True turtle power!

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out of the Shadows
STARRING: Megan Fox, Will Arnett, Stephen Amell
DIRECTOR: Dave Green
Genre: Sci-Fi/Comedy
Rating: PG-13
112 mins

The first TMNT film released a couple of years ago was a joy to watch; a faithful ode to the popular crime-busting reptiles that brought me right back to my childhood.

This sequel is even better, although if you aren’t already a fan then you won’t have your mind-changed by this often-daft and sometimes plain odd adventure.

It seems strange to quibble at the movie being ‘odd’. After all, the story takes place in a world where mutant turtles have been taught martial arts skills by a mutant rat. They live in a sewer and emerge at night to use their skills to battle evil, which comes in the form of another martial arts master, The Shredder, and his array of black-clad ninjas and henchmen.

Since the first film offered up an origin story for many of these characters, Out of the Shadows is able to jump right into the action and get on with it. My main criticism of the first film was that it seemed hesitant to give us a good look at the heroes and focussed on reporter April O’Neil (Fox) and her cameraman, Vern Fenwick (Arnett), instead. Here, however, the humans take a backseat to the shelled heroes who, quite literally, come out of both the shadows and their husks.

In fact, the characters of April and Vern regularly feel like afterthoughts in the movie, a refreshing change considering this is not their franchise.

Regardless, crime in New York City has plummeted thanks to the Turtles, until Shredder manages to escape from police custody, travel to an alternate dimension, and borrow advanced tech from extra-terrestrial warlord and fellow super-villain General Krang.

Armed with a mysterious purple substance and the help of a brilliant but demented scientist, Shredder transforms dim-witted criminal errand boys, Bebop and Rocksteady (played by WWE muscleman Sheamus), into a mutant Warthog and Rhinoceros and set about rampaging through the metropolis.

I mentioned before that this film wastes no time on set-up or establishing these characters. It’s a good thing too, as the action sequences are far better this time around, with more scope, better choreography and much more tension.

The first had a fun-filled chase down a snowy mountain, but that pales into insignificance next to a doozy along a South American river, one which starts with the Turtles skydiving from one plane to another before eventually getting stuck into an adrenaline-packed feast.

In fact, the only negative is that the climactic battle feels a bit flat as it doesn’t compare to this, leaving the ending a tad unsatisfying.

The medley of characters get different deals; April and Vern might be short-changed, but the new baddies steal the show with some great lines and slapstick scenes.

As for the Turtles themselves, they are more developed than previously, but it feels rather stale after recently re-watching the first film.

Team leader Leonardo is once again having trouble keeping the merry band together. He, Raphael, Michelangelo and Donatello are suffering from typical teenage anxiety about what kind of turtles they want to be and whether they truly belong in the world, and the four don’t see eye-to-eye on the answers and way forward.

Ultimately, Out of the Shadows is head-and-shell better than its predecessor. It has much better action sequences, effects and focus on key characters. It re-treads some familiar ground and occasionally feels tedious because of it, but for the majority this is a thrilling ride to be on for Turtle fans.

Showing in: Novo Cinemas, Cineco, Seef II, Saar, Wadi Al Sail, Al Jazira, Dana Cineplex

Rating: 4/5