Sister + Friend Movie Review: TMNT -Out of the Shadows
WARNING: there are spoilers ahead...
Good
Liam: It was funny.
Sister: I truly thought it was an excellent movie. mind you, I'm not into ninja turtles to the same extent as my sister, but I still enjoyed the movie for what it was.
Me: It was full of fun lines, Turtles, and nostalgia. There were a lot of little and big things brought in that were from the original cartoon from their love of pizza to the turtle mobile. I loved the throwbacks and Easter eggs like the ring tones being cartoon theme song and the closing credits.I like that Vanilla Ice was playing on a juke box. I liked that April said cowabunga.
I like that Casey still played hockey and the whole evolution of his character seemed more real than then my memories of the original movie. I also like the introduction of Bepop and Rocksteady. It was so much better than The Secret of the Ooze. Speaking of past movies, I like that the Turtles internal conflict was more than just Raphael being a moody loner. I even like the weirdness of transdimensional invasion of Krang. It was plot-holey but so true to my memories of the Turtles.
Less Than Good
Liam: The fact that it was completely unrealistic, tanks don't sink then float. It was impossible to accept the liberalities they took with reality.
Sister: [Sister skipped because she doesn't like giving negatives]
Me: Being a fan of the movie doesn't mean it was perfect; there were plot holes and leaps in logic. More then once I had to remind Liam to suspend disbelief, but the writing made that different. The lines "that is not how that works" were muttered often. I found the police chief and all the "law" interactions poorly written. "That's not how the law works."
Another issue was there were so many characters that it seemed some characters didn't get the right balance of screen time. For me there wasn't enough Splinter or Casey. I also wanted more sage wisdom from Splinter. Other trouble spots were 1) delivery of one of April's big line seemed flat 2) as much as I enjoyed a nerdy Tyler Perry there was times I questioned the casting choice 3) Shredder's right hand woman seemed redundant 4) something felt off about the Turtles design, most notable in Raphael's costume and 5) not enough pizza, cowabungas, or April wearing yellow.
Favourite Turtle
Liam: Raphael
Sister: Donatello
Me: Michelangelo
Favourite Non-Turtle Character
Liam: Krang
Sister: Every random civilian looking scared when crap hit the fan.
Me: Casey Jones
Favourite Line
Liam: "Raphael's like a cuddly teddy bear... if big cuddly teddy bears were incredibly violent." -Michelangelo
Sister: "Oh, I'm sorry, did I get a little tentacle mucus in your eye?"- Krang
Me: "What would vin Diesel do? No regrets, no fear!" -Raphael
Favourite Scene
Liam: After Bebop and Rocksteady are locked in shipping container after a grenade exploded and they both say "my man."
Sister: Whenever Baxter Stockman laughed.
Me: Ah...there were so many, sorry, I can't choose.
Final Rating
Liam: 2.5 Death Stars out of 5
Sister: 3.45 cheese pizzas out of 5.1
Liz: 4.1 cowabungas out of 5
Final Thoughts:
It is juvenile, ridiculous, and doesn't always make sense and that's not a bad thing. I loved it. Out of the Shadows knew what it was and did it well. Turtle universe. It was exactly what I wanted and maybe a little better. I think it was a great addition to the I know my "less than good" section was long, what that doesn't communicate is that I spent most of the laughing. Even the badly done stuff seemed to add to its charm. I wouldn't recommend it for everyone. If you liked the first remake I expect you will also enjoy this one.
The theater didn't have a movie poster. This was the next best thing.
What wasn't captured, I'm wearing my old school TNMT shirt.
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