First Wave Of Reviews For TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES: OUT OF THE SHADOWS Are Exactly What You Expected
The first wave of reviews for the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles sequel have hit, but is it better than the previous instalment? The answer may surprise you, so hit the jump to see what the critics are saying...
Predictably, critics aren't proving to be all that fond of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out of the Shadows, but on the plus side, it definitely sounds like it's better than the first movie! Still, many of the same complaints which plagued that one seem to be present once again, while Shredder not seeing any action whatsoever is sure to upset those hoping for a more faithful take on the villain.
Worryingly, many critics seem to have taken umbrage at how the Turtles are portrayed here, with one describing them as, "hulking, cold-bloodied bullies." It's going to be interesting to see what kind of impact these reviews have on the box office, especially after the way they've affected Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice and X-Men: Apocalypse. Regardless, check out some excerpts below.
There are also a few story problems. Let me be clear; the issues with story in Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out Of The Shadows are nowhere near as severe as those in Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (2014). However, perhaps owing to the number of characters that needed to be set up, there’s a charging, chaotic feel to the first half an hour, as we zip from event to event. Even after this, it just doesn’t quite hang together. It’s a bit stop-start, moving from one sequence to the next without building any momentum until the last half an hour or so. It feels a bit odd giving this film the same star rating that I gave the first (a rating I stand by), as it is miles better. I do think it’s a three star film, but it’s a three star film that I kind of love. This is why star ratings are rubbish. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out Of The Shadows is a big, fun summer blockbuster, and one that Turtles fans are likely to get a massive kick out of. [***]
Within the first ten minutes of TMNT: Out of the Shadows, as you're watching Megan Fox's dead-eyed April O'Neil don a disguise that just happens to be a skintight Japanese schoolgirl outfit, it's obvious that this is something much more cynical than a family movie. Even setting aside the camera's leery male gaze, everything about the film feels half-hearted, from its paint-by-numbers plot to its disengaged cast to its occasional stabs at emotional stakes. A heightened sense of humour probably makes Out of the Shadows a slight improvement on its po-faced predecessor, but it's a loud, bright, brainless mess whose greatest asset is its snappy 112-minute running time.
SOURCE: Digital Spy
The slick first third may seem like a different franchise to the turtles’ 2014 outing, but Out Of The Shadows soon unravels as the Retro-Mutagen cements its status as yet another uninspired MacGuffin in yet another bland final act containing yet more people looking up at the sky. Krang is gleefully grim (“it’s like a chewed up piece of gum with a face!”), but, considering he and his exosuit barely feature, doesn’t deserve the final boss level-esque climax he is awarded. Considerably better than its predecessor, the central four may give it their all but the people behind this franchise sadly don’t seem all that interested in their crime-fighting, pizza-eating heroes. [**]
SOURCE: Empire Online
OOTS is assembled with consummate slickness, nominal director Dave Green – following up 2014’s semi-heartfelt Earth to Echo – approving many of the right effects shots. Yet only Bay could conceive of blowing this much time and cash on identifying the exact spot at which zesty, subversive trash (as the Turtles might once have been) sours into ugly, empty junk, assembled solely to school our young in brute market forces and indiscriminate consumption. Our former heroes in a halfshell have become hulking, cold-bloodied bullies, demanding our pocket money and offering nothing in return – save a joyless, two-hour noogie such as this.
SOURCE: The Guardian
Stephen Amell is likeable enough as Casey Jones, but the character goes from cop to Turtle-trusting vigilante faster than it takes Oliver Queen to draw an arrow from his quiver. The potential romance between Jones and Megan Fox’s April O’Neil is also as laughable as it is unnecessary. Then there’s the villains themselves; this is easily the dumbest, unthreatening version of Shredder we’ve seen on screen – he doesn’t even get a single fight scene – and while Krang impresses on a visual level, the same can’t be said for his ultimate endgame which shares its DNA with all too many other blockbusters. There’s definitely fun to be had with Out of the Shadows, but the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles sequel fails to maximise the potential of the franchise. [**]
SOURCE: HeyUGuys
This 12A-rated effort falls awkwardly between two stools: it’s too macho for kids, while it lacks the narrative sophistication, ambition and – the estimable Laura Linney aside – casting coups to satisfy teens raised on a diet of Harry Potter, the Hunger Games, the Maze Runner and superior superhero films. And its attempts at knockabout capers wouldn’t be so cringing if it could scrape together a few laughs. Instead, lousy writing – from its predecessor’s screenwriters Josh Appelbaum and André Nemec – scuppers it at every turn. The anthropomorphised amniotes are well-rendered and energetically voiced and there’s welcome pathos when they are presented with the quandary of whether or not to transition into human form. However, this offers only fleeting respite from the tedium of obese, bloodless action and the story – by turns predictable, incoherent and over-explained – plays as if it has been scavenged from a Marvel skip. With the prospect of another outing grimly mooted by an adversary’s promise to return, let’s pray a third instalment remains but an empty threat. [**]
Dave Green’s sequel will keep youngsters and nostalgic fans more than entertained, for Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out of the Shadows is a prime example of undemanding popcorn cinema. It won’t change the face of comic-book movies forever – but then it was clearly never intended to do so. A Saturday-morning cartoon created for the big screen, it’s virtually critic-proof. n an attempt to inject a smidge of emotional depth into the cartoon-style chaos, the turtles are obsessed with being accepted by society. They even toy with the idea of becoming human (thanks to some magical purple ooze). Like Frankenstein’s monster or My Chemical Romance fans, the turtles are portrayed as outcasts looking for a place in the world. For these heroes in half-shells, home is where the pizza is. [***]
SOURCE: SciFi Now