OUT OF THE SHADOWS is the sequel to the film that nobody asked for, another live-action TURTLES movie that renders the comic book characters into bland and unremarkable CGI blobs. This is much of a muchness with the first film in the series, with incessant CGI action throughout and the dumbest kind of humour imaginable. The good characters run around a lot and act heroically, while the bad characters chew and spit their dialogue and every human in the cast gives way to yet more big CGI effects. The only thing I liked about this film is the inclusion of some old favourite characters of mine that were also in the cartoon TV show of the 1980s, but they end up being just as generic as everyone else. What a pity that a film with this much money and this many resources behind it can be so bland.

Michelangelo, Donatello, Leonardo, and Raphael are teenage mutant ninja turtle living in the NYC underground with their sensei Splinter. They agreed to let Vernon Fenwick (Will Arnett) take credit for their capture of Shredder. April O'Neil (Megan Fox) is investigating scientist Baxter Stockman (Tyler Perry). Stockman uses an alien teleportation device to spring Shredder from a prison transport. Casey Jones (Stephen Amell) is the prison guard driver. Rocksteady and Bebop are the other two escaped prisoners. Alien overlord Krang recruits Shredder to reassemble the Arc Capacitor to open a dimensional rift for Krang's Technodrome to be transported to earth. Police Chief Vincent (Laura Linney) of Organized Crime takes over the investigation.

This is loud. It is hectic. I would like this more if it's fun. The turtles' non-stop bickering keeps them from being fun. That's the key ingredient that's a little short. Megan Fox dons a school girl outfit but adds very little else. Arnett and Amell also aren't doing anything exceptional. Tyler Perry is doing something weird without being funny. Shredder is good and Krang is OK for a cartoon character. Rocksteady and Bebop are probably the only ones who are better than expected. Chief Vincent is a badly written character. I need this to be more fun than it turned out to be.

This sequel makes a sly reference to The Secret of the Ooze (the sequel to the original TMNT trilogy) with a Vanilla Ice song being used in the new film.

In this film the Turtles are still living in the shadows, watching a basketball from the rafters as Vernon gets all the credit from saving the city in the first film.

Shredder is being carted off to jail and he escapes, Casey Jones was the prison guard escorting him and sets out to find him but ends up saving news reporter April O'Neil and then meets the turtles.

Shredder meets Krang and with the help of some Ooze developed by crazy scientist Baxter Stockman who also creates Rocksteady and Bebop as two bumbling wise cracking hench things.

The turtles are fun though always hyper and up to something, there is also some tension injected as the team fall out for a bit.

Megan Fox as April O'Neil is pure eye candy. I did not think much of Elias Koteas as Casey Jones in the original cycle of films although the actor did build a serious filmography afterwards, not sure whether the bland Stephen Amell will follow suit.

With the help of Michael Bay as producer the film moves along, there is enough humour to keep the kids happy and enough frenetic cartoon action to hark back to the character's comic roots which meant my son enjoyed the film.