Quick Movie Review: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out of the Shadows (2016)

Surprisingly content with its 2014 predecessor, I was looking forward to this movie. The first wasn't even near perfect, but it had a kind of nostalgic charm to it and reminded me of something I would've been totally into when I was a kid. I mean, that's what we're looking for here, right?

In this one, our heroes catch news of Shredder escaping from prison with the help of mad scientist, Baxter Stockman, to utilize a technology that will help them stop the turtles and take over the world.

Luckily the filmmakers brought back the writers from the first to keep the dialogue consistent. The repartee is still just as cartoony and the acting is marginal, which give this movie its '90s feel.

But much like the first in this rebooted series, this film is far from perfect. While it keeps the premise contained and doesn't try to over-complicate things, unfortunately, it sort of does anyway. The main plot isn't all that original, and then when it really gets the ball rolling, it becomes a bit convoluted when it shouldn't need to be. In fact, the film's at its strongest and most enjoyable during the first two acts.

The final action sequences are confusing and chaotic. I almost would've preferred to see it done more realistically without the shaky cam. Or maybe even chopsocky style!

The saddest thing is we are more invested in our CGI leads than their human counterparts--who are stiff and seem to be given the absolute bottom-of-the-barrel dialogue. But since the film is about the ninja turtles, I guess it does its job.

We get introduced to Casey Jones--a mainstay amongst earlier adaptations--who continues the trend of forced character development. In an attempt to evoke sympathy for our character, he is heard explaining, in total seriousness, to two different people that it's his childhood dream to be a detective. But then that's it. That's all we get.

Regardless of all the pitfalls, this new series has been enjoyable because it has remained inspired. It's obviously written by folks who are passionate about the source material.

Fairly consistent with, if not better than the first, Out of the Shadows keeps those into the series still invested. And 10-year-old me is enjoying a movie like a little kid again.

Twizard Rating: 76

Quick Movie Review: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (2014)

As a huge fan of the original 1990 film, I expected the newest installment to be less than impressive. Although not nearly as entertaining, I would change the phrase "less than impressive" to simply "not as good." But let's be honest, with the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles comes a certain kind of cheesiness (pun totally intended) and a certain lack of maturity. 

I never thought I would see a movie where Megan Fox would give one of the best performances on the screen. But I think that might say worse for the movie than better. The acting was below average, but Will Arnett was my favorite part.

The script was below average and leaves us with a lot of questions. Is Sacks actually dead? We never see him die. Also, we never got a follow up with April's coworkers that doubted her beliefs. The origin was interesting in how it connected with April, but the whole science experiment aspect seemed a tad bit derivative, à la Spiderman. The dialogue is a bit bland, but my favorite aspect of the story is that the turtles weren't all-powerful creatures. They really couldn't beat Shredder. They got lucky and happened to defeat him by chance, which relayed Splinters sentient that they really weren't ready for the real world and had a lot more to learn. And although some of the humor is a bit juvenile, it still echoes the goofiness and uniqueness that made the original so popular. Also, I'm glad that the runtime was kept short so we didn't have to sit through a script stretched way too thin in order to accommodate a 130 minute film.

One thing I was actually quite impressed with were the action sequences. It wasn't just a giant hodgepodge of shaky cam and indistinguishable characters fighting, but cleverly choreographed pieces. 

When I heard that Michael Bay was involved in this project I expected it to be terrible, but honestly I think it's better than everyone is expecting. It's not as eye rolling as you think it will be. The action is some of the best that I've seen in awhile and the visuals of the turtles really help to drive the film towards a better rating. While the acting isn't great, the script isn't as uninspired as one would expect. Like I said, it's in the nature of the Ninja Turtles to be a tad bit juvenile, I just think most of us have forgotten that--especially in a day and age where we take our action movies seriously. I personally was entertained.

Twizard Rating: 77