In the year since defeating Shredder and keeping him from destroying New York City Donatello, Leonardo, Michelangelo, and Raphael have been living in the shadows underground in the city's sewers out of the prying eyes of the masses. Their friend Vernon agreed to take credit for defeating Shredder, and since then has been living the life as the "hero" of the city. Even though they all agree that his arrangement is best for everyone, life has been tough for the turtles. Raphael has been taking it the hardest, believing that they should be up on top continuing to help keep the city safe. As it turns out, they just might get their chance, as Shredder has returned, and he's got a new evil ally - an alien by the name of Krang. The mutant ninja turtle brothers once again have to step out of the shadows and work together in order to defeat Shredder once more, with the help of April O'Neil, Vernon and a new ally named Casey Jones.
I can't really believe I'm saying this, but I enjoyed Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out of the Shadows. I guess I shouldn't be too surprised, I did kind of enjoy the first one as well. This one and the 2014 reboot obviously aren't meant to be great movies, more like a "check your brain at the door and just enjoy it" type. It's got plot holes on top of plot holes, with a really simple storyline, but there's something about it that was just a lot of fun. Personally, I thought the first one was better - better story, better characters, etc. - but Out of the Shadows was surprisingly well done. I guess what gets me the most is the fact that I'm not even really a TMNT fan to begin with. I've seen one or two of the older live-action films and thought they were completely stupid (don't even get me started on Secret of the Ooze...I couldn't even get through the first 30 minutes of it). I especially liked the characters of Bebop and Rocksteady. They played the stupid-but-funny henchman role pretty well.
The only things I didn't think were that good were Tyler Perry as Baxter Stockman and Stephen Amell as Casey Jones. Nothing against them personally, it's just that it felt like their characters were both not given very meaningful parts, so their characters were just...there. It's like the story wouldn't have changed much whether or not their characters were included. I got a little annoyed at that considering I do like both actors a lot. Each of their full potential felt wasted. The character of Shredder also felt a bit wasted, but not quite as badly.
As much as I enjoyed both Out of the Shadows and the first TMNT, I'm not sure I would like a third one. I would certainly go see it if/when a third one comes out, but it's not really something I'm totally looking forward to. If you have kids who love the cartoons, or if you enjoyed the older live action movies, I think it's a good movie to see. As mentioned, it's stupid, but it's fun.
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