Anthony's Film Review - Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II: The Secret of the Ooze (1991)

The second live-action Ninja Turtles adventure delivers enough fun for one and a half hours...

There is one striking difference between the first and second live-action Ninja Turtle movies. The latter downplays the violence. It was likely due to outcry from parents who thought the first movie was a bit violent, especially considering the campiness of the well-known Ninja Turtle cartoon on TV. I'm not complaining about it, because this second movie does, in fact, seem like an improvement over the first.

Take, for example, the first action sequence. A pizza delivery boy named Keno (Ernie Reyes Jr.) stumbles onto a mall robbery in progress. Just as he is about to be attacked by a gang of hoodlums, the Turtles arrive and leap into action. Surprisingly, they don't use their signature weapons (Leonardo's katana blades, Michelangelo's nunchucks, Donatello's bo staff, and Raphael's sai) directly against their foes. Instead, they use various items lying around, like a yo-yo.

After this part of the movie, which has nothing to do with the main plot, the Turtles discover something about their past. Splinter, their rat master, reveals the canister of mutagenic ooze that transformed them into the mutants they are now. The ooze is from a research facility called TGRI, whose waste disposing activities have made it onto the local news. The Turtles' arch nemesis, the Shredder, returns and plots to use some of this ooze to make his own mutants.

If there is one thing to like about this Turtle movie, it's the introduction of several new characters. Shredder's new mutants are a snapping turtle named Tokka and a wolverine named Rahzar. Although they don't outnumber the Turtles, they are bigger and stronger. At the same time, they are not as bright. Meanwhile, the Turtles have a new ally in Professor Jordan Perry (David Warner) of TGRI along with their long-time friend April O'Neill (Paige Turco).

From beginning to end, the movie is just simple fun. Nothing too extraordinary, but still watchable. Now, my opinion may be based largely on seeing this movie as a kid, but even if I watch it now, it still falls marginally on the positive side of my 1-to-10 scale. When you have a combination of puppetry, ninja action, science fiction, humor, and even rapper Vanilla Ice with his "Ninja Rap," it can be an entertaining mix.

Anthony's Rating:

For more information about Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II: The Secret of the Ooze, visit the Internet Movie Database.

In addition, check out my reviews of the following:

The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Films

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (1990)
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II: The Secret of the Ooze
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles III
TMNT
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (2014)
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out of the Shadows
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem