The first wave of reviews for the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles sequel have hit, but is it better than the previous instalment? The answer may surprise you, so hit the jump to see what the critics are saying...

Predictably, critics aren't proving to be all that fond of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out of the Shadows, but on the plus side, it definitely sounds like it's better than the first movie! Still, many of the same complaints which plagued that one seem to be present once again, while Shredder not seeing any action whatsoever is sure to upset those hoping for a more faithful take on the villain.



Worryingly, many critics seem to have taken umbrage at how the Turtles are portrayed here, with one describing them as, "hulking, cold-bloodied bullies." It's going to be interesting to see what kind of impact these reviews have on the box office, especially after the way they've affected Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice and X-Men: Apocalypse. Regardless, check out some excerpts below.

There are also a few story problems. Let me be clear; the issues with story in Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out Of The Shadows are nowhere near as severe as those in Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (2014). However, perhaps owing to the number of characters that needed to be set up, there’s a charging, chaotic feel to the first half an hour, as we zip from event to event. Even after this, it just doesn’t quite hang together. It’s a bit stop-start, moving from one sequence to the next without building any momentum until the last half an hour or so. It feels a bit odd giving this film the same star rating that I gave the first (a rating I stand by), as it is miles better. I do think it’s a three star film, but it’s a three star film that I kind of love. This is why star ratings are rubbish. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out Of The Shadows is a big, fun summer blockbuster, and one that Turtles fans are likely to get a massive kick out of. [***]

Within the first ten minutes of TMNT: Out of the Shadows, as you're watching Megan Fox's dead-eyed April O'Neil don a disguise that just happens to be a skintight Japanese schoolgirl outfit, it's obvious that this is something much more cynical than a family movie. Even setting aside the camera's leery male gaze, everything about the film feels half-hearted, from its paint-by-numbers plot to its disengaged cast to its occasional stabs at emotional stakes. A heightened sense of humour probably makes Out of the Shadows a slight improvement on its po-faced predecessor, but it's a loud, bright, brainless mess whose greatest asset is its snappy 112-minute running time.