Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out of the Shadows
Paramount Pictures | Release Date: June 3, 2016 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
40
METASCORE
Mixed or average reviews based on 30 Critic Reviews
Positive:
4
Mixed:
16
Negative:
10
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
75
HitfixDrew McWeenyJun 2, 2016
The movie suffers from being the same shape as so many modern blockbusters, and the plot in the second half of the film is basically another riff on the “reach the glowing doodad on a roof to prevent the end of the world” structure. But the focus on the Turtles and the film’s overall amiable sense of goofball humor carries the day. Read full review
67
IndieWireDavid EhrlichJun 7, 2016
Fortunately, Green’s sequel doesn’t have much interest in frustrations; this is a movie about unbridled joy, about transposing a cartoon veneer over a bleak human world. Read full review
63
Washington PostMichael O'SullivanJun 2, 2016
"Out of the Shadows” isn’t going to win any awards, good or bad. Neither an embarrassment nor a triumph, it is nevertheless an improvement over the last film. Read full review
63
Chicago Sun-TimesBill ZweckerJun 2, 2016
This sequel is a good improvement over the 2014 adventure that rebooted the franchise. The effects are better, the pacing is tighter and the overall impact is much more entertaining. Read full review
60
New York Daily NewsEdward DouglasJun 2, 2016
Does its best to include as much fan fodder as it does kiddie fare with the distinct personalities of the four Turtles — "Mikey," "Leo," "Raph" and "Donnie" — faithful enough to previous incarnations that both should be happier with the sequel over its predecessor. Read full review
58
Entertainment WeeklyDevan Coggan Jun 2, 2016
So while Out of the Shadows may not be any smarter than the first installment (or really all that smart at all), it’s certainly a lot more fun. Read full review
58
The A.V. ClubJesse HassengerJun 2, 2016
While it’s not necessarily a good thing to aim this kind of weaponized marketing at kids, it’s also silly and colorful enough to nearly work as a live-action cartoon. It might rot brains, but perhaps not while regarding them with utter contempt. Read full review
50
Slant MagazineChuck BowenJun 3, 2016
Its openly mercenary ethos initially scan as a bracing lack of pretense in a market crammed to the gills with insidious faux-sentimentality, but its overstuffed relentlessness proves almost equally tedious. Read full review
50
The Globe and Mail (Toronto)Brad WheelerJun 2, 2016
They’re back for an entertaining enough 3-D sequel to their 2014 franchise revival, and so is the rest of the cast that includes foxy Megan Fox and her ability to wear a naughty schoolgirl outfit. Read full review
50
The Seattle TimesSoren AndersenJun 2, 2016
This is a production from producer Michael Bay, master of the cinema of CG run amok. And all we helpless mortals can do is cower and duck as those 3D fists fly. Read full review
50
New York PostSara StewartJun 2, 2016
This unambitious Michael Bay-produced version doesn’t seem interested in cleverness, cravenly settling for the usual generic CGI shtick. Read full review
50
The Film StageDaniel SchindelJun 2, 2016
It’s surprisingly enjoyable even if you aren’t already in the bag for the turtles. Read full review
50
Screen DailyTim GriersonJun 2, 2016
Packed with better action sequences and a smidgeon more emotional resonance, this sequel may be more engaging than its predecessor, but the franchise remains a rather clattering and crude affair. Read full review
50
The Hollywood ReporterFrank ScheckJun 2, 2016
The film fares best when it slows down a bit and allows the Turtles' personalities, which are quite engaging, to shine through via their amusing comic banter. Read full review
42
TheWrapMichael NordineJun 2, 2016
Out of the Shadows stumbles from one set piece to the next, rarely offering viewers much reason to care in between, and its halfhearted attempts at moving toward the “dark and gritty” end of the comic-book spectrum never land. Read full review
42
The PlaylistNick SchagerJun 2, 2016
Out of the Shadows’ barrels forward like such a rampaging beast that it decimates everything – plot, character, emotion, basic visual lucidity – in its wake. Read full review
40
Austin ChronicleMarc SavlovJun 8, 2016
No groundbreaking cinemagic there, but Out of the Shadows’ oddball moments keep things weirdly surreal throughout. Read full review
40
The New York TimesGlenn KennyJun 2, 2016
This movie is, it happens, easier to sit through than the 2014 film. The 3-D action, overseen by the director Dave Green, is not wholly incoherent. The production values (showcasing new mutants and many gear-heavy extra-dimensional machines undreamed of in any actual engineering philosophy) are ultrashiny. And there are even a couple of amusing, albeit unmemorable, sight gags and one-liners. Read full review
40
ScreenCrushMatt SingerJun 2, 2016
True, Out of the Shadows is an improvement over the last Ninja Turtles movie, but only in the way that a mild cold is an improvement over the flu. It’s not good, but at least it’s not so terrible that it makes you want to lie in bed for a few days. Read full review
40
EmpireEmma ThrowerMay 30, 2016
Considerably better than its predecessor, the central four may give it their all but the people behind this franchise sadly don’t seem all that interested in their crime-fighting, pizza-eating heroes. Read full review
38
Chicago TribuneKatie WalshJun 2, 2016
Ultimately, any sass, sentiment and personality are obliterated in the noisy chaos of the climax, which is a grayish brown blur of flying spaceship parts, whirling turtle shells and shouts of "the beacon!" It's more cacophonous than cinematic, and loses the quirky charm of the cartoon in the avalanche of computer-generated violence. Read full review
38
Movie NationRoger MooreJun 2, 2016
It’s still just a patience-testing bauble for anybody over the age of 12. The Turtles, in this latest incarnation, were and remain shiny but stupid entertainment for kids. Read full review
33
ConsequenceMarten CarlsonJun 2, 2016
To his credit, Green makes great use of wide-angle photography so the action feels comprehensible, with surprisingly long shots and effective editing. It’s just a shame the director’s talents are wasted on this brand-stamped mess. Read full review
30
VarietyGeoff BerkshireJun 2, 2016
Visual spectacle still takes precedence over coherent plotting, and the human characters retain all the gravitas of generic placeholders who accidentally made it into the shooting script. Read full review
25
Rolling StonePeter TraversJun 3, 2016
Cowabunga, the vigilante demi-gods on a half shell are back, and more inane and irritating than ever. Their antics make the 112 minutes it takes to watch this frenetic followup to 2014's Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles a torturous mindfuck for any sentient being over the age of infancy. Read full review
25
RogerEbert.comSimon AbramsJun 3, 2016
This is the kind of movie that leaves you with the impression that more thought was put into catchphrases and fan service than into a compelling plot, thoughtful characterizations or imaginative action choreography. Read full review
25
Philadelphia InquirerTirdad DerakhshaniJun 3, 2016
A subpar 3D action comedy featuring four giant motion-capture animated turtles and a raft of human costars, including the dreamy-eyed Fox, wide-shouldered Perry, a remarkably slender Will Arnett, and Laura Linney, who looks tired and uncomfortable throughout the proceedings. Read full review
25
San Francisco ChroniclePeter HartlaubJun 2, 2016
There are isolated moments of humor, and even charm. The visual effects are at times outstanding. But these positives are overwhelmed by the uninspired whole. Read full review
20
Time OutCath ClarkeJun 8, 2016
Forget cowabunga, this is cowadunga. Still, the Oscar for Most Shamefully Contrived Scene goes to the scriptwriters for managing to get franchise eye-candy Megan Fox into a sexy schoolgirl outfit, which, any shorter, would land the film with an R rating. Read full review
20
The GuardianMike McCahillMay 31, 2016
It’s soon clear that OOTS follows the model of Bay’s Transformers sequels. Longer, louder and boasting even more hardware, it does everything to generate the illusion of bleeding-edge bang-per-buck, while cribbing shamelessly from 1991’s Secret of the Ooze. Read full review
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