Review of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II: The Secret of the Ooze (1991) by Troy F — 05 Aug 2014

I loved the first and like this sequel, even if it is trying to put a storyline in it, the premise is to dumbed down to have an actual storyline but it almost works. One finds in them the same unabashed enjoyment of color and movement, of spectacular athletics and outrageous stunts, that animates the Hong Kong action cinema as a whole and makes it so superbly entertaining, of course it does feel dated but oddly upbeat.

The plot, as primitive as it is, still isn't very clear; to a sense, it never acquires the spontaneity or the force of a true "story" but seems to exist mainly as a pretext for the familiar Ninja banter so beloved of the cult, as in "Cowabunga, dudes," and such forth.

Nevertheless, this was my childhood film and even when I still watch it in my adulthood, I can always see why I loved it. Good fun sequel but this lacks the darkness and subtly that makes the first film so adult like, almost.