REVIEW: ‘Ninja Turtles’ movie may kill brain cells, but it’s a fun time

For some reason, big summer movies have been growing “darker” and “more gritty”. For some reason, filmmakers equate “dark” and “gritty” with “realism”, when it really means “boring” and “joyless”. But if there was a memo going around Hollywood that all summer movies need to reflect the dark, gritty aesthetic, the makers of “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out of the Shadows” seem to have missed it.

THANK THE MAKER!

”Out of the Shadows” isn’t a great movie. It’s full of bad writing and acting. In places, it’s dumb enough to kill brain cells. But it’s fun. And in this time of glum blockbusters, it’s like a breath of fresh air.

We catch up with the Turtles as they attend a New York Knicks game. Because they fear people will freak out at the sight of giant anthropomorphic reptiles, the Turtles watch the game from inside the Jumbo-tron. But duty soon calls and the Turtles rush out to stop an escape attempt by Shredder (Brian Tee). Unfortunately, the Turtles can only watch as Shredder appears to disappear before their eyes.

But Shredder merely teleported to another dimension (or something) where he meets Krang and the two scheme to bring Krang to Earth and take over the world. Along the way, Shredder has Baxter Stockman (Tyler Perry) mutate Bebop and Rocksteady into giant monsters. With the help of April O’Neil (Megan Fox), Casey Jones (Stephen Amell) and Vern Fenwick (Will Arnett), the Turtles battle to stop Krang and Shredder.

”Out of the Shadows” is mind-numbingly dumb and illogical at times. For example, Leonardo tells the other Turtles that they need to keep to the shadows, yet they cruise the most garishly conspicuous garbage truck of all time. How does that help keep the Turtles on the down low? There’s also a massive action scene involving an airplane that’s basically an affront to the laws of physics. This is the kind of movie you don’t want to think too much about.

Then there’s the acting. Fox looks great and she spends a lot of scenes running, but she doesn’t do any emoting. Amell is every bit as good here as he is in “Arrow”. That means he’s about as convincing as a 5-year-old wearing a fake Gandalf beard. Laura Linney appears, but he’s clearly doing this for the paycheck.

All that said, the Turtles themselves are a fun group to hang out with for 112 minutes. The actors voicing the Turtles nail each Turtle’s personality. Bebop and Rocksteady are fun characters that actually have some pretty funny lines. It’s also nice to see Splinter play more fatherly role here than in the last movie.

But what really makes this movie work is the action. The action scenes are all competent and energetic, buoyed by the personalities of the Turtles. The scene on the jet defies logic, but man is it fun! I was smiling and laughing the whole time.

On top of that, “Out of the Shadows” manages to get in messages about brotherhood, leadership and being proud of who you are without knocking the audience silly beating them over the head with preachy thematics. See, “Batman v Superman”? It can be done.

”Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out of the Shadows” is fun for kids, their parents and “Turtles” fans. It’s refreshing to see a movie like this in an era of overly-serious tent pole movies. If you want a turn-off-your-brain-and-have-fun flick, “Out of the Shadows” is the movie for you.

3 ½ Indy Fedoras out of 5

MPAA Rating: PG-13