Possible spoilers friends!

First, can I just start off by saying that I was praying they would name this movie something other than 'Out of the Shadows' because there is already a video game with the same title? But nope. Michael Bay and his team completely went for it anyway.

Now don't let my opening statement deter you into thinking I absolutely loathed this movie, because that isn't at all true. Like any movie, there are things I really loved, and others that I wish they would have changed. And just to make sure my feelings remained, I saw this movie twice. And the first thing I want to do is applaud the people who put together this move for making it so much better than the first one. Like wow. I was terrified about this second movie coming out and was hoping that they would do my favorite band of brother’s justice, because they deserve it after that first movie. Probably one of the only things about the first movie that I liked was the way they portrayed the turtles, their personalities. Everything else was not my favorite.

But thankfully, they heard our complaints and strived to make this movie into something the first one was not. And it paid off big time, in my opinion.

The first aspect of the film I want to talk about was how much this movie actually felt like a TMNT movie compared to the first one. One of the things I hated about the first movie was that, in a movie entitled “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles,” the turtles don't actually come into play until about 20 to 30 minutes into the movie. It really should have been called BAM, Here's Megan Fox Featuring Ninja Turtles Eventually. In “Out of the Shadows,” thankfully, they heard our prayers and gave us a little less Megan Fox, and a whole lot of turtles. We start off with the brothers, and they are a constant throughout the whole movie. So well done, Dave Green and everyone else-- this was a great choice on your part.

Next, I want to talk about Bebop and Rocksteady. When I heard they were adding them to this movie, I was freaking out. They have always been some of my favorite classic characters, and I was hoping that they would present them well. And let me just say, I extremely enjoyed the portrayals of these characters. Any fan of the 80s cartoon knows what fun characters Bebop and Rocksteady can be. They're your typical henchman, doing their henchman thing for Shredder and Krang all the time. And they are as one would expect with henchman, clueless and highly predictable. Kudos to Sheamus and Gary Anthony Williams for being faithful to the way their characters have been portrayed throughout TMNT history.Also, quick props to Stephen Amell who plays Casey Jones. I was really unsure of this casting at first, mainly because he doesn't look like Casey Jones, but I was very impressed by how much he acted like him.

And, I want to mention how much I love the actors for the turtles. I think they fit so perfectly, and they work with big turtle CGI costumes so well. I know we don't ever get to see your real faces guys, but know you're greatly appreciated for how well you are at bringing our heroes in a half-shell to life.

As much as most of the character portrayal was spot on, the story line could have been better. I mean, c'mon, would Shredder ever just agree with Krang and do whatever the pink alien wanted without expecting to be betrayed? And would it really be that easy for Shredder to be taken down by Krang? And could April really beat Karai in a fight? The answer to all of the questions is absolutely no.

And there were a lot of plot points I wanted to see elaborated. I liked Krang, but I feel we didn't get enough of him even though he was the main villain of this movie. I also would have like to see more mutant v. mutant fights. The one scene we get in Brazil when they're all tracking down pieces of the portal device is great. It's funny and pretty intense at the same time because they're all inhumanly strong mutants and being carried down a river at the same time. There is a lot going on in that scene and that what makes it so fun to watch.

I like the redesign of Master Splinter as well, and I wish they would have used him more than they did. He's such a crucial character in every version of the turtles that I just feel like he and his abilities are underutilized. The whole feud with Shredder and the Foot clan isbecause of Master Splinter/Master Yoshi (depends on the version you are talking about), and even though that's not how it played out in the CGI movies, it still feels like there's that missing tension between Shredder and Splinter that started the ball rolling in the beginning.

All in all, I was impressed with this new movie. It was better executed than the first, but still lacking in some areas. There's no telling yet if we will get a TMNT 3 because the movie didn't do as well as they thought in the box office, but if we do, I'd like to see more of the characters and the actors that played them from this movie. I'd like to see Brian Tee as Shredder more because honestly, he was good. They should have used him in the first movie too.

So take it from a Shellhead (I think that's our official fandom name?) and go see this movie. If you had restraints because of the first movie, don't sweat it too much. They listened to our pleas and thankfully gave us a better movie this time. Hopefully, if we get a TMNT 3, it will be the best one yet.