Synopsis:
Michelangelo, Donatello, Leonardo and Raphael return to theaters this summer to battle bigger, badder villains, alongside April O’Neil (Megan Fox), Vern Fenwick (Will Arnett), and a newcomer: the hockey-masked vigilante Casey Jones (Stephen Amell). After supervillain Shredder (Brian Tee) escapes custody, he joins forces with mad scientist Baxter Stockman (Tyler Perry) and two dimwitted henchmen, Bebop (Gary Anthony Williams) and Rocksteady (WWE Superstar Stephen “Sheamus” Farrelly), to unleash a diabolical plan to take over the world. As the Turtles prepare to take on Shredder and his new crew, they find themselves facing an even greater evil with similar intentions: the notorious Krang.
What We Thought:
I didn’t think much of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles movie that came out in 2014. Because of that I wasn’t looking forward to its sequel Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out of the Shadows.
After seeing it, it wasn’t as bad as expected and I found it more watchable than the original. I still didn’t love it, but I do think it’s a step in the right direction for the franchise.
The sequel has the same issues that the first one had. I grew up with TMNT, the comics, the cartoons, the toys. This latest version just doesn’t look like the Turtles to me. They don’t really sound like them either. The TMNT movies from the 90’s might be cheesy, but at least the Turtles looked how I like them.
The films really pander to today’s youth as well. That’s fine, I understand marketing, it doesn’t mean I have to like it though. They are very hip-hop and more over the top than what I grew up with. I grew up with Michelangelo saying Cowabunga and yes he says it here too, but it’s not the same. Even their names are shortened so that today’s short attention spanned kids will pay attention. They are Leo, Mikey, Raph and Donnie so they sound cooler and hip. No thanks.
I will say some of the action was better. The stuntmen and women who play the Foot soldiers were really good. I think they should be purple and not black, but their movements and fighting were good. I liked the new Shredder as well. I don’t know why they changed actors, but Brian Tee makes a really good Shredder. The prison truck chase scene was also pretty solid. I don’t know if I liked any of the scenes in the first movie so again, it’s taking a step forward. I thought Casey Jones was underused, but I did like Stephen Amell in that role so hopefully he return.
The film suffers from the same issues I don’t like about Michael Bay’s Transformers films. He also produces the TMNT films. The look just isn’t what I grew up with. Rocksteady and Bebop are total CGI nonsense. As is the fight sequence against Commander Krang.
Just because I’m not a CGI fan doesn’t mean kids won’t like Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out of the Shadows. That’s fine, kids seemed to like the first one. It made some money, got a sequel and I can see this one making enough money to garner a third film. There’s a great reference by Amell that old school fans will get, but other than that, these definitely aren’t our Ninja Turtles. But if you have kids and took them to the original, then this is…
RECOMMENDED IF YOU LIKED THE FIRST ONE!
Cast & Crew:
- Stephen Amell
- Will Arnett
- Megan Fox
Recommended If You Like:
- Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
- Transformers
The Nerds Templar 