Latest Turtles flick proves reptiles can be super heroes

For those who don’t keep pace with the franchise’s developments, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles probably conjures up images of the bulky, Jim Henson-designed animatronic costumes actors wore during the first two Turtles movies from the early 1990s.

But the latest installment is no kids’ show. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out of the Shadows, the third CGI-live action Turtles film since 2007, weighs in as a bona fide superhero blockbuster. That also means it comes with some of the drawbacks that plague films gunning for a young adult audience.

Nerdy scientist Baxter Stockman (Tyler Perry) uses his computer wizardry to coordinate the breakout of the Turtles’ archenemy, Shredder (Brian Tee), from a prison vehicle convoy. Lurking in another dimension, Commander Krang (voiced by Brad Garrett), a squid-like creature protruding from a large robot’s mid-section, is preparing to attack the earth. Krang enlists Shredder to assemble a device, whose three pieces are scattered around the world, that can open a space-time rift large enough to allow Krang to teleport his army.

Hockey-masked vigilante Casey Jones (Stephen Amell) teams up with the publicity-shy Turtles and their liaison to the outside world, April O’Neil (Megan Fox), to thwart Krang and Shredder’s bid to take over the planet.

Although the Turtle quartet doesn’t kill anyone, they deserve at least a “004” designation: The Turtles’ high-speed showdown in their souped-up garbage truck with a gang of ninja motorcyclists, their skydiving plunge out of one airplane onto another, and their battle against a tank in whitewater rapids rival the audacious action sequences in any James Bond film. The $135 million budget also pays off in exquisite graphics, especially in close-ups of the Turtles’ physical features, 100 percent CGI. Such detailed work too often goes underappreciated.

Themes of prejudice, humility, brotherhood, leadership, and working through disagreements keep a rather absurd storyline grounded. And along with hokey and slapstick humor, the film pokes fun at superficial messaging common (for some reason) to family-oriented films.

“True acceptance only comes from within,” Leonardo tells his masked, pizza-loving comrades.

Raphael scoffs: “Don’t give me that fortuneteller muck.”

But the PG-13 film is not for the whole family. The level of violence even in the first Turtles film apparently upset Henson, who died less than two months after the film’s March 30, 1990 release. The mayhem in the new Turtles film would certainly have caused the famous puppeteer great concern. Add to that a brazen close-up of a scantily clad April, plus eight expletives (strangely unnoted in the MPAA rating)—all in the first half of the movie—and many parents might opt to keep young (or all) children away.

The film’s ending and the franchise’s string of box office successes suggest a sequel is sure to come. If it forgoes pointless objectionable material, Turtles might pick up a new generation of fans.