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‘Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out Of The Shadows’ Hopes To Restore Pride In Turtle Legacy

By Colin Fredericson
Published on: 08:20 PST, Mar 27, 2016

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out of the Shadows is coming this summer. The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out of the Shadows team already said they understand the errors that the 2014 predecessor had, and hope to correct all of it and leave a better representation for audiences than they did last time. They are taking the best things about 2014’s Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles to put up front while removing the stuff that didn’t work.

Pete Ploszek, who plays Leonardo, gave Slash Film his hopes for a better sequel.

“I think everyone’s paying attention to how people felt about the first one, and what they want to see, and what faithful means, and what it doesn’t mean. I think there is sort of awareness now to do right by the franchise.”

Unsatisfied fans may soon no longer be able to easily use the excuse of this being a Michael Bay-produced film. Michael Bay has often been criticized for mind-numbing action involving computer-generated graphics. Even though neither of these rebooted live-action Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles movies has him as director, fans see his fingerprints everywhere and believe he is quite heavily involved. His movie-making trademarks are seen as a blessing and a curse, depending on what your taste is. But some movie-goers think he relies too much on computer-generated action madness and lacks the organic elements of storytelling.

The cast and crew knows that the humor and chemistry between the brothers is what works best here, and will try to emphasize that feature going forward. As the first film gave more focus to April O’Neil, this one will focus more on the turtles, as it should.

Raphael actor Alan Ritchson gave the overall feeling of how the focus may lean when he spoke with Slash Film.

“I think the comedy and the chemistry of the turtles was what seemed to work the best the first time, and what is the emphasis this time.”

With a proper focus on chemistry and characterization, the dizzying action sequences likely to come from a film associated with Michael Bay should distract less and lead to a more substantive core storyline.

This new set of live action films, is of course, getting compared to the popular Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles live action trilogy released during the early 1990s. Some think that at least the first two films of that series are worthy to the legacy of turtledom. At the time, they were indeed unique. It was cool seeing these rubber turtle costumes, shots of New York City, and fine sewer living. There’s no doubt that the turtles’ ravenous hunger for pizza influenced the health habits of young turtle fans. And the films took hold on popular culture overall.

Even while surrounded by releases for many other superhero action films, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out of the Shadows can still have an impact if it corrects the already exposed flaws from that first reboot movie. It’s because they are superheroes that appeal to a younger generation that may not connect with more mature themed superhero films. But they can also appeal to older fans who are still craving turtle power.

Something to look forward to in Out of the Shadows is the return of Casey Jones to screens. This Casey Jones is less the rugged loner, since he’s still in the process of becoming the Casey Jones he eventually ends up as. Weird scientist Baxter Stockman is in there, along with buffoon duo Bebop and Rocksteady. And as the Los Angeles Times reports, Krang will also definitely be present, as the newest trailer shows. So all the old favorites will be there. But if Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out of the Shadows really wants to impress, why not throw in a little Usagi Yojimbo action?

[Image via TMNT Movie]

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