
This film follows the story of four pizza loving turtles, Leonardo (Pete Pioszek), Donatello (Jeremy Howard), Michelangelo (Noel Fisher) and Raphael (Alan Ritchson), living in the sewers of New York City. When their old nemesis Shredder (Brian Tee) escapes from prison, it's up to the turtles to stop him, but what they don't realise at first is that Shredder has back up. And this back up comes in the form of Bebop (Gary Anthony Williams) and Rocksteady (Stephen Farrelly), two criminals who are experimented on and turned into mutant animals. Thankfully, the turtles have some back up as well. Not only are they still in cahoots with April O'Neil (Megan Fox), but this film also introduces us to fan-favourite Casey Jones (Stephen Amell), a wannabe cop with some serious hockey skills.
The visual effects, for the most part, are exquisite. The turtles look and feel real, even if Splinter still looks... off, to say the least, and Krang, one of the villains, also looks extremely cartoony. But since neither of them are in the film for too long, I can happily report the effects are great, blending in seamlessly to the world around them. There are countless moments where the turtles interact with human characters, and it never once looked fake.
Speaking of villains, that's where a lot of this film's problems come from, excluding its predictability and formulaic narrative. Bebop and Rocksteady have, quite possibly, one of the stupidest origins in comic book film history. The explanation as to why they are the animals they are is insanely dumb, to the point where the entire audience, myself included, burst out in confused laughter, trying to process just how stupid it is. Shredder is given nothing to do, despite having a rather intimidating presence, and the alien Krang is underdeveloped and random. I didn't necessarily hate him, but he was just so pointless.
To sum up, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out of the Shadows is a big step up from the previous installment, ramping up the humour, the energy and the action. It's formulaic and predictable, and it's got plenty of villain problems, but at its core, it's just a lot of fun.