Director:Â Dave Green
Cast: Megan Fox,  Stephen Amell,  Alan Ritchson,  Will Arnett, Alessandro Ambrosio,  Laura Linney,  Noel Fisher,  Brian Tee,  Fred Armisen (voice of Kraang),  Tony Shaloub (voice of Splinter),  Tyler Perry,  Stephen Farrelly,  Judith Hoag,  Pete Ploszek,  Gary Anthony Williams,  Jeremy Howard,  Danny Woodburn
Rating:Â 12A
Running time:Â 111 mins
Release date:Â 30/05/2016
One of the upsides of franchises and popular characters is that whenever they are remade, rebooted or reissued in a different variation, you only need to refer to the earlier incarnation to get a sense of what the film is about.
Although I didn’t see the original 2014 Michael Bay production that introduced the Turtles in a 21st Century world, I am familiar with Steve Barron’s 1990s big-screen blockbuster which had Corey Feldman voicing one of the Turtles.
For the uninitiated and unfamiliar, a quick crash course – four turtles who live in the sewers of New York, are great fighters and have a sensei in the form of a rat called Splinter and like pizza. End of class.
In the hands of producer Michael Bay, you can be sure that this is going to be big, slick and spectacular and with TRANSFORMERS lead Megan Fox in the forefront as reporter April O’Neil, what more could you ask for?
The plot involves the Turtles old enemy Shredder, who is en route to be imprisoned in a high-security convoy. However, the law has reckoned without Dr. Baxter Stockman (Tyler Perry) who is masterminding his highway escape using a teleportation process. The Turtles attempt to sabotage the escape, but fail. Stockman is working also on a compound that transforms humans in animal mutations for Shredder.
Shredder is transported to another Dimension where he meets the evil Krang, a sort of Kuato-like alien (Kuato was the mysterious mutant in the 1990 version of TOTAL RECALL, if you are not au fait) who wants to put together a spaceship and obliterate New York in the process…..
TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES – OUT OF THE SHADOWS is a slick, high-concept entertainment and is probably aimed more at the core fan-base who have ensured that the franchise and characters have endured over the last two decades. The visual effects are the film’s great strength and there is a fair amount of chemistry between the Turtles, both in themselves and with their human allies. Fox is given little to do and probably hasn’t matched her eye-catching car assessment in the original TRANSFORMERS, but she provides the eye candy and retains her appeal to the teenage boys who will doubtlessly lap this up over the coming weeks. Laura Linney offers counterbalance as Bureau chief Rebecca Vincent, having difficulty believing the Turtles exist.
Given the fact that New York has become such a popular target for apocalyptic mayhem, it’s a surprise that the city in cinematic terms doesn’t have anything left over to be destroyed. OUT OF THE SHADOWS does have a touch of GHOSTBUSTERS and the first GI JOE with all the pyrotechnics. There are some neat 3D touches, as is the norm these days and the action is staged with zest.
As is often the case, the script could have done with a little more polish and perhaps the next one will offer some hope.
Still, it is your typical summer blockbuster offering, so let’s extend it a sincere ‘Cowabunga!”
Verdict
