TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES: OUT OF THE SHADOWS (2016)

Genre: Action/Adventure
Director: David Green
Cast: Megan Fox, Will Arnett, Alan Ritchson, Noel Fisher, Pete Ploszek, Jeremy Howard, Stephen Amell, Tyler Perry, Laura Linney, Brian Tee, Stephen 'Sheamus' Farrelly, Gary Anthony Williams
Runtime: 1 hr 52 mins
Rating: PG (Some Violence)
Released By: UIP 
Official Website: http://www.teenagemutantninjaturtlesmovie.com

Opening Day: 2 June 2016

Synopsis: "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out of the Shadows" is the sequel to the 2014 hit film "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles." The film is based on the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles characters created by Peter Laird and Kevin Eastman and is directed by David Green ("Earth to Echo"). 

Movie Review:

Let’s be honest about this: you probably won’t see a glowing review of this sequel to 2014’s Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (TNMT) anywhere. This is one of those movies which critics will love bashing - simply because. It is difficult to embrace a movie when Michael Bay and Megan Fox are involved in the same movie. One’s known for his loud, explosive and cheesy movies (no budget spared, definitely), while the other, well, isn’t known for acting in good movies. 

But are we going to join in the bashing here? No, because we knew what we were in for before entering the theatre. And this reviewer (not in a self righteous way, of course) is more aware than that. It also helps that he was a fan of the turtles when he was young: he remembers fondly gazing at the action figures (hoping that his parents would get him one for being obedient) whenever he had the opportunity to visit toy stores. If you must know, he managed to own all the four turtles, the Cheapskate and the Turtle Blimp (go search for images of this old school toys on the Internet if you want to know what kind of joy it brought to a eight year old boy).

One thing he was dying to own was the Technodrome, a spherical base used by TNMT’s villain Kraang. The badass giant mothership was any boy’s dream toy (again, go look for images on the Internet to get an idea of what this columnist means) - and that’s why when the word “Technodrome” was mentioned in the 112 minute movie, this writer’s eyes lit up and realised that this can’t be that bad a summer popcorn flick.

Although the four turtles (Leonardo, Donatello, Raphael and Michelangelo) are no longer adorable like those depicted in the animated series which aired from 1987 to 1996, they still manage to pull off a few wisecracks. Pete Ploszek, Alan Ritchson, Noel Fisher and Jeremy Howard provided the motion capture and voices for the four protagonists. We only wonder whether they look as menacing and muscular in real life?

Elsewhere, Megan Fox headlines the movie playing April O’ Neil (we won’t be mean and go into detail why she is a mere sex symbol to lure young boys into paying for the movie), Will Arnett reprises his role as the crowd favourite Vern Fenwick, Stephen Amell plays Casey Jones (he looks cooler than the action figure which had a mask on), Brian Tee returns as The Shredder and Tyler Perry takes on the role as Dr Baxter Stockman (fans would know he would eventually mutate into a fly). There’s also Peter D Badalamenti, Gary Anthony Williams and Stephen “Sheamus” Farrelly providing voice and motion capture performances as fan favourite Splinter, Bebop and Rocksteady respectively.

Seeing these characters come alive on the big screen means a lot to a fan like this columnist While they aren’t the best reincarnations (you can’t please everyone, especially in the entertainment industry where moolah calls the shots), the loud, explosive and cheesy movie (read: Michael Bay) does what it is supposed to do - be loud, explosive and cheesy. 

Oh, what’s the storyline behind this David Green directed flick? It probably doesn’t matter - all you need to know if that the turtles are out to save the world from baddies. It’s as simple as that.

Movie Rating:

(The loud, explosive and cheesy summer blockbuster does what it's supposed to do: be loud, explosive and cheesy)

Review by John Li