Nerds That Geek Movie Review - 'Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II: The Secret of the Ooze'

Written by Scott Edwards

There is something that everyone should recognize in life and it is that everyone is special in their own ways. There should never be two people exactly the same, because if there were, how boring would that be?  It is important that you recognize that your uniqueness is what makes you who you are and even if everybody does not like you, there are still several people out there that do. It is hard to imagine a world where everybody is the same, there needs to be some individuality out there.

Leonardo, Donatello, Michelangelo and Raphael are loving life, especially after defeating the Shredder at his own game. And as April O’Neil has her new apartment, they are loving being above ground as well, especially when pizza is being delivered. But Splinter is not happy with their surroundings and knows that they must return to the sewers before something or someone else tries to attack the group. Needing to keep control of his kids, he is not one to shy away from discipline, even for the little things.

The Foot has retreated to their fall back location, a junk yard that has no authority around it. As their numbers have dwindled, they are still in need of a leader and Tatsu is ready to assume that role, but when a challenger from the depths comes to oppose him, Tatsu is happy to see a scarred but familiar face once again. The Shredder is back and has only one thing on his mind, revenge against the turtles and the old rat that left him for dead. Needing to find where they are hiding, one of The Foot clan members finds something much more interesting when working for April on assignment at TGRI. 

An ooze has been released in the city and the race is on to find it since both the turtles and the Shredder are looking to capitalize on its benefits. The Shredder is able to secure it first and has the good doctor whose job was to dispose of the ooze help him in his evil plan. Creating a massive snapping turtle and wolf to kill the turtles, the Shredder is once again on the top of the food chain. But the turtles will not go down without a fight and with the help of April O’Neil and their favorite pizza delivery boy Keno, the group is ready for battle once again.  Knowing the turtles can win the straight up fight, Shredder has a different plan of attack when releasing his new children on the streets.  The fear of what could happen next time is too much for the turtles to bear and they take their fight to the Shredder on his own terms, and the turtles have a few surprises of their own.

The second installment of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles franchise turned out to be my favorite one.  The first movie revolved around the emotions that the turtles had to deal with, while this movie is just flat out fun and a lot lighter. With jokes being chucked every which way, it is hard not to smile, even when it looks like they are about to be defeated. I love this lighter mood and even though Raph is still kind of the defeated one, you don’t have enough time to notice how powerful the situation is. I don’t know if the series should have ended here since the Shredder is defeated once again and will not be rising from the ashes, or dock, but there is one more movie in this original series of films, so we will have to take a look at what the turtles can do when they are out of their own time. Happy Viewing.

---