Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out of the Shadows (3D Blu-ray Review)

30 Sep, 2016 By: John Latchem

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Paramount
Action
Box Office $82.05 million
$29.99 DVD, $39.99 Blu-ray, $48.99 3D Blu-ray, $48.99 UHD Blu-ray
Rated ‘PG-13’ for sci-fi action violence
Stars Megan Fox, Will Arnett, Laura Linney, Stephen Amell, Noel Fisher, Jeremy Howard, Pete Ploszek, Alan Ritchson, Tyler Perry, Gary Anthony Williams, Sheamus, Brian Tee.

Well, at least they didn’t call it Coming Out of Their Shells.

Instead of drawing upon that infamous 1990s TMNT concert tour for inspiration for the sequel to the 2014 reboot movie, Out of the Shadows is essentially the classic 1980s “Turtles” cartoon series come to life.

The filmmakers have fully embraced the silliness that fans loved about the TV show in a story that sends the Turtles out to stop Shredder (Brian Tee) from opening a rift to Dimension X so that the alien Krang can attempt to take over the world with his Technodrome.

This is also the movie that finally delivers fan-favorite cartoon henchmen Bebop and Rocksteady to fight the Turtles. Helping the Turtles once again is reporter April O’Neil (Megan Fox), joined by the hockey-themed street vigilante Casey Jones (Stephen Amell from TV's "Arrow"), a police officer seeking redemption after letting Shredder escape.

A master class in acting this is not. Even Laura Linney hams it up as a police chief, claiming in the extras she took the role so her son would have something to see her in that wasn’t a sappy drama.

The film is mostly a fun action spectacle that zips through its story without much concern about how much sense anything makes. This is, after all, the story about four turtles who are mutated into ninja warriors by a mysterious ooze. The visual effects are serviceable for what is basically a live-action cartoon, although the camera moves too much to really let the 3D make an impact. There are a few shots designed to take advantage of the 3D, but its mostly a superfluous viewing experience.

The Blu-ray also includes five minutes of deleted scenes, which include a cameo by Judith Hoag, who played April in the 1990 movie, and 40 minutes worth of behind-the-scenes featurettes, including a three-minute look at some of the references built into the film.

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