Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II: The Secret of the Ooze is a less thought-out and well-shot film than its predecessor. It also has many more flaws, and amplifies the flaws in the previous entry instead of fixing them. Despite this though, it delivers an entertaining ride that you should enjoy if you liked the first.
From the beginning it's easy to see the differences in this film. The movie starts will a nice montage of people eating pizza that will really make you hungry for the turtles' favorite food. The turtles are soon discovered by a new character, Keno. This guy's characterization isn't strong, but he's still interesting enough for us to like him. So, it turns out The Shredder is still alive and the turtles have to stop him again.
One drawback for me is the fact that the brothers barely get to use their weapons. I mean, come on, in the first action sequence Michaelangelo actually uses sausage links to fight! The film often uses things like this to please the people who complained about too much violence in the first film. The sacrifice is that these scenes are very out of character, I mean, the turtles are specifically trained to use their weapons, it's just disappointing that they don't. Another result of the parents complaining about the violence is the entire tone is a lot more lighthearted than the first's. This is just a shame, but at the same time, is one of the things I like about the film. This is a children's comedy, and that's where it works.
The dialogue is decent, especially for the type of film it is. Some of the lines went too over-the-top for my tastes, but they weren't as bad as they could of been. It's obvious that many of the things that I think are ridiculous in it are going to be found entertaining by kids. So, I'll forgive it for some of the more cheesy lines.
The film's cinematography is adequate. The sewer looks more like a set this time, and Shredder's lair is not as badass as his old one. The lighting is okay, sometimes things seem too well lit for where they take place. The acting is decent, the turtles voices are almost as good as they were in the first, but the lack of Cory Feldman sucks. And the new April O'Neil is nowhere near as captivating of a character, mostly because of her performance.
Just like the first, the puppetry is top-notch. I have some complaints about it, like the fact they made no attempt to hide the line where the mask meets the costume, and that Mikey's head is shaped odd, and too small. However the puppetry in this is heaps better than in the third movie. It's disappointing they didn't try harder though, as the budget was twice as big this time around.
Everything else ranges from forgettable to decent. The film is pretty well-made, but a lot of it is lackluster. I find myself entertained by the movie though, because the characters are mostly kept intact and there is some great moments...I won't mention the Vanilla Ice song.
6/10
From the beginning it's easy to see the differences in this film. The movie starts will a nice montage of people eating pizza that will really make you hungry for the turtles' favorite food. The turtles are soon discovered by a new character, Keno. This guy's characterization isn't strong, but he's still interesting enough for us to like him. So, it turns out The Shredder is still alive and the turtles have to stop him again.
One drawback for me is the fact that the brothers barely get to use their weapons. I mean, come on, in the first action sequence Michaelangelo actually uses sausage links to fight! The film often uses things like this to please the people who complained about too much violence in the first film. The sacrifice is that these scenes are very out of character, I mean, the turtles are specifically trained to use their weapons, it's just disappointing that they don't. Another result of the parents complaining about the violence is the entire tone is a lot more lighthearted than the first's. This is just a shame, but at the same time, is one of the things I like about the film. This is a children's comedy, and that's where it works.
The dialogue is decent, especially for the type of film it is. Some of the lines went too over-the-top for my tastes, but they weren't as bad as they could of been. It's obvious that many of the things that I think are ridiculous in it are going to be found entertaining by kids. So, I'll forgive it for some of the more cheesy lines.
The film's cinematography is adequate. The sewer looks more like a set this time, and Shredder's lair is not as badass as his old one. The lighting is okay, sometimes things seem too well lit for where they take place. The acting is decent, the turtles voices are almost as good as they were in the first, but the lack of Cory Feldman sucks. And the new April O'Neil is nowhere near as captivating of a character, mostly because of her performance.
Just like the first, the puppetry is top-notch. I have some complaints about it, like the fact they made no attempt to hide the line where the mask meets the costume, and that Mikey's head is shaped odd, and too small. However the puppetry in this is heaps better than in the third movie. It's disappointing they didn't try harder though, as the budget was twice as big this time around.
Everything else ranges from forgettable to decent. The film is pretty well-made, but a lot of it is lackluster. I find myself entertained by the movie though, because the characters are mostly kept intact and there is some great moments...I won't mention the Vanilla Ice song.
6/10
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