Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out of the Shadows – Movie Review

The Turtles are back for another big, loud, and excessive battle to save their beloved New York City.  I may not have actually liked the 2014 film, but I did like how each of the turtles personalities were represented. Michelangelo, Donatello, Leonardo, and Raphael were exactly who they should be and they were fun.  In the follow-up. “Out of the Shadows”, the half-shell brothers are still quite fun to watch, but the story they are stuck in is only a little less messy than your average “Transformers” sequel.

When we last saw the Turtles, they had just saved New York from the evil Shredder. “Under the Shadows” picks up about a year later. During a prison transfer, Shredder is freed by his foot clan.  In the process two low level thugs, Rocksteady (Stephen Farrelly) and Bebop (Gary Anthony Williams) also escape. Correctional officer Casey Jones (Stephen Amell), who was in the prisoner transport is dead set on finding Shredder and the two others and bringing them to justice.  Lucky for him, the Turtles also want the same thing and they wind up working together, along with April O’Neil (Megan Fox) and Vernon Fenwick (Will Arnett) to save the city once again from Shredder.

This time around, Shredder is working with the mad scientist, Baxter Stockman (Tyler Perry) who plans to activate a teleportation device that will bring the brainy alien Krang (voiced by Brad Garrett) to Earth, where he can rule along-side Shredder.   To help keep the Turtles off their backs, Baxter and Shredder inject Rocksteady and Bebop with an alien ooze that transforms them into warthog and rhino human hybrids.

“Out of the Shadows” is packed to the brim with CGI action and there are some really great sequences.  I loved the skydiving onto another plane sequences that ended in a raging river with a tank.  Even the opening sequence with the Turtles heading to a New York Nicks game was stunning, especially in 3D.  However all this action does get excessive and tiresome.  I found myself getting quite bored with the whole thing.  If you are a fan of the first film, you will probably like “Out of the Shadows”, but if you prefer the version from the 1990’s, then you are best to stay away.

By: Marc Ferman