"a fun film which aims to entertain. As long as what you expect is a superhero film and not a cleverly designed labyrinth which you have to decode"

This past Sunday started with the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out of the Shadows press screening for me and, in the most honest sense, it is a good choice for a Sunday at the movies. The film is the sequel to 2014's Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and the brothers are faced again with the ultimate challenge – saving Earth from the crazy villain Shredder (Brian Tee), mad scientist Baxter Stockman (Tyler Perry), Bebop (Gary Anthony Williams), Rocksteady (Stephen "Sheamus" Farrelly) and the notorious Krang (Fred Armisen).

That is, I’d say, the film’s biggest problem - it doesn’t bring anything new to the table. You have the good guys, you have the bad guys and one going against the other. It doesn’t aim to reinvent anything nor to surprise with it’s incredibly well crafted story. You have a lot of plotting and a huge amount of prep in order to get to the same very well known situation in which Earth (again and again and again) is in danger.

They do aim to give the story a bit of twist by showing the humanity of the turtles, especially when Leonardo (Pete Ploszek) and Donatello (Jeremy Howard) disagree with Michelangelo (Noel Fisher) and Raphael (Alan Ritchson) about taking advantage of the possibility of becoming humans, however that is not enough to save the film.

What was nicely shown was how the uniqueness of each of the ninja turtles benefits them as a group. Leonardo is the logical leader, the responsible adult who has to think everything through because no one else does. Donatello, the geek of the group, has a brilliant mind but is somewhat clueless about the practicality of anything. I liked how they even made him look geeky, totally different to the massively build Raphael who is all muscles and impulse. And last, but not least, and the one who they refer to as their little brother – Michelangelo, the one with an equally big heart and mouth!

Joining the team are their long time friend April (Megan Fox), the now very famous Vernon (Will Arnett) and Casey Jones (Stephen Amell), a police officer who dreams about becoming a detective one day and gets pulled into the drama when wanting to bring back two average criminals.

Visually speaking the movie is nicely done; the look of the turtles and the newly transformed monsters and the very gross Krang, the fight scenes and the general locations, all of these will help with the ratings. Another plus is the humour. The very typical ninja turtle jokes are simple and to the point.

All in all, I’d say Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out of the Shadows is a fun film which aims to entertain. As long as what you expect is a superhero film and not a cleverly designed labyrinth which you have to decode, even 2 hours after leaving the cinema, you’re good. It’s funny and enjoyable, perfect for a chill evening out.