Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 2: Out of the Shadows movie review

TMNT 2: Out of the Shadows Review (Spoilers)

     I'm going to preface this by saying I was not a fan of the 2014 Ninja Turtles and my first bias was against this film. I try to keep an open mind when watching new movies and once in a while, usually in a sequel, I go in with a... well let's call it un-favoritism. That being said, I was able to walk in ready to enjoy whatever was in front of my face for this movie.

     My first impression minutes in was "Oh great, they're making the same mistakes with writing and cinematography as the 2014 piece of flaming garbage." It started out seemingly with the same lack of heart and depth, giving me a desire to sling shot sharp shards of shrapnel in my shins instead of being where I was while watching it.

BUT, over the next hour or so I was pleasantly surprised to see the humor and focus was adjusted from the first movie to this one. The turtles were more personable and showed more personality than before and actually became likable. The 1990 Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles movie was so endearing because we could relate to them  in a way and we felt for them.

In 1990 when Raphael stood in their home and screamed in pain because his father (Splinter) had been taken and possibly killed, I personally felt his pain and wanted to go get Shredder myself.

When Mikey and Donnie were sitting in the room while Leo and Raph were arguing and awkwardly left the room, I too wanted to make a joke to leave the room.

In 2014, I felt no connection to any character. In 2016, I started to slightly feel a connection to the turtles and to Casey Jones. The connection wasn't nearly as strong but a pulse of one was FINALLY beginning.

     Another strong point, in my opinion, was the writing. It seems like the writers, Andre Nemec and Josh Applebaum, learned from the negativity of their first amphibian feature. The writing improved exponentially. Like I said before, there wa s connection beginning to be formed and that is due to better developed relationships between the brother turtles and the overall writing.

And the final and most important positive of this film was the many nods to my generation's childhood. Beebop and Rocksteady, Krang and the original cartoon theme song were just the top of the list of homages to my childhood in this movie. I smiled ear to ear when the manholes came shooting out of the Turtles truck and when the theme song played, I am not ashamed to say I sang along.

They must have made a serious attempt to bring in older fans with these and that tactic worked! They added a lot of big and small nods to the cartoon and 90's movies, which not only were done well but added to our ability to endear us to these versions of heroes in a half shell. Well played, Applebaum and Nemec.

   And now...for the not so positive: The writing, while much improved, is still not up to par with the 1990 Ninja Turtle cult classic or even the 1991 sequel. There were clearly awkwardly forced exposition, especially seen when Krang tells Shredder the entire plot of the movie pretty early on. Things like that were lazy and uncreative. There were plenty of scenes that I felt my eyes actually roll out of my head and onto the floor. Watch out for that if you haven't seen it yet.

     Another thing that was pretty bad was the same tired cg. The turtles have improved but still look goofy and reminiscent of the "Scooby Doo" graphics. Better than the previous movie gets them a little credit but not a full pass. That needs to be addressed in the next sequel, which will be made. Hi, Michael Bay.

     Cinematography gave me flashbacks of Transformers 3, which gave me flashbacks of vomiting only without the fun. Michael Bay wasn't the director but his influence was clearly seen in the explosions and wild cinematic scenes throughout. Director David Green looks like Bay's kid brother trying to impress his idol sibling. I'm not impressed and you shouldn't be either.

     Ok so with all of that made known, I would overall say this is worth watching...at home...on cable access television...or any other free way to watch it...but don't download it because that's stealing...and stealing is wrong...also don't make terrible movies using titles just because you know the title will bring certain fans who want quality and will be annoyed that they gave their money to execs who don't care about us they just want to take and STEAL our money any way they can...eh, download it if you want...

     On a scale of 1 to 22 I give Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 2: Out of the Shadows a 7. D
There was improvement and I hope they build on that in the future.

Thanks for reading.