When the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles reboot happened I was mostly just worried since I’m of the age where I like to pretend that my generation can lay claim to the heroes in a half shell. But that’s pretty ridiculous considering almost every generation since the 80s cartoon has had its own version of the pizza eating reptiles. TMNT is for every kid out there, and as it turned out I didn’t need to be too worried as the reboot film was actually quite a bit of fun.
Now they’re back again, as you literally can’t stop this franchise from happening, and I’m once again reminded that, while I still love the turtles they’re not made for me. It’s actually kind of refreshing to watch a big summer blockbuster based on a beloved children’s cartoon still play towards kids. Out of the Shadows may be a big lump of nonsense, but it’s playing to its audience and it does it well.
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out of the Shadows
Director: Dave Green
Rated: PG-13
Release Date: June 3, 2016]
If you saw the first move you know that the films definitely bumped up the realism of the turtle design, and threw in a sexy April O’Neil (Megan Fox). The basics of the turtles are still the same, though. We find Leonardo trying his best to learn how to lead; Donatello acting all nerdy; Raphael having temper issues; and Michelangelo providing comic relief and pizza. The Shredder escapes from imprisonment with the help of Dr. Baxter Stockman (Tyler Perry) and opens up a portal to another world where Krang, an evil brain housed in a robot body, strikes a deal to bring his Technodrome to Earth. Meanwhile, Casey Jones (Stephen Armell) shows up to beat up bad guys as well, like the new created Bebop (Gary Anthony Williams) and Rocksteady (wrestler Sheamus). It’s a plot so contrived and cliche (*cough* Avengers *cough*) and stupid it feels torn right from a Saturday morning cartoon, and in this case I just can’t be angry at that.
When the first film worked it was when it was focusing on the turtles themselves and this is once again true here. Despite a clunkly script that basically tells the actors to say every emotion they’re feeling out loud, the filmmakers once again nail the ninja turtles themselves. While their character arc is simply a retread of the original’s plotline (brothers argues, brothers come back together to fight bad guy), it plays well thanks to some great motion capture performances and a general feel for the characters. It’s fun to watch Mikey crack wise while Raph gets angry and stomps off. They also surprisingly nail Bepop and Rocksteady, making the two as comically idiotic as they are in the cartoon, and pushing the kid-geared humor up a notch (fart jokes, slapstick, etc.) At it’s base the movie just gets the turtles and villains, even if it’s attempts at almost everything else are ham-fisted.
Well, that’s not entirely true. Much like the first movie the action sequences in this are pretty impressive. Possibly thanks to the entirely CGI makeup of its heroes the move pulls some ridiculous stuff off including a fight in an cargo plane that’s fantastic. The turtles don’t get to show off as much of their actual ninja fighting skills this time around, but the big action set pieces are a blast to watch. Plus, the turtle van makes an appearance so that was my childhood dreams come true. This is director Dave Green’s first big action film, and at points it’s clear he needs some practice getting action to flow together, but there’s promise there and an eye for what makes action work.
Outside of the turtles things are a little rougher. Megan Fox’s April seems to have only made it into the movie for exposition and eye candy, the latter of which is a bit contradictory to the clear target audience of the movie. Armell’s Casey Jones is charming enough, but that’s really only because Armell is charming, not because of the character himself. The screenplay does no favors to either character passing most of the good lines over to Will Arnett, returning as Vernon Fenwick. Somehow Laura Liney also accidentally accepted a role in the film. I think she may have been drugged, but it’s pretty clear she doesn’t want to be there.
Out of the Shadows doesn’t quite work as well as its predecessor overall, either. It’s very clear that now that they’ve got the green light to move forward with the series they want to make their own ninja turtle universe. Baxter, Krang and Shredder are all set up for returns, which is great, but the problem is the the film sometimes feels like its playing for the future instead of focusing on the film itself. That’s pretty evident in the movies piecemeal plot and often overbearing exposition.
Still, when it comes down to seeing the ninja turtles in action the movie delivers. While many of the same issues that the first film had are still present, and at times worse, Out of the Shadows delivers the team of mutants as they’ve should be. It’s a fun, if not entirely well executed, bit of cinema that’s geared not towards the elder nostalgia nerds, but the children who it probably should be.
