Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out of the Shadows Movie Review (Spoiler Free)

The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles return to the silver screen once more, but will this sequel be able to convince after the previously disappointing remake?

Genre: Action / Fantasy / Sci-Fi

Director: Dave Green

Cast: Pete Ploszek, Alan Ritchson, Noel Fisher, Jeremy Howard, Megan Fox, Stephen Amell, Gary Anthony Williams, Stephen Farrelly, Brian Tee, Will Arnett, Brad Garrett & Tony Shalhoub.

Run Time: 112 min.

US Release: 03 June 2016

UK Release: 30 May 2016

German Release: 11 August 2016

The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles is a comic franchise that accompanied me during my childhood and is to this day still present in my life. I watched every episode of the original cartoon series, had the films on VHS and watched them countless times. My grandma bought me some of the comics to read; I collected most of the toys... and lost them along the way. I even bought the original animated series on DVD because I was planning on reviewing them before the release of this movie. Sadly, I didn’t have the time. In short, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles was a big part of my childhood.

After the events of the previous movie, the Turtles let Vern (Arnett) out himself as the one who stopped Shredder (Tee), while going back into the sewers where they keep on operating from the shadows. April (Fox) investigates Shredder’s scientist Baxter Stockman (Perry) and finds out that he is building a teleportation device, which he is hoping to use to break his master out of prison. The Turtles move out to stop the Foot Clan from helping Baxter, but Shredder is teleported out of a security transporter and into Krang’s world.

Krang informs him about his plans to invade Earth and gives him a vial of purple ooze, with which he can destroy his enemies. While mean, the Turtles and April get help from Casey Jones (Amell) fighting the Foot, but when Shredder comes back, he orders Baxter to mutate Bebop and Rocksteady to cause havoc in the city of New York.

Out of the Shadows is better than its predecessor but not by much. Still, while this movie’s plot is far from being interesting, the one thing that stands out is how close the story is this time to its source material. Director Dave Green tries to recapture the spirit of the late 80’s animated TV show for fan service, but while doing so, forgets to produce a compelling narrative.

While I appreciated the nostalgia, it was the dull plot plus the exposition-heavy dialogue that turned me off, as the formula simply replicates that of the Transformers film series, which includes a lot of action plus dumb jokes, ending with an over-the-top fight against a villain who threatens the existence of the world.

That said, where it excels it at portraying the characters of the four brothers Leonardo, Raphael, Michelangelo, and Donatello, who are finally working together as a team while still bickering between them. Their biggest problem is the alienation from society. 

Shredder, played by Brian Tee, is not a giant robot anymore, but he is still not portrayed as the mysterious villain these humanoid reptiles fought for decades. The story doesn’t even try to justify why he joins Krang’s cause after meeting him literally just a couple of seconds. Then there is also the question as to why he hired the idiots Bebop and Rocksteady as his left-hand goons. And that is my biggest gripe with the movie; most characters are too cartoonish and underdeveloped.

Megan Fox returns as April O’Neil, though she still resembles nothing of the character in the comics and TV series. Once again, her job boils down to simply standing around, looking sexy and be rescued by either the Turtles or Casey Jones, portrayed by Stephen Amell. Jones also doesn’t resemble his original persona at all; in the comics, he is a greasy, foul-mouthed anti-hero fighting crime, while Amell is truly atrocious as the character.

Vern “the Falcon”, played by Will Arnett, returns as the idiotic sidekick who gets way too much screen time, and then there is Tyler Perry as Baxter Stockman, another side character, who gets too much attention. Krang himself is portrayed as in the comics, yet gets too little screen time given that he is the main antagonist.

When I came out of the cinema, I found myself questioning just how much of this film Dave Green directed, because it has Michael Bay’s fingerprints all over. The cinematography is alright, though nothing out of the ordinary. The combat scenes are the biggest disappointment since there are none that really stuck out. Effects-wise, I was pretty happy with how the turtles are designed; they kept that reptilian look from the first flick but enhanced their colour palette. Bebop and Rocksteady look for the most part decent, but during the fight scene in an aeroplane, I was able to clearly able to identify them as simple CGI figures.

The soundtrack is composed by Steve Jablonsky and, like the rest of the film, sounds very Transformers-esque. It is, in fact, the same soundtrack, just modified a little bit. The usage of sound effects in this blockbuster sounds at times as if it had been taken straight out of a sitcom.

---

Verdict: There is a lot of fan service in this blockbuster, and it is what I appreciate the most, but as a movie, this second TMNT is a complete mess. The plot reuses a lot of the basics from the first flick, including the big showdown on a high-standing structure. There is no character development; Stephen Amell is dreadful as Casey Jones, Brian Tee is boring as Shredder and doesn’t even get to fight the Turtles, while Megan Fox is just cast as eye-candy for male viewers. It does have a few fun scenes, such as Bebop and Rocksteady’s transformation or the skydiving part, but most of the action segments are forgettable. The only positive aspect this movie has is the effects. In a nutshell, it is better than its predecessor, but Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out of the Shadows is not a movie I can recommend anyone to go see or buy on Blu-ray. It therefore obtains a 4.5 out of 10.

If you are interested in my review for the first Bay-produced TMNT flick, it is up here on the website.

Thank you, as always, for reading my review; I really appreciate it! If you agree with me or have something to add, please make sure to leave a comment below and don’t forget to share and like.