Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out of the 
Shadows
Directed by Dave Green
Starring Megan Fox, Will Arnet, Laura Linney, Stephen Amell, Noel Fisher, Jeremy Howard, Pete Ploszek, Alan Ritchson, Brian Tee, Stephen “Shamus” Farrelly, Gary Anthony Williams, and Tyler Perry
Backstory:
Like a lot of TMNT fans, I was not impressed with the last film. I found it took a few too many liberties with the established franchise, but at least they got the Turtles right. I was already dimissive of the sequel until I saw that first trailer, and we had a live-action Bebop and Rocksteady. Something I’d always wanted to see on the big screen since I was 12! The allure of Bebop and Rocksteady was enough for me to give the franchise a second chance.
Plot:
It’s been one year since the TMNT saved the city from Shredder, and they’re starting to grow frustrated with living in the shadows. But, adventure once again calls with the Shredder is broken out of prison. Shredder escaped using Baxter Stockman’s experimental teleportation device, and Shredder wound up taking a detour through Dimension X, where he made an alliance with a warlord named Krang. Now, Shredder is looking for the artifacts to build a portal big enough to bring Krang and his Technodrome to Earth. The Turtles spring into action with their new ally, Casey Jones, a prison guard. Shredder escaped on Jones’s watch, so he’s looking for some payback. But Shredder’s got some new allies, too, in the form of Bebop and Rocksteady…two of his former cellmates that he mutated with some of Krang’s technology. Can the Turtles put aside their brotherly squabbles, unite as a team, and stop Shredder and Krang once and for all?
What I Liked
Bebop and Rocksteady steal the show, you guys. They are every bit as rude and crude as you’d imagine them to be, and they’re also really funny. And we get a live action Krang. Really, this film has a lot more Easter eggs in it as it references Turtle lore. The four Turtles are, again, spot on. Stephen “Arrow” Amell makes a pretty good Casey Jones. It’s great finally seeing Shredder as a villain instead of plotting from the shadows, like the last film.
What I Didn’t Like
As much as I love seeing Krang, he is a bit under-utilized. It’s still a pretty run-of-the-mill superhero adventure. And the action scenes, well, it gets to be so much CGI chaos going on it’s tough to keep track of the action sometimes. Yeah, I know, Old Mark is Old.
Final Verdict
This is a lot closer to classic TMNT action than the last film, and a fun outing for the heroes in a half-shell.