The story this time around starts as Shredder is going to be transferred to a maximum security prison. He employs Baxter Stockman (Tyler Perry) to help him escape. Shredder is intercepted by the alien Krang (Brad Garrett) to open a portal to another dimension in order to take over (or maybe destroy - I wasn't sure and it doesn't matter) the Earth. Along the way, Shredder employs two thugs, Bebop and Rocksteady, to help him out. Oh, and Casey Jones (Stephen Amell) is the police officer driving Shredder's transport vehicle. If none of these names mean anything to you, stop reading this and don't bother seeing the movie. I mean it. You'd only be hurting yourself.
...Ok, now that it's just us, the old fans of the franchise and series, this is really everything I needed it to be. Stephen Amell's Casey Jones is spot on. I would've liked a little more physicality from him, but compared to the mutants, he's somehow puny. Megan Fox is having fun with the April O'Neil role. I don't think it's based off any previous incarnation of the character so much as she's attractive and knows how to use a beat to earn a laugh. I had a distinct moment at the end of the movie when I realized "Oh yeah, she's a reporter". Will Arnett is in this one a lot less. While I liked him more than I expected in the first movie, it was wise to cut his role down. He works well in smaller chunks here. It was nice seeing Laura Linney show up to collect a paycheck. Gary Anthony Williams (Stevie's dad from Malcolm in the Middle) and Stephen Farrelly have a lot of fun as Bebop and Rocksteady.
Oh yeah, and the turtles. They're still the core of the movie and hold tight to their archetypes. Where the first movie centered more on Raphael and Leonardo, this one focuses a little more on Michaelangelo. I continue to find it bizarre (from a business stand-point) that the turtles aren't voiced by more recognizable actors, but they all do a good job.
As I said, this throws everything it can at nostalgia and people who remember the different incarnations of the Ninja Turtles. They have the Technodrome, the garbage truck that spits sewer covers, and the ooze. My favorite little touch is playing "Ice, Ice Baby" at one point, which can't be a coincidence. The action is silly and fun in all the ways I'd hoped. There's one sequence in particular with parachuting, a plane crash, and a river chase that is just deliriously energetic and entertaining. The more like a cartoon it is, the better.
And that's the only thing that took away from the movie. Anytime it tried to be concerned about the story and stakes was a complete drain. Admittedly, this wasn't often, but I don't really care about things like Casey being suspended by the police force or his dreams of becoming a detective. Just get him a hockey stick and let him go. There's a conflict between Michelangelo & Raphael and Leonardo & Donatello that I couldn't even begin to care about. The title comes from the turtles' desire to be known to the public for their heroism. The story really can't get into that at all deeply, because that forces the movie to pretend like this is the real world. The whole Ninja Turtles concept falls apart if it's in the real world. It's very similar to my complaint about comedies that in the third act remember they need to tell a story. It's hard to fit a traditional story structure into the good version of this movie. For anyone who isn't brought in by the Ninja Turtles and the winking at the mythology, I imagine the clunky story can be quite a problem.
It's rare that I see a movie so content with its merit to the fans it's already won over. With a production budget over $100 million, director Dave Green and Co. opted to make something true to the spirit of the franchise more than something explicitly broad. Sometimes that can lead to a broader audience anyway (people do respond to well-made movies no matter the topic). In this case, not so much. That means that Out of the Shadows is an enjoyable experience for fans and a middling action movie for the unacquainted. I can live with that.
Verdict (?): Weakly Recommend
No comments:
Post a Comment