Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II: The Secret of the Ooze

The Turtles return in this underwhelming sequel that generally fares about as well as its predecessor, with the almost unreasonably thin storyline following the reptilian foursome (Robbie Rist’s Michealangelo, Adam Carl’s Donatello, Laurie Faso’s Raphael, and Brian Tochi’s Leonardo) as they’re forced to once again battle Shredder (François Chau) after the villain steals the last canister of the ooze responsible for originally transforming the Turtles (which he plans to use to create an army of oversized, unstoppable warriors). There’s little doubt that Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II: The Secret of the Ooze shows some promise in its early stages, as the movie benefits substantially from the casting of David Warner as a shifty scientist – with the actor’s mere presence elevating the proceedings on an all-too-rare basis. It’s just as clear, however, that the biggest problem here remains the Turtles themselves; despite efforts at infusing each of them with separate and distinct characteristics, the four heroes remain woefully interchangeable from start to finish – which ensures that one is simply never able to work up any real interest or enthusiasm in their exploits. By the time the film devolves into an interminable series of wisecracking fight scenes, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II: The Secret of the Ooze has certainly established itself as a needless followup that’s destined to leave the majority of viewers cold. (Fans, on the other hand, will undoubtedly thrill to the heroes’ broadly conceived and executed antics.)

*1/2 out of ****