Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 2: Out of the Shadows is one of those movies that doesn’t necessarily step too far outside the lines, but this isn’t necessarily a bad thing, given the introductions that were provided in Michael Bay’s initial installment, which happened to include a random Shredder outfit that has detachable blades, and an overextended period in the beginning that focused on everyone but who the movie was actually supposed to be about.
Fortunately, the second movie isn’t like that at all and it let’s us know that it’s going to be different right from the beginning as we zoom in on the Turtles, which is about as much of spoiler as you’re going to get from here.
Left to right: Stephen Amell as Casey Jones and Megan Fox as April O’Neil in Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out of the Shadows from Paramount Pictures, Nickelodeon Movies and Platinum Dunes Productions
One of the more pleasant observations is that the tone of the movie is also much lighter than the previous Bay attempt, which is all the more welcomed given the fact that movie serves to fulfill two obligations, invoke nostalgia and entertain kids. Both of which, are accomplished well as the film is definitely family friendly, but still something that older Turtle fans of the original TV show as well as the comics will be able to associate with their childhoods.
Or rather, this is likely a movie that young parents will enjoy taking their kids to as they are able to introduce them to something that was a large part of their childhoods growing up.
Just be forewarned, Casey Jones isn’t the same sarcastic smart@$$ as he was in the original movies, which is relatively disappointing, but, on the plus side, we won’t have to have quite as many unruly kids after the movie, which simply put, is a straight-forward exercise in good vs. evil that fortunately makes no effort to try and fix a formula that was never broken.
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 2: Out of the Shadows hits theaters nationwide as of today, June 3, 2016.
