June 3, 2026 marks the 10-year anniversary of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out of the Shadows. As the sequel to the highly divisive 2014 movie, which boasted a controversial redesign of the Heroes in the Half-Shell and went through multiple story iterations, this film went bigger than before, but not even turtle power could save it from underperforming at the box office and the axing of the third movie.
The year turned out to be a blockbuster time for comic book movies. From Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice to Captain America: Civil War and Deadpool, some of the most memorable (and talked-about) films in the genre were released in 2016. Lost in the shuffle was Out of the Shadows, which didn’t receive the best of reviews and labored to $246 million from a $135 million budget. This doesn’t tell the full story, though. While far from the best superhero film of the year, it’s certainly the best live-action TMNT movie, and it’s high time to acknowledge this fact.
The sequel picks up a year after the last film. Leonardo (Pete Ploszek), Donatello (Jeremy Howard), Raphael (Alan Ritchson), and Michelangelo (Noel Fisher) team up with April O’Neil (Megan Fox) to put a stop to Baxter Stockman’s (Tyler Perry) plan to break the Shredder (Brian Tee) out of jail. They fail, as Shredder is intercepted by Krang (voiced by Brad Garrett), who reveals his plan to invade Earth. Stockman also transforms Bebop (Gary Anthony Williams) and Rocksteady (WWE’s Sheamus) into mutants, which creates another unwelcome problem as all the villains aid Krang’s ambition. So, it’s up to the Turtles, April, and newcomer Casey Jones (Stephen Amell) to save the world.
Now, this story isn’t exactly groundbreaking by any means. In fact, the writers of the film – Josh Appelbaum and André Nemec – are best known for writing Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol and Heads of State, so take from that what you will. However, you can’t deny Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out of the Shadows comprehends the spirit of the classic 1987 animated series. It’s goofy and silly, but also a whole lot of fun in the process.
Maybe it’s the nostalgia goggles working overtime, but the truth is that the animated show has aged like the carton of milk at the back of the pantry. Watch it now and see how the animators took glaring shortcuts, while the stories veered toward being repetitive or nonsensical. As kids, though, nobody wanted to analyze and scrutinize its mistakes. Instead, everybody appreciated it for what it was: mindless entertainment that served its purpose.
Similarly, that’s the best way to approach Out of the Shadows. Are you expecting a discourse about the plight of a modern-day worker in a post-industrialization world, or a movie where four anthropomorphic turtles crack one-liners while beating up hordes of bad guys? Viewing it through the right lens makes all the difference here.
This fun factor is also down to the direction of filmmaker Dave Green, who improves upon everything from the previous film. To be fair, though, the 2014 movie went through hell and back, so not all the blame can be laid at the door of previous director Jonathan Liebesman, who must be loath to see anything with shells nowadays.
“I think [Green] was able to watch the first movie- – like we all were as an audience – and see, okay that works, that doesn’t work. I love that, let’s do more of that,” Ploszek told Screen Rant.
The problem with Out of the Shadows, as well as its predecessor, is that the redesign of the characters played a major part in the overall impression of the franchise. People didn’t like the look of the Ninja Turtles, and nothing was ever going to change that impression. Ironically, more people are offended that turtles can have lips and nostrils than the fact they walk on two legs and practice martial arts.
It’s sad, since Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out of the Shadows is actually the first live-action movie to connect with the inner ’80s child and make you feel like you’re watching an adaptation of the cartoon. Sure, the other animated films have surpassed anything done in the live-action realm and the ’90s movies came close to doing it too, but this 2016 effort still stands tall for capturing the essence of Turtlemania.
It also feels like a missed opportunity to understand the full arc, since a third film had been planned whereby Stockman would have mutated into his famous fly form. Maybe it would have tied everything else together, or provided more context to this specific version of the turtles. Alternatively, it would have just been closure. After Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out of the Shadows, the franchise deserved it.
