A major fan of the animated series, our J.P. give us his take on the live action film, “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out of the Shadows.”
Paramount Pictures and Nickelodeon Movies Present “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out of the Shadows”
Release Date: June 3, 2016
RATED: PG-13 FOR SCI-FI ACTION VIOLENCE
Director: David Green
Produced by Michael Bay, Andrew Form, Brad Fuller, Galen Walker, Scott Mednick
Written by Josh Appelbaum & André Nemec
Cast: Megan Fox, Will Arnett, Laura Linney, Stephen Amell, Tyler Perry, Noel Fisher, Jeremy Howard, Pete Ploszek, Alan Ritchson, Brian Tee, Stephen “Sheamus” Farrelly, and Gary Anthony Williams
Studio Synopsis:
Michelangelo, Donatello, Leonardo, and Raphael return to theaters this summer to battle bigger, badder villains, alongside April O’Neil (Megan Fox), Vern Fenwick (Will Arnett), and a newcomer: the hockey-masked vigilante Casey Jones (Stephen Amell). After supervillain Shredder escapes custody, he joins forces with mad scientist Baxter Stockman (Tyler Perry) and two dimwitted henchmen, Bebop (Gary Anthony Williams) and Rocksteady (WWE Superstar Stephen “Sheamus” Farrelly), to unleash a diabolical plan to take over the world. As the Turtles prepare to take on Shredder and his new crew, they find themselves facing an even greater evil with similar intentions: the notorious Krang.
J.P.’s Take:
If there is anything the “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle” franchise has going for it, it is the built in fan base. However, the rebooted “TMNT” iterations seem to walk a fine line between childhood nostalgia and new generation attention grabbing. It’s all built around toy line rehashing, updated animated features and freshened comics. The only reason to resurrect such titles is to reintroduce the characters — to the kids of the adults who grew up watching the cartoons or read the comics. So here we are with a sequel.
Although “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out of the Shadows” is a slight step up from its forbearer, 2014’s “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles,” unfortunately, it spends much of its time setting up conventional action troupe let downs. Like its animated brethren, this universe coheres to our heroes in a half shell’s knack for spouting superfluous catch phrases. Yet, none of it exuded the same comical zeal of the 90’s films.
Forgive me if I revisit the turtles of ole for a bit, because it’s the only way I can get through this review. When I think about the 90’s iterations, I think of the quirky Stooges like comical antics and sight gags that truly sparked laughter. I can recall a few scenes in the second “TMNT” movie, subtitled “The Secret Of The Ooze,” as I witnessed Michelangelo using a rope of sausage as nunchucks to fend off his attackers. Or how about the scene where Donatello pretended to be a punch dummy in a toy store to fool his opponent. He comes back into character only to smack his opponent around with a NERF paddle. It’s those kinds of wacky zany antics that are missing in the reboots. On the disappointing side, the gags, comedy bits and dialogue felt lifeless and tacked on for “Out Of the Shadows.”
The whole shebang becomes a heap of melodrama, undeveloped plot pieces and story-line drivel. These posers resembled nothing like the amphibious pizza devouring heroes I watched of the 90’s. They felt out of character and uninteresting. Also, odd is the non-existent battle between the turtle clan and Shredder (Brian Tee). He allows his henchmen to do all the dirty work. Yet, the squabbles between the baddies and shelled good guys were unimaginative. In fact much of the action sequences left something to be desired.
What plot there was consisted of the April O’Neal (Megan Fox) prancing around the city, looking all dolled up while trying to assure police Chief Rebecca Vincent (Laura Linney) that the turtles are on the good guys side. On a technical level, there is some crisp effects here as the cityscapes and set pieces are nicely enhanced by 3D imagery. I give credit to the artists for the hulkier looking CGed turtles as well.
Several nods to the previous movies and cartoon series can be found here, like an excerpt of Vanilla Ice’s “Turtle Rap” are heard in a couple of scenes. The theme song to the cartoon becomes the end track as well. Additional characters brought back memories as Bebop (Gary Anthony Williams) and Rocksteady (WWE’s Stephen “Sheamus” Ferrelly) make their appearance. The pair often plays in many scenes together and do resemble their irreverent animated counterparts. Mad scientist and arch nemesis to the turtles Baxter Stockman is played by Tyler Perry. I found him to be an odd surprise. Stephen Amell (TV’s “Arrow”) tries to do his best impression of Casey Jones. I didn’t realize Brad Garrett (“Everybody Loves Raymond”) voiced the slimy brain looking creature Krang. He sounded pretty close to the original character. Last, but not least, Brittany Ishibashi rounds up the cast as Karai, Shredders right hand ninja.
I wanted to like this version simply because it’s what I grew up on. I also wanted a bit more laughs and lighthearted fun. Instead “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out of the Shadows” left nothing memorable on the table. I was more impressed with the imagery than I was with the characters or the story.