6.3 | / 10 |
Users | 4.5 | |
Reviewer | 3.5 | |
Overall | 3.5 |
The Turtles return to save the city from a dangerous threat.
Starring: Megan Fox, Will Arnett, Laura Linney, Stephen Amell, Noel FisherAction | 100% |
Adventure | 88% |
Fantasy | 72% |
Sci-Fi | 65% |
Comic book | 62% |
Comedy | 19% |
Martial arts | 13% |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 2.40:1
Original aspect ratio: 2.39:1
English: Dolby Atmos
English: Dolby TrueHD 7.1 (48kHz, 24-bit)
French (Canada): Dolby Digital 5.1
Spanish: Dolby Digital 5.1
Portuguese: Dolby Digital 5.1
English, English SDH, French, Portuguese, Spanish
Blu-ray Disc
Two-disc set (1 BD, 1 DVD)
UV digital copy
DVD copy
Slipcover in original pressing
Region free
Movie | 2.5 | |
Video | 5.0 | |
Audio | 5.0 | |
Extras | 2.5 | |
Overall | 3.5 |
2016 Market saturation complete. And that's a pretty impressive feat for a series that dates back to comic books in the 1980s and quickly thereafter exploded in popularity with cartoons, toys, and live-action feature films. But boy oh boy, have things really gone nuts lately. Children of the 80s and 90s, now parenting children of their own, find themselves in the middle of a marketing bombardment that began with the much-maligned CG/live-action hybrid Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles reboot film and, with Out of the Shadows, a market dominance that's wholly inescapable, particularly now that it's back-to-school season and everything -- literally, it seems, everything -- features the turtles. It's impossible to even walk through the grocery store isles without finding branded backpacks, notebooks, foods, various odds-and-ends merchandise, and of course price-inflated copies of the first film, featured prominently on an endocarp or two and playing on a TV screen attached, and no doubt to be joined this sequel once it finally enters the fray on release day. Oh, the kids will have to have it. There's nothing hotter than the Turtles right now, it seems, and they may even be bigger than Paramount's other big-money 80s reboot series, Transformers, beside which Out of the Shadows feels almost like a spiritual cousin. There's a distinct formula at play here -- Michael Bay-inspired visuals, very similar sound effects, a hope to capture the hearts of kids and the minds of adults who grew up with the toys -- and Paramount certainly seems to have the market cornered on recreated nostalgia and winning over a new generation of fans with snazzy, spruced-up, digital-laden behemoths of movies. Unfortunately, and even as it stands a fair bit taller than its infuriating predecessor, Out of the Shadows really isn't that great of a movie. But the kids will most assuredly love it.
No surprise, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out of the Shadows looks fantastic on Blu-ray. While there's certainly a case of sensory overload -- every frame, it seems, is packed to the gills with stuff -- it's all presented with flawless clarity and pinpoint detail, whether real or digital. From bright scientific offices to dank underground lairs, from sunlit city exteriors to nighttime freeway chases, the transfer sports a fantastically defined and expansively detailed image. The crowded production design is, if nothing else, a treasure trove of trinkets that the Blu-ray format finds fit to reveal in all the glory the 1080p horsepower allows. Clothing is finely detailed, including the frayed and finely featured turtle masks. Human flesh is complex with pores, scars, facial hair, and makeup. Clarity extends to the furthest reaches of the frame and even at some distance, particularly evident in more expansive city exteriors where near-field rougher urban textures are always tangibly textured to the finer points of realism. Colors explode with frequency and vitality. The Knicks game literally leaps off the screen with amazing blue and orange punch. The turtles' trademark headbands feature the standby colors in well-worn fashion. Every color in the film is very well saturated and vibrant with only a few hints of excess gaudiness. Flesh tones do push a little hot, seemingly by design. Black levels are crisp and deep. Very fine noise appears and saturates a couple of shots, but it's never seriously intrusive or, often, all that evident. This is a top-end 1080p presentation all the way.
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out of the Shadows thrives on Blu-ray with a fun and high-energy Dolby Atmos soundtrack. The triumphant track produces an effortlessly wide, flair-filled, and engagingly cinematic assault on the ears. Clarity remains top priority, and even through many blended and mixed-up sounds, all play in harmony and each retains a distinct flavor through the mayhem. The track is remarkably smooth and efficient in movement. Imaging is excellent, stage saturation is full, and directionality is fluid. The overhead channels -- four of them engaged for the purpose of this review -- find only a few truly distinct moments, but the sense of greater immersion into the listen is obvious in most every scene beyond dialogue. The PA system at the Knicks game offers the roomiest and most clearly defined top layer sounds; it seems as if the listener is right there at the Garden with loudspeakers blaring straight overhead. General action is sharp and engaging. Metallic clanks, crashes, and movement work in total harmony. Explosions are met with prodigious, but balanced, bass. Wrecked vehicles skid through the stage with weight, but finesse. Choppers rumble, cars zoom. The soundstage enjoys plenty of movement through the traditional north-south and east-west routes but also tons of zigzagging from one corner to the next and, of course, a layered top end. Dialogue is clear and well prioritized. This is a fabulous listen and one Atmos owners will want to experience firsthand.
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out of the Shadows contains three deleted scenes and several featurettes. A DVD copy of the film and a
voucher for a UV/iTunes digital copy are included with purchase.
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out of the Shadows makes for acceptable entertainment. It's flashy in construction, crude in storytelling, and repetitive in action. It's almost all noise and visual mayhem, with an honest effort at folding in relevant themes of identity and purpose into the story. It improves on the first film, though only, really, because it would be impossible not to make better on that atrocity of a picture. Little boys will love this movie to death. Parents who grew up on the classic comics, toys, cartoons, and even live action films might find this too much of a paradigm shift to enjoy. Paramount's Blu-ray release of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out of the Shadows does, as expected, deliver top-flight 1080p video and engaging Atmos sound. Supplements include a trio of deleted scenes and a handful of featurettes. Pick it up for the kids.
2016
2016
Cowabunga Collection Giftset
2016
with bonus disc, collectible shell packaging, and 2 reversible ninja masks
2016
2016
w/ Raphael Statue
2014
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
2007
2017
2017
2013
Cinematic Universe Edition
2015
The Rogue Cut
2014
Cinematic Universe Edition
2012
1993
2006 Original Release
2006
1990
1980
Extended and Theatrical versions
2011
2013
2013
2019
Theatrical & Extended Cut
2016
Cinematic Universe Edition
2019
plus Theatrical Cut on standard Blu-ray
2016
2019