Movie Review: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out of the Shadows

I am back after taking some time off to grieve for my Aunt. It has been 3 months since she passed and there are days I find I really miss her and it is hard to think about other things. She would want me to go on doing this, and so this weeks movie, after a long wait for another post, is a sequel. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out of the Shadows brings back the beloved pizza eating ninja crime fighters again, but this time the title hints they might no longer be the unseen hero's.

The movie starts with the turtles moving through the sewage pipes doing whatever ninja moves they can that make them move faster. After a few minutes of this, you see them come up through a manhole to grab a pizza from a delivery driver waiting for them. It then continues along with them playing a game of keep the pizza from Mikey (voiced by Noel Fisher) and showing their names in order of Leo (voiced by Pete Ploszlek), Raph (voiced by Alan Ritchson), Donny (voiced by Jeremy Howard) then Mikey. They continue this game until they get in the jumbotron at a basketball stadium just in time to watch a Knicks game. 

As they sit back to enjoy the game, Mikey comments on how he wished they could be sitting in the seats. Leo reminds him of why they have to remain working from the shadows, then continue talking. As they are talking, they notice, sitting in the floor seats is Vernon Fenwick (Played by Will Arnett), the camera man who took credit for saving the city from Shredder (played by Brian Tee) in the first movie. They start shooting spit balls at him while he does another interview. 

Some of the acting was a little stale, but still a bit enjoyable. The people who voiced the turtles had more emotion put into their voices than some of the live actors. Brian Tee didn't have much emotion in his voice, however it made sense for him due to playing Shredder. I think one of the bright spots for the actors was Stephen Amel who plays Casey Jones. He brought some of the spunk and impulsiveness key to the character while not getting cheesy about it. I am sure his work on the CW's Arrow helped with that. If you want to know what I mean by cheesy please checkout how Stephen Farelly and Gary Anthony William playing Rocksteady and Bebop respectively.

The story plot was slowed every now and then, and some parts didn't make sense to me, making the movie get long at times. It did have a flow to it though and that was nice, however it did not make up for the out of character story line for some things, like Shedder's reason for working with Krang (voiced by Brad Garret). It really did not make any sense. I think there were just some points they strayed to far away from the original cartoon series. 

Overall, it is a good movie to go and watch for a fun cheesy afternoon with the kids. If you are looking for a good sense of nostalgia from the 80's cartoon, I say do not watch this movie. I rate this movie 6.7/10 for at least giving me a short break from reality and a few good laughs.