Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out of the Shadows (2016)

Movie Info

The Turtles are back…and better?!?!

The Shredder (Brian Tee) has been captured, and Vern Fenwick (Will Arnett) has been given the credit.  When Shedder is freed by an interdimensional monster named the Krang (Brad Garrett), he mutates two criminals named Bebop (Gary Anthony Williams) and Rocksteady (Sheamus) to help him liberate the machines needed to bring Krang’s Technodrome to Earth.  Fortunately, Michelangelo, Leonardo, Donatello, and Raphael are still fighting to stop the Foot and now with the help of April O’Neil (Megan Fox) and a wanna-be detective named Casey Jones (Stephen Amell), the Shredder and his partner Baxter Stockman (Tyler Perry) might be stopped!

Directed by Dave Green, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles:  Out of the Shadow is an action-adventure comic book sequel.  Following Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles from 2014, the movie was met with negative reviews but it was also a box office success.  The film was nominated for Razzies for Worst Actress (Fox) and Worst Prequel, Remake, Rip-Off or Sequel.

Bebop and Rocksteady get it right!

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles was bad.  It was bad because it wasn’t fun.  It was formulaic, took itself too serious, and had horrible designs for the characters.  It told a story that was similar to other TMNT movies and stories.  I had no hope for Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles:  Out of the Shadows…and it was bad, but it was kind of entertaining because it stopped trying too hard.

The movie goes completely TV series.  You have Krang, Bebop, Rocksteady, Baxter Stockman, Shredder, and Casey Jones.  It is completely a cartoon type of script and revels in the nostalgia.  It reminds me a bit of the second Mummy movie where they just set out to have a fun movie and didn’t seem to care as much as capturing the wide audience.

The problem with the series is that it is saddled with the previous film’s set-up and cast.  Will Arnett isn’t a bad Vern, but Megan Fox’s April O’Neil is less inspiring.  Shredder is toned down to more of a human instead of a Transformer (which is good), and I do like Bebop and Rocksteady.  While I enjoy Arrow, I don’t think Amell makes the best Casey Jones, and I find both Tyler Perry and Laura Linney’s involvement in the series odd.  The movie also features small roles by Dean Winters, Turtles’ creator Kevin Eastman, basketball players Carmelo Anthony DeAndre Jordan, Lou Amudndson, Spencer Hawes, Matt Barnes, Austin Rivers, and J.J. Redick.  Former April O’Neil Judith Hoag had a deleted scene as April’s boss.

As I kid, I never expected to see a live action Krang

I still don’t like the Turtles’ design, but the design on Krang and Bebop and Rocksteady is spot on.  It is this cartoon adaptation that does work.  If only the first film had adapted this style, it would have made this film better instead of being saddled with the “ugly Turtles”.  I also think the Hand’s almost Snake-eyes like design is kind of fun.

Once again, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles:  Out of the Shadows isn’t good, but it is more fun (I probably would have liked it as a kid).  It is too long, sometimes feels like an extended video game, and often has acting which is questionable, but it is better than the first one and fits more in the spirit of the 1980s cartoon (maybe not the comic book).  With a poor reception, a planned sequel was cancelled, but the Turtles have already been targeted for a reboot.

Related Links:

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (1990)

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II:  Secret of the Ooze (1991)

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles III:  Turtles in Time (1993)

TMNT (2007)

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (2014)