TMNT: Out of the Shadows SPOILER Review

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So, I finally saw my most anticipated film of the year. Despite not being very impressed by the first movie in the rebooted Paramount Ninja Turtles series, the trailers for this sequel, as well as the early news of what they were including, bot my very hyped. Hearing that it was receiving new directors along with these additions made me feel very hopeful that it could be good. That being said, I was not expecting it to be good, but I more or less was looking to it to be the answer to one of my biggest childhood dreams - put Rocksteady and Bebop in a movie. I had been waiting to see those two in a live action movie since the first film released in 1990, so this movie instantly became the most hyped movie of the year for me, just for that alone.

So, how was it? Well, I've seen it two times now, and I actually feel I have to rewrite this review a bit, because after my first viewing, I was a little too hard on it, likely mostly due to the fact that I saw it with a non-Turtle fan who tore it apart afterwards, but when I saw it again yesterday with a fellow Turtle fan, I LOVED it. I still agree with what I originally said - the story is very rushed, some side characters are barely used, I don't like Casey Jones in this, and Megan Fox still sucks. But, other than that, it's actually really freaking good. It's a huge homage to classic Turtles, a complete thank you to all of us fans who supported the franchise back in the late 80s and early 90s, and it's silly, action packed, and fast paced enough for children to love.

The good things, well, obviously, they worked in a TON of stuff from the classic Turtles cartoon and toy line. Also, many of the characters were done really well. Bebop and Rocksteady were freaking perfect, being just as silly and stupid as they should while still being threatening and powerful as hell. The physical design for Krang was pretty close to perfect. The best thing about the movie, though? It's actually about the four turtles. Sure, we still have a good deal of April, which we do need in a TMNT story, but no where near as much as last time, and the turtles are always front and center. The immediate story revolves completely around the turtles and the Foot Clan, just the way it should. The dynamic between the turtles, as well as their sub-plots were very well done. These were four brothers you could really root for and even want to kick back and chill with. I'm even, mostly, over their physical appearance. They still look like Shrek and Doomsday's offspring, but the colors are brighter, their accessories are done a bit more tastefully, and their personalities are so well done, I really stopped being bothered by how they look... except Mike. He still just looks so damn ugly. But, even then, Mike barely bothered me at all. When characters are written so perfectly, I kind of don't care at all how they look I guess.

Also, like TMNT should be, this movie is packed full of humor. And a lot of good humor, too. The Turtles, Bebop and Rocksteady, Baxter, and Vern actually all made me laugh out loud multiple times. The movie's great at not taking itself too seriously, and the humor is perfectly applied to each character. And, although I said it was a flaw, the fast, Saturday-morning-toon pace of the movie arguably makes it feel more like what it's based on - a Saturday morning cartoon. The movie had a lot of new characters and plots to work with, so they had to move quickly. There are a few scenes that are really abrupt, but many can just be viewed as a fun, quick, silly way of story-telling, and I feel it was a great way to tell the story for kids. This film is great at being a family film. It has legitimately good humor and action sequences as well as nostalgia for adults, while still pleasing kids with colorful, crazy characters, lots of humor, and just an overall fun layout.

The movie also does a great job setting up potential sequels. Shredder and Krang are now stranded in Dimension X again, Baxter's been taken away just like in the cartoon, likely to be turned into the fly, and Bebop and Rocksteady are merely in jail. With Dimension X being the base of operations next time, it's very likely we could see Rock Soldiers or something in the next film. Also, despite my complaining about Shredder's limited use and the under-focused Krang battle, my friend helped point out that they likely did that to save them for the next movie, and that's actually a damn good move if so. Give us the true massive Krang and Shredder fight in the future after you build it up and hype it enough. This movie was more or less laying down the foundation for the series, so I don't mind the lack of major battles.

Although I couldn't see the first viewing, I was able to spot a frozen Triceraton in the Technodrome the second time.

So, what are the problems? Well, like I said, this movie moves way too fast while having way too much going on. I feared this would be a problem early on being that it's hard to add so much to a film and still have it flow well. Well, this movie does not flow too good. Scenes just keep jumping from one to another, and so many subplots keep starting every second. 15 minutes into the film, Shredder goes through a portal, happens to appear face to face with Krang (who he, for some weird reason, isn't scared of or confused about at all) gets retromutagen ooze and instantly decides to partner with this weird ass brain alien he just met. We have the plot of Shredder carrying out Krang's plan with the Foot Clan, the introduction and mutation of Rocksteady and Bebop, the quest for the dimensional portal machine parts, the introduction of Baxter Stockman, the very detailed introduction of Casey Jones, the turtles wanting to become human except for Leo, the turtles worrying if they aren't a good team, Leo worrying he's not a good leader, the turtles being exposed to people, and the summoning of the Technodrome and the invasion of Krang all happening in one movie. Needless to say, it's a mess, and goes by way too fast. The final showdown ends very fast in a rather anticlimactic way.

Aside from there being a handful of characters done very well, many are completely pointless or barely used at all. Splinter, Karai, and even Shredder, are barely utilized at all. Karai might as well not have even been there.

Also, I know it's a family fantasy film, but there are a couple things that were a little too ridiculous for me to ignore. For one, April O'Neil sneaks into a ninja hideout undetected, spies on the ninja in their own headquarters undetected, then steals from them right in front of their faces and gets out unharmed and not followed. Damn, a news reporter just out-ninjaed the Foot Clan. I thought for sure when that dinky door came up helping her escape that Bebop and Rocksteady would come busting through it and an awesome chase through the building would occur, but nope, the Foot just lets her steal their top secret shit. Also, if you're a regular person and a giant rhino-man kicks you in the chest while riding top speed on a motorcycle, sending you 50 feet crashing into an SUV and denting half of it in, you're f*@%ing DEAD. You can't just stand up and shake that off. I know you can't kill off Casey Jones like that, but, seriously, there's no way he could survive that. He's dead or slowly dying as all his bones and innards are crushed to hell. Oh yeah, and Karai not being able to take out April and Vern, getting knocked out with a laptop... that's insulting.

Despite these flaws, I think this movie was a ton of fun, and a great family action experience. It's great to have these light-hearted kinds of silly super hero movies in a year with so much grim, dark nonsense. Don't get me wrong, Civil War was AMAZING, but this movie was damn good in its own way, too. I highly recommend it for Turtles fans, and I greatly look forward to what this series will go on to do in future films. This very well may be the second best TMNT film of all time.

Anyway, to celebrate this victory for we Shellheads' favorite rogues, here are all the TMNT villains pics I've done in the past year or two:


I promise I'll actually finally have some new artwork up very, very soon.

© 2016 - 2024 BrendanCorris
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rainygami's avatar
yo solo vi la película por bebop y rocoso