TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES: OUT OF THE SHADOWS (Dave Green). 95 minutes. Opens Friday (June 3). See listing. Rating: N
The Ninja Turtles have always been just a gimmick. The only thing that helped them break out of that shell in previous movie and television incarnations was the strength of their personalities bouncing off each other before drop-kicking Shredder and his villainous Foot Clan.
Leonardo was the unsure leader, Michelangelo the clown, Donatello patient and smart and Raphael (my fave) anxious, stubborn and heartfelt. Those personalities are paper-thin in the grinding and bombastic current series, where Raphael’s little more than a thuggish jock. Out of the Shadows, the sequel to 2014’s big-screen reboot, makes half-witted attempts to slap some soul into the overgrown CGI turtles, but for the most part they are merely cogs in the Michael Bay machine.
He’s a producer on this and finds an avid pupil in director Dave Green, who effectively emulates and tips his hat to Bay’s Transformers movies. Hallmarks include sleek shots of a skyline that we know will come crashing down, loud and incoherent action boasting a few neat poses, and a camera that has more moves than the ninjas.
The most groan-worthy Bay moment comes early on when Megan Fox’s journalist, April O’Neal, manages to find some reasoning to dress up like a nerd girl in a porn skit and a school girl with a hiked-up kilt, all in the name of getting a scoop.
