oh wait....
Did someone say pizza?

Luckily for us, Out of the Shadows is a way better TMNT movie than the last go round. Despite ripping it's final planet destroying plot directly from Age of Ultron and Dark of the Moon, everything feels a little less hampered this time around. After the mostly disappointing Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles reboot, this second entry gets the Turtles right. Their overall character is more fleshed out and the dynamic between the pizza chomping brothers seems a little less forced this time. Their comic routines are spot on and Michelangelo's hilarity ensues throughout. If anything, Out of the Shadows takes the lazy faults of the 2014 entry and repairs some of the damage it did. The action scenes are easier to watch and the CGI rendering looks way better this time around. Also, the new actor playing Shredder is much more believable in the role of their arch nemesis. 

With introductions to more classic characters including Bebop, Rocksteady, a horrendous version of Casey Jones, and the interdimensional Krang, old school followers will at bare minimum enjoy seeing their new transitions to the big screen. The playful nature of Bebop and Rocksteady will definitely ignite fans appreciation of what they're trying to do here.

Would you look at that?
It's the same plot from
 two other movies, at least. 

Sadly, the overall story fails the major upgrades they've made in character development and chemistry between characters. Out of the Shadows uses a nearly identical plot as the aforementioned Michael Bay flick. Why do they think we needed another movie about a planet destroying  ship hovering above New York City with the intention of a global takeover? This has been done so many times now that it's beginning to feel insulting. However, the off putting Baxter Stockman played by Tyler Perry and the believable police chief played by Laura Linney tend to sideswipe this otherwise mediocre affair. Throwing a couple great actors into the mix pulls this TMNT sequel out of the sewer and into the realm of better than average.

So, all in all, this latest TMNT flick rights some of the wrongs from the first and moves towards giving fans a much more entertaining movie. Instead of relying on another basic Shredder story, the boys have to battle a new, much more powerful enemy and eat a lot of pizza between action packed fight sequences. Nothing will ever live up to the original comics or our love for the first live action movie. But at least they gave it a solid try this time. I'll watch this one again. 


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Score:


-CG