Review of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II: The Secret of the Ooze (1991) by Kai82 — 19 Sep 2020

The sequel is more lighthearted, goofy (mostly the good kind) and uses more humor. While it is still entertaining it is weaker while also doing some things better. It continues the story from the first movie.

Some time has passed and the Turtles must adapt to a new situation and old enemies want revenge while new ones will appear. Like the title said it is centered around the Ooze. A mutagen that created the Turtles and can be a potent weapon in the wrong hands.

I wont spoil more details. The Ooze is a fitting connection to my first problem. Why were Rocksteady and Bebop not used or introduced here. When we watched the movie most of us ignored the fact that the new characters were not them.

I remember thinking as kid how different they look from the the TV series. A bit later I learned that they created new characters named Tokka and Rahzar. Nothing wrong in general with them but they never have the impact Bebop and Rocksteady would had.

While I am at it my other mayor complaint is the climax. When you think the final battle gets really awesome because a tread as dangerous as nothing seen before emerges it ended. It is not the underwhelming kind it is like fading black and looks like they run out of money or time to do it.

Think about Darth Vader and Luke start fighting each other and then Vader got a heart-attack and the battle is over. So much wasted potential. The movie is really good otherwise. They improved the suits for the Turtles a lot, the humor is great (some say a bit too juvenile but it is for fans) and the acting is fitting for this movie.

They replaced April O’Neil with a new actress and Paige Turco does a good job here. The villains are intimidating and the fights are good but more humorous or slapstick infected. It is more lighthearted than the prequel.

Overall it is funny and worth watching but will be forgotten relatively fast.