From the beginning of this production, a sequel to the live action film, TMNT, was going to be a hard sell. The first movie wasn’t particularly well received, and in my own opinion, wasn’t that true to the characters. I can still enjoy the first one as a movie fan, but it still went too far away from the original versions of what the Turtles were.
After seeing TMNT 2 – Out of the Shadows at an early screening tonight (It starts this Thursday 2nd around NZ) I can honestly say that they have done a complete 180 in the way they deal with these characters. The story is distinctly, and completely, a ninja turtles story. The character interactions between the four main cast are extremely well done, and finally consistent with what you expect as a Turtles fan. Even Megan Fox’s April O’Neil is bareable in this movie; which is saying something because she was not even close in the first. She still has a main role in the story, but the director has done an excellent job with how she fits in the story, and finally I can actually see Megan Fox being April; something I could never see in the first one.
The new addition to this sequel is the character of Casey Jones, played by Arrow star, Stephen Amell. TMNT 2 is Stephen’s first outage into the role of big screen cinema. Most of his career so far has been on the small screen. But don’t let that fool you. The man has the style, and ability to hold the screen. He does an excellent rendition of Casey Jones, that fits in so well with the already established cast from the first film. They continue to play on the rivalry between Casey and Raph from the source material and it works nicely in the film without becoming too much, or distracting. To be honest, as a fan of Arrow, the announcement of Stephen Amell is what made me want to see this movie, against what I had already seen of the first one. The first trailer was released, and it actually looked good. I was hopeful. Tonight, I can say that it did not disappoint.
In ‘Out of the Shadows’ the well known villian, Shredder, takes a bit of a back seat to the newly introduced, Krang, a warlord from Dimension X (pictured right) who partners with Shredder to basically conquer the world.
The live action realisation of Krang’s “technodrome” is a perfect mix of new, with old. It’s different enough from it’s source material, but still distinctly looks like the technodrome that fans of the comics and television cartoon will remember.
The humour is on point all the way through the movie, and keeps you engaged throughout. There was some things that I won’t go into here due to spoilers, that I felt could have been different, or not there. But overall, it stands as a great adaptation to the franchise. One that I will be proud to add to my collection on bluray once it reaches home video.
On a final note. They completely reclaimed the issues with Shredder from the last film, turning him into the villain that he should be, as well as restoring the foot clan to a menacing threat. I couldn’t leave this review without discussing the two, probably hardest, characters to get right; Beebop and Rocksteady. They play them up a bit much in the film, but they are the live action version of the characters that you remember if you’re a fan of the comics\tv cartoon.
Overall, I thought this adaptation was very well done. It shows that someone actually took time to understand the source material, and crafted a story that goes it’s own way but still holds true to what you know.
A solid 7/10.
Now excuse me while I plan when I’m going back to watch it again. Cowabunga Dudes!
Turtle Power!
Dreaming Screenwriter 