Tartarughe Ninja II - Il segreto di Ooze

This film opens with tremendous confidence and energy. The humor of the Turtles may be so 1990 but I still dig it. The opening scene in the shopping mall is way funny and a great way to introduce is to the sequel. At the time the style of the Turtles wasn't so stale, so the plot may seem a bit childish or dumb now.

I have no doubts that if this movie were made today it would not be subtitled 'The Secret of the Ooze'. One can hardly expect high art from a movie called Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II but they could have subtitled it something a little less crass. Apparently taking place right after the first movie (where's Casey) it wastes no time bringing back the Shredder and the rest of the Foot Clan.

This time Shredder aims to steal the cannister of ooze that mutated our heroes so he can make his own monsters to avenge his defeat. The result is Tokka and Rahzar and it seems like a half-attempt at a live-action version of Rocksteady and Bebop. As you can imagine, this plot isn't very clever. But the movie never really lulls so long as our heroes are on screen.

Look out for a cameo by Vanilla Ice (looking alarmingly like Dolph Lundgren) at the end. It's so dated it may be difficult to watch but as long as your alone you won't have to cringe.

The DVD has wonderful motion menus as well as a great 1.85:1 anamorphic picture with Dolby 5.1 sound. Extras are thin but still it's a great buy.

STAR RATING:*****Unmissable****Very Good***Okay**You Could Go Out For A Meal Instead*Avoid At All Costs

The turtles have thwarted the evil Shredder and his army of ninja thieves and are now searching for a new home.However,it soon emerges The Shredder is set to return to wreak more havoc,and has the ways and the means of unleashing a terrible new threat to the crime fighting awesome foursome.As they set out to stop him,the turtles come to learn more about where they came from and the secrets of their origin...

At the time of the original film's release,the TV series and the toys were at the height of their popularity and so a feature film was inevitable.However,it was a relatively low budget Golden Harvest production that went on to become the most successful independent film of all time.GH still played quite a huge part in the proceedings with this second instalment,however the first film had been a major success,a sequel was as inevitable as the original adaptation that preceded it and so now,a worldwide big major studio like Twentieth Century Fox wanted to have a cut in the stakes and so stepped in to cash in on the franchise.And hey,nobody makes family blockbusters like Twentieth Century Fox,right?Well,maybe Universal.

Anyone who would regard Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 2 as pointless is,in essence,unable to see past their own nose.The law of physics practically states that any successful (especially family based) action film will have a follow up,in the interests of franchising and,well,basically making money.And it's certainly the family that TMNT2 appeals more to.It's a much lighter,sillier and more family friendly feeling outing,in comparison to the dark,grimy feel of the original.The Shredder,for instance and most significantly,manages only a fraction of the dark,menacing vibe he gave last time and for the most part completely lacks substance here.There's a scene in which the Tokha and Rahzor monsters clamber up and cuddle him that forcefully strips him of all the fear and respect he commanded from the last film.To a degree,the same could be said of Tatsu,although in fairness,he did carry a slightly bumbling quality to him in the original.That's not to mention a number of woefully under-used supporting characters,such as April and Chief Sterns.And what the hell happened to Casey Jones?!?

Of the new characters the new film introduces,Ernie Reyes Jr. emits a fairly engaging charisma as kung fu fighting pizza delivery boy Keno and David Warner is impressive as bumbling professor Jordan Perry (or maybe the film holds too much sentimental value for me!)

One of the main compounding factors of the film (in my eyes) was the plot (or,rather,lack of it) that at best feels very slight and at worst feels practically non-existent.The film is very short,so the feeling of it all being slapped together to make money is never far in doubt.Yet,for all this,the film still manages to carry a charm all of it's own.The script,though patchily assembled,still manages to be engaging throughout and the Jim Henson creature shop creations are as well made,colourful and pleasant to the eye as you'd expect.And hey,when even a Vanilla Ice cameo can't spoil it,something has to be right.***

The sequel to the smash hit 1990 TMNT, starts off greatly with an introduction to a new character (Keno) and has a great pizza scene showing how the city loves New York pizza as well as metaphorically showing the viewers watching that this indeed is a turtles movie...The opening music is great and is perfect for the city scene.

The plot is not as well thought out as the original but still does the turtles a good name for them...I still feel they rushed it a little seeing that the movie was in production right after the 1st movie went into theaters...I seem to feel the super shredder was the turning point in the franchise, meaning that it went from a sort of Tim Burtan feel with TMNT 1, and ended up with a corny kid focused feeling with the introduction of the super shredder..and the ninja rap didn't help either..all though I thought it was cool....I just wished secret of the ooze was more of a dark TMNT movie....which the 1st movie held on to strong.

The addition of Professor Jorden Perry and the whole TGRI company was a great idea to explain the chemical spill and the mutation the turtles went through. His mature nature and serious tone helped the movie maintain a sense of maturity as well as stability in the plot.

The acting was great in this one as well and the comedy was just as good as in the first movie. Although Corey Feldman did not voice Donetello in this one, the replaced voice actor was great...I even might say that the actor that voiced Don in TMNT 2 is just as good as Cory Feldman's voice acting in the 1st and 3rd movie.

IN conclusion, TMNT: Secret of the Ooze is a great sequel that is both funny as well as serious and is a great movie for any age. The only thing that bothered me was that is was slightly too focused on the youth audience and didn't stay 100% with the original's dark atmosphere.

The Turtles and their master Splinter are now living with April O'Neil (Paige Turco) in her apartment. Keno is a kicking pizza delivery guy. They have to stop Shredder and his minions.

This is a live-action movie of a Saturday morning cartoon. It is what it is and it has fun with it. Heck, it has Vanilla Ice performing. It has its fun without getting too stupid.

Looking for great lines and dialogue, there is none here. Looking for cool costumes that look extremely realistic, not here Looking for pure turtle fun… you have come to the right place

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II: The Secret of the OOZE, oh boy when I was young this was the movie to see; there is nothing better than seeing something that you loved when you were young, and then just knowing all the lines before they are said.

Anywhere anytime, during my youth days I will sit down to see these guys take on Shredder again and bring down Tokka and Rahzar. The Foot Clan could not even measure up to the task of taking on these guys, as they have failed in the first part of this film.

The event in the movie follows the first film, after Shredder was believed to have been dead. The Shred-Master was not dead though and he reunited with the remainder his Foot Clan and he now wanted to take down the turtles, a revenge mission that he decided will be freak against freak.

So he kidnapped a professor who knew about the Ooze that made the turtles and he (the professor) was forced to create two monsters for Shredder, and they were named Tokka and Rahzar. Now Shredder has the upper hand and he promises to release the creatures into the city if the turtles do not come and face them.

The movie was received with mixed reviews totally because the movie was very tuned down from the dark theme of the first and also, many of the fight scenes featured the use of hands rather than weapons. All this was to make the film more appealing to younger audience, which worked in my case as I was young and found the comic references interesting and great.

The only thing that may have not made this movie so appealing to older viewers will be the fight scenes, removing the weapons was not just cool for me, and they changed the April, which to some was not needed. In the first movie April O'Nei, was played by Judith Hoagl who did a fine job if I may say so, but she was replaced in this movie by Paige Turco, who wasn't half bad.

Also the person I missed the most in this movie was Casey Jones, who was a prominent character in the first movie.

To put it like this, if you were my age when you saw this the first time you will have learnt the Vanilla Ice rap song, and be singing on the streets Villains you better run and hide…Go Ninja, Go Ninja, Go.., so reviewing it like I was watching it back in 1991 when Vanilla Ice was still popular I say this is a good movie.

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