Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out of the Shadows
Following saving NYC a few years ago the turtles should be receiving all the honors that Vern Fenwick (Will Arnett) is getting, but they feel that despite their heroics the people of New York will not accept them. However, the safety of NYC was not guaranteed and the turtles are forced once again to do battle against The Shredder (Brain Tee) who wants to create a device that will open up a portal to another a world, bringing destruction in its wake.
The Michael Bay produced remake/reboot did more than well enough to warrant a sequel with Box Office takings of just under 500 million, despite it not being any good. The film’s biggest flaw was how intolerable the turtle’s presence was because, as collective unit, they were just annoying (as any group of teenagers would probably be). The sequel, directed by Dave Green, managed to do a better job giving the turtles individual personalities and making easier to tell them apart rather than just getting them all confused with one another. There’s also an interesting focal point of friction between the group as they discover a serum that may, if used correctly, turn them into human form. This will ensure that they are accepted into society but it betrays who they are, this difference in opinion does create friction in the group but only on the most superficial level.
The attempt to personalize the turtles more than the first film does ensure that the sequel does become a little more engaging, but the film is still let down by its central story where a boring villain (or villains) goes for a standard dominate the world plan. The actors are more than effective enough in their motion capture performances but it still doesn’t help the film become more than a mildly passable empty exercise where the result is a foregone conclusion.
