Review of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out of the Shadows (2016) by Maksim B — 01 Nov 2016

An expected sequel to the financially successful TMNT from 2014, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Ouf of The Shadows is a mediocre delivery that offers an overall improvement in terms of fun, but fails to provide a meaningful story or sufficient level of entertainment. As Fast-paced and hectic as its predecessor, it feels chaotic and uneven while it takes the audience through a wild ride of actions sequences and stunts. It may appeal to pre-teen audiences, but even fans of the cult cartoons will have difficult to appreciate or to enjoy the second instalment of this potential B-franchise.

The story takes off some time after the events of the full movie. The 4 turtles are growing up and still living in the shadows of anonymity without taking credit of their deeds. This is taking its toll and some among them are starting to have real existential issues. When the super-villain Shredder escapes from his high-security prison and teams up with Crank, a creature from another dimension willing to exploit the resources of Earth, Leonardo, Michelangelo,Donatello and Raphael need to once again act together in order to save the world.

Just as the first movie, Out of The Shadows is missing a major element in comparison to the original cartoon. The cartoon has always had a certain level of dark, chaotic, ultra-cool atmosphere in which the four turtles never took themselves seriously. The movies, however, are trying to be more serious and to exploit personal topics. It is true that the sequel in an improvement in this sense, but still the whole existential element in the story deprives the movie from being the sort of guilty fun that many will enjoy. When it comes to action sequences Dave Green's delivery is much closer than the cartoon than many have expected. Colorful, kitschy, but yet action-packed the stunts, chasing and fighting sequences are at least at passable level.

Generally, TMNT: Out of The Shadows is a movie which you should see only if you are looking for a dumb entertainment, you are a die-hard fan of the cartoon or you are ultimately bored and there is nothing better to see. Even if it is a slight improvement over the previous delivery it fails to provide anything above the level of mediocrity.