Review of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out of the Shadows (2016) by Autumndandelion — 03 Jun 2016

TMNT: Out of the Shadows was awesome – even more so the more I think about it!

They explored a theme I haven’t seen in the comics, TV series, or other movies – what they would do if given the chance to be human. This rougher, tougher, more intimidating look for the Turtles fit in quite nicely with this subplot. The police initially saw them as monsters. That hit Michelangelo particularly hard. You could see how badly he wanted to fit in. His moment in the Halloween parade reminded me of Quasimodo joining Topsy Turvy Day’s festivities in The Hunchback of Notre Dame.

That’s precisely why Leonardo wanted Donatello to keep it a secret that the purple ooze could be reverse engineered to make them human. And they couldn’t tell Raph for the very reason they witnessed once he discovered the truth. He’s a loose cannon. His and Mikey’s plan put April and Casey in jeopardy.

I like these versions of the human characters. April is smarter than in some version and is braver than in most. She was blond at the beginning and is usually brunette. Will we ever see her as a redhead?

I questioned Casey being so clean cut initially, but this is a smarter, more focused Casey Jones who is still a Looney Tune with a bad temper. That scene in the bar proved that was really Casey.

Vernon was better in this movie than in the last. He was the self-centered glory hound he was in the original TV series, and there was much less of him.

The humans had their place in the movie, and I’m glad they took a backseat to the turtles. In the last movie, the people were a bit too prominent.

Bebop and Rocksteady were a fun addition. I love how Casey considered whether they would be stupid enough to go to their old hangout after breaking out of the police van and said, “Yeah, they are,” just after I said it. The movie held true to the characters while modernizing them. Their idea to form their own foot clan and move up to “a leg clan” was hysterical, as was their resolve to no longer be errand boys breaking within a minute of their declaration.

I love the messages in this movie. Being an outcast sucks. People hate and fear what they don’t know. Mikey’s expression when he said he saw hate in the people’s eyes when the police chief called them monsters was heartbreaking. The Turtles considered being human but learned not to change who you are to fit in. The turtles were the only ones who could save Earth, because their biological makeup allowed them to get close to the Technodrome whereas humans couldn’t. So good they didn’t turn human!

The movie taught not to write off anyone based on first impressions. The police and the Turtles gave each other another chance. The Turtles learned people could come to accept them, and the police saw they weren’t monsters.

The brothers also learned that appreciating each other’s uniqueness and playing off one another’s strengths is how to save the day, not expecting everyone to be the same. Leo’s frustration and cognitive rigidity was so me, but he came around and learned that lesson too.

There were so many great scenes that were just plain fun, like the Turtles watching the Knicks game – especially the spit balls and pizza. And when they all said what they had that others don’t, and Raph exclaimed, “Garbage truck!” instead of, “Turtle power!” That still makes me laugh out loud. And that TMNT theme at the end that blended the original TV series theme song with “Ninja Rap”. I bought it on iTunes.

I watched part of TMNT II: Secret of the Ooze last night on DVD upon returning home from the new movie, and I saw parallels between both sequels. In both Secret of the Ooze and Out of the Shadows, Shredder is back, and he creates two mutants of his own. TGRI / TCRI is prominent in both. The Turtles enlist the help of a crucial human ally – Casey in Out of the Shadows and Keno in Secret of the Ooze. I wonder if that was all intentional. And “Ninja Rap” is in both movies too.

Oh, and the Easter eggs in this movie! Kevin Eastman is the pizza delivery guy, and when Mikey snaps up the pizza and drops off the payment, he calls out, “Thanks, Kevin!” Donatello and all his gadgets were so original series – especially the purple turtle face that appeared on the wrist device he made for April. Hints of the original TV theme song were throughout the movie, the best being when they honked the horn of the garbage truck, and it was the tune of Heroes In A Halfshell. That part makes me smile just thinking about it. And, of course, that medley at the end! It was so awesome that I mentioned it twice. And Casey telling the police the Turtles came from New Hampshire. They really did!! And then, of course, Krang and the freaking Technodrome screams original series!

I love Casey’s realization that the Turtles were the ones who saved him when he saw the trash truck. He sounded out of his mind when telling the police chief about the Turtles in a garbage truck that shot manhole covers – another nod to the original cartoon.