Michael Bay’s unwatchable TMNT movies at least got one thing right

The 2014 film Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and its 2016 sequel Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out of the Shadows are still the worst-ever takes on the Ninja Turtles franchise. As a die-hard TMNT devotee, I try hard to find something to like about every iteration, but I still can’t stomach the two Michael Bay-produced movies, which reimagined the characters with hulking, hard-to-look-at designs. Both films were also thinly-plotted action-fests akin to Bay’s Transformers movies, featuring little of the brotherly relationship between the Turtles that has defined their success. That said, the latter film, which is now turning 10, did get one thing right: It delivered an utterly perfect portrayal of cartoon goons Bebop and Rocksteady, fulfilling a 25-year-old dream for TMNT fans.