A year on from the events of the first film, and despite the big fuss created by Shredder's (now played by Brian Tee) plan the Turtles are still in hiding from civilisation; passing over credit for the Foot Clan's defeat and their leader's subsequent arrest over to ally Vern (Will Arnett). This doesn't sit right with child of the group Michelangelo (Noel Fisher), who's started to crave the normal life. But it appears that the potential for such may be on the horizon when Shredder's escape from police captivity – done so with the assistance of Dr. Baxter Stockman (Tyler Perry) – leads to not only a quest to stop the duo from capturing the ingredients for a wormhole generator, but also the creation of fan-favourite henchmen Bebop and Rocksteady (played by Gary Anthony Williams and Stephen Farrelly respectively) promising that there may finally be a fair fight between the heroes in a half-shell and the villainous ninja group. Add some new-found help in the form of former policeman Casey Jones (Stephen Amell) and his rocky relationship with the NYPD (namely Laura Linney's Rebecca Vincent), and the Turtles may be faced with their toughest challenge yet...
A phrase often kicked around with comic book movies is that having too many villains can cause some major setbacks for the rest of the film, and that may very well be the case here. Not only is there the main man Shredder (who doesn't do any shredding), but you get the two bumbling morons that resemble a rhino and a warthog, Perry's overly excitable doctor, and a main bad guy in the form of the alien Krang (voiced by Brad Garrett) not to mention the brief sorta-baddie Linney. Perhaps because of all these elements, mixed together with the standard Turtles storyline in which the group breaks apart thanks to Raphael and Leonardo (Alan Ritchson and Pete Ploszek) and Casey's own mini-plotline does make the film feel like a bit of a mess in its story department. Granted, the whole thing comes across as being better than the previous attempt thanks to the more comedic interjections made by Mikey (though nothing that makes you actually laugh) and a certain referential feel to it – which ranges from an Arrested Development gag to Vanilla Ice playing in a bar – but that doesn't stop a story that's riddled by the standard plotholes and excitingly dull action beats from taking place on the same level. It's like a mesh of the first film, the final act of any Avengers-like movie from the past few years, and any Transformers movie.
And whilst the character designs on the Turtles have been altered slightly to look less like Shrek on super steroids, they still look rather ill-suited to whatever surroundings they're in – not helped by a single scene where one of the Turtles comes face-to-face with a tortoise. Add the weird realisations of Bebop and Rocksteady and indeed Krang, and you have a film which does very little to sell these cartoon characters in a realistic light like it wants to. The direction by Dave Green is quite flat too, bar those moments of 3D pandering, and the whole thing just looks like it was designed on a computer despite the very human elements that are interlaced across it... not that it's younger target demographic are going to really care about.
The four Turtles are still somewhat likeable though, and that's all that really matters for the film to not fail. Noel Fisher's Mikey is family-friendly enough whilst still having some form of heart that he makes the emotional backbone that this film so desperately craves; Pete Ploszek as Leo is the caring but diligent big brother type; Alan Ritchson's Raph is the argumentative punch-thrower who can still work in a team when the situation calls for it; and Jeremy Howard's Donatello (arguably the MVP of the bunch) is the nerd who has some form of actual character hidden within his calculations. Perhaps unbearable if we're stuck with them for too long, but tolerable enough to follow on their adventures. Megan Fox's April O'Neil is perhaps more unbearable, thanks largely to Fox's inability to act properly or make a face other than conceded, and has no real purpose other than to introduce Amell (who starts off rather iffy and maddening but you warm to over time) to the mix , while Arnett's limited role as literal key master leaves you only wishing for that LEGO Batman Movie to come sooner rather than later. Linney's limited supporting role is as basic as one would expect from the trailers, and the various celebrity cameos can get aggravating over time, but it's the bad guys that have the hardest time. Williams and Farrelly's one-note characters can get quite annoying if on-screen for too long in either human or animal guises; Brian Tee is given little to do despite being the Turtles' most formidable foe; Perry is a straight-up caricature; and Krang is absent for about an hour of the movie until he's needed for the big finale.
The best thing that can be said about Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out of the Shadows is that it's a superior movie to its predecessor. Its lighter tone and increased referential humour add some much-needed levity to the franchise, and the product placements are a little more bearable, but what really tops it off is the factor that these Turtles actually come across as tolerable enough for non-fans of the franchise. Whilst this doesn't overlook the film's dull nature or some of the awful characters this world is residence to, it does mean that the film did achieve at least something right. It's fine enough for its audience of young fans, but it's still just the shell of the brand's true glory. 4/10.
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