THE FOLLOWING REVIEW CONTAINS SPOILERS OF THE DISCUSSED FILM. READERS DISCRETION IS ADVISED.
It is saddening that not many fans were on the same page on how they felt over 2014 reboot of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. But due to the film making enough money at the box office, it was enough to give the iteration a second chance with a sequel. While it was far from the best thing to ever happen, it was an improvement we deserved.
PLOT
The 2016 follow up Out of the Shadows takes place a year after the infamous group of mutated heroes (Leonardo, Donatello, Michelangelo & Raphael) defeated the evil Shredder. Although due to how all know the public isn’t ready to accept them, they give the credit to their human acquaintance Vern Fenwick. During a basketball game, they almost blow their cover when a slice pizza falls from the Jumbotron where they’re watching. Once they resume hiding in the sewers, Donnie gets a call from their friend, reporter April O’Neil, that scientist Baxter Stockman is align with the Foot Clan and plan to break out Shredder during a prison transport. Even though the turtles prevent multiple Foot soldiers from freeing their leader, Shredder is able to break out thanks to a teleportation device used by Stockman. But by mid-teleport, he would encounter an alien warlord from another dimension named Krang who wants to invade Earth. In exchange for assembling three components that can bring him to Earth, he gives him a compound that would help better the odds against the turtles. When reuniting with Stockman who already had the first component to break him out, he uses the compound of purple ooze on two criminals that broke out during the prison transport as well, Bebop & Rocksteady. The mutagen would turn them both into a humanoid warthog and rhinoceros respectively. When corrections officer Casey Jones reports seeing the portal to Chief Rebecca Vincent, he is dismissed if it and chooses to hunt down Bebop & Rocksteady on his own. Before he could enter the TCRI building where they get mutated, he ends up rescuing April who took the vial of purple ooze and got chased by Foot soldiers. Despite saving her, the vial would be taken police custody. Shortly after this, he would meet the turtles and their adopted father Splinter. As Donnie tests a sample on the purple ooze intending to track Shredder’s new errand boys, he realizes it can be capable of turning them into humans. He shares this revelation to Leo, but the latter insists not to tell the others. Sadly, Mike would overhear this conversation and tell Raph. The latter would call out their leader for making a big decision without the consent of the everyone else and before they could further debate, Leo & Donnie would go to pursue Bebop & Rocksteady at the Natural History Museum. They would miss them but would uncover they’ve stolen the second component needed to open the portal. Without a true leader, Raph & Mikey choose to break into a police station to retrieve the purple ooze vial and become human. They get the help of Vern, April & Casey, but it goes awry when multiple Foot soldiers interfere. Leo & Donnie do aid their brothers, but all get spotted by Vincent and the police who become so terrified of them, they begin a manhunt on them. As they leave with the vial, April & Casey get arrested for assisting them. It is after this where they follow Bebop & Rocksteady in Brazil to retrieve the third component. Despite meeting them in midair, their battle would lead to a plane crash into a river in which all survive, but the errand boys are still able to escape with the component. When April is accused of stealing from Stockman, she is able to call Vern to get proof Stockman is framing her and is align with Shredder. When he shows the un-altered footage of Bebop & Rocksteady to Vincent, she chooses to free April & Casey. By the time the heroes return to New York, all three components are assembled to open the portal that’ll bring Krang to Earth. As the new enemy emerges with his war machine ‘Technodrome’, Shredder chooses to betray Stockman and have him sent to a secret Foot facility in Tokyo. When he reunites with Krang in the Technodrome, the latter ironically chooses to betray him and freeze him into a collection of other defeated foes. Before they could convince Vincent to trust them, Raph ends up making the final decision on behalf of his brothers to not become human, by shattering the purple ooze vial. After they meet up Vincent and assure they’re not the enemy, they agree to take down Krang together. As the public is still not ready for them, the police help him hide in the daylight as they reach the Technodrome. The heroes pulling off in defeating Krang by short-circuiting his robotic body. April, Casey & Vern are able to raid the Foot’s secret facility to close the portal and send Krang back. Casey is able to trap Bebop & Rocksteady to ensure their apprehension as he vowed, while April & Vern subdue Shredder’s second in command Karai (Brittany Ishibashi) to gain control of the portal. As the turtles redirect the ship’s beacon through the portal which would take Krang back to his homeworld Dimension X, Casey damages the components to close the portal for good. Despite Stockman remaining at large, Vincent and the NYPD would privately honor the turtles at the Statue of Liberty. Although the chief suggests they should put themselves out there for what they’ve done, all brothers agree to keep things as is and stay living secretly. The film would end with the brothers celebrating their victory.
THOUGHTS
Since the 2014 predecessor had its own set of visible issues, I had to keep low expectations on how this was gonna look. So even I felt surprised on how solid it turned out to be. Honestly, Director Dave Green in making improvements needed to make this one bearable. I already didn't mind how the turtles looked last time, but that didn't mean improvement wasn't needed for this either. The newer details felt special here when spotting their new clothing apparel, showing the growth they're gaining in a mature state. I even felt impressed of how Splinter looked as the whiteness on his hair show's how older he's getting physically. While the protagonists look fine, I got to give credit on the villains as well because while Krang looked as slimy as he sounds, Bebop & Rocksteady also looked so life-like as if they're pulled from the comic book pages. The great use of visual effects on all these characters were so beneficial that they made the action scenes more memorable. My favorite of the bunch had to be the whole showdown in Brazil because it was such entertaining chaos to digest. Since I never hated this film, I've had a stronger softness for this one because it has a creative approach to tell viewers never be ashamed of who you are because you don't need the validation of others to get value; the value you give to yourself is enough. This was well explored thanks to a solid cast to invest with. I was actually happy with Pete Ploszek getting to also voice Leo after already providing motion capture for the character the first time around. Thanks to that, we feel the debt we should've noticed before. Since he's always written to lead his brothers, it gladdens me to see the true pressure he goes through this time. All he wants is to look out for his siblings, only for him to inadvertently make it about himself. That is the mistake he makes as a leader because one always values the opinions of his teammates. He has good intentions on dismissing the purple ooze because he accepts himself for who he is, but he unknowingly becomes selfish when ignoring how the others would feel. It is good he accepts himself, but he should know better his brothers weren't feeling the same yet. It was a relief he let Raph decide what to do with the vial because if he didn’t let any brother, they wouldn't be on the same page on how to handle Krang. Alan Ritchson does another good job in making Raph the most vocal because he's not exactly gonna brush off how he feels. He desires acceptance and tires being held back to his potential, as in hiding. He spited Leo by taking the vial because that was his was way of telling him his voice matters. He chose to do the right thing in the end by destroying it because he finally accepted himself. Noel Fisher still has us love Mikey because apart from being hilariously free spirited (like digesting four pizza slices simultaneously), he still seeks acceptance like Raph. You can totally tell how heartbroken he was when the police were scared of him because he never thought it would happen. He didn't budge when the vial got destroyed because he caught onto Raph's eipiphany that accepting yourself is enough. A lot of respect has to be given to Donnie because apart from showing infinite will when action ensues, Jeremy Howard still shows him to be a resourceful who deeply has a lot to say. He saw both ways on how purple ooze would affect them. Deep down he is fine with how he is but at the same time, he wouldn't mind fitting in. Not even he budged when Raph destroyed the vial because he didn't really care anymore, as long as he got to make a difference. And luckily, he go to do so with his brothers equally. I also think it was smart for them to be secret heroes because they don't need to brag of what they've done and are comfortable with the life they have in the sewers. But we all know when danger worsens, they'll come out to keep it at bay. There's not a lot of Splinter this time around, but Tony Shalhoub still owns it in making him the wise mentor the heroes appreciate. He always warned his sons that the world wasn't ready and they had to find out the hard way he was right. Luckily, enough police were ready overtime when needed most. Seeing how all four turtles stood tall in such high odds against them, he is a father very proud. On the other hand, it's great that they still have friends who've grown past what they are and help them however. Megan Fox still impresses me as April because she maintains the core hero aspect to be resourceful and refuse to back down on what she believes in. She knew something was up with Stockman and it led to a trail of shenanigans the turtles were able to resolve. if you didn't think she was spunky before, you'll see it here because that's how heroes gotta be to succeed and boy did they ever. I'm sure we didn't need Vern here either, but Will Arnett makes him too damn funny for me to the point where I don't care if he is. The wire trouble he went through just to get a file is physically hilarious to me. His heroic acts may never be top tier compared to what the turtles have done, but he makes it count when taking down Karai. I wasn't sure if Casey Jones would ever make a live action return, but he's too essential to doubt and I'm glad he appears here. I also would've not expected him to be played by Stephen Amell at the time of his commitment to playing Oliver Queen in Arrow, which only makes me more glad he made the time. Amell does a fine job in showing Jones as one whose eager to make a difference and pulled it off in a way bigger than he anticipated. Yes he was surprised of the existence of the turtles like anyone else, but once he quickly caught onto how they're all on the same page, he found unlikely yet great allies. He even proved to be smarter than expected when being able outsmart Bebop & Rocksteady. If he is able to do that, you know he'll continue being a helpful hand in the unseen future. It's kinda crazy how stacked of villains we got to see because at the same time, it's surprising to see how interesting they all got to be within their given screen time. Tyler Perry showed Stockman as a guy who shared a brilliant mind with the wrong people. He wanted to be respected more than he already was, but chose to share his brains with the wrong people which only taught us to be careful who you trust. Brian Tee was a fine replacement for Shredder because he was still a gritty figure still hungry for power. Little would he expect there would be beings hungrier than him. Since he betrayed Stockman before being betrayed by Krang, it only represents you reap what you sow. Speaking of which, Brad Garrett pulled it off big time in making the alien villain the most evil villain in the franchise. He was manipulative enough to get Shredder do his dirty work and smart enough to have the tech possible to be a global dominator. And of course, he would be cruel to anyone in his way. I was laughing when he imprisoned Shredder, but man I was pissed when he was crushing MIkey, which made the Turtles' team up on him more satisfying. Krang may have survived, but we all know the Turtles will be ready if there ever were to be a next time. Last but not least, the muscle you seek can come from unexpected places and Shredder was lucky to have an interesting pair when encountering Bebop & Rocksteady. Believe it or not, I found it brilliant of a pair we got out of Gary Anthony Williams & Sheamus to play this villainous duo. They played off of each other so well, I believed they were friends for real. These two were overall memorable because despite coming off dim witted, they made up for it the strength they embraced through their mutation, which gave the turtles a run for their money. If they were to break out, I’m sure the turtles will be ready for them as well. This one may be far from terrible, but there is a handful of shit that hold it back from being already better than it is. For example, how did everyone believe Vern took out Shredder on his own? I mean we know it's gotta be one-sided, but it's odd we don't know what kind of fabricated proof he had to maintain the lie. And it's hilarious how the last slice of pizza ruined the basketball game, but how come no one near the rafters saw that shit? We know it was an accident, but it ain't like it was planted. There is a fair amount of suspense for Shredder to be part of the same prison transfer as Bebop & Rocksteady, but if he's got a high body count, why aren't there more guards in the van instead of in the SUV escort? I mean that is asking for a breakout to go down. I know I'm not in a minority group when I say it's Shredder's fault to trust Krang so fast. He just met the alien whose clearly more powerful than him and shows no true sign to truly earn trust before giving purple ooze. Also, how did Casey still have files on Bebop & Rocksteady when he wasn't even investigating until after the escape? Yeah that means he stole it, but how did he have the time when he was caught up reporting what he saw? He is so lucky no other cop snooped as they passed by his car. And why the hell would the bartender be so compelled to have the trackers on the burner phones he sold? If he sold them, it's not like he'll ask fro them back. I'll always appreciate Donnie for being the smart one, but how the hell is a sample of purple ooze capable of tracking down Bebop & Rocksteady? Since the ooze is supposed to be futuristic, it doesn't make sense to be tracked by such a liquid. On top of that, where the fuck was Splinter when Raph approached April on wanting to break into the police station? I know this is where the turtles get a cruel reality check, but it's ridiculous the one rat who would definitely speak up on this plan is not present to do so. And I don't even think Vern was really needed for the heist when Mikey was gonna approve of April's license to get inside the police station. Moving on, ain't it pretty lucky Vincent was able to keep the whole station quiet about seeing the turtles? I don't know about y'all, but I see myself trying to spill the beans like April did in the first film. I really want to believe Casey pick pocketed Vincent's phone, but I can't buy it when he was 12 inches apart to where she could've seen him. I mean you're fucking with reality more than you should when doing bullshit like that. And my god was he lucky for outsmarting Bebop & Rocksteady without having a concussion. I'm sorry, but even I know damn well he should've got one when colliding with another car. Other than that, I still find myself capable of having a good time. To wrap up, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out of the Shadows is a vast improvement from its predecessor for putting better efforts in figuring itself out along the way. If you didn't like what was done in '14, I hope you can better tolerate this. If you didn't like this either, then just go watch Mutant Mayhem to make up for it.
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