READ THE FIRST PART OF OUR SET REPORT HERE
TMNT2's MAIN FOCUS IS THE BOND BETWEEN BROTHERS
Meeting the four actors who play the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles – Noel Fisher (Michelangelo), Alan Ritchson (Raphael), Jeremy Howard (Donotello) and Pete Ploszek (Leonardo) – you genuinely get the sense they enjoy each other's company. There's nothing false about their interaction with each other, which is certainly a crucial element in making the relationships between the Turtles just as enjoyable. Indeed, the name of the game when it comes to TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES: OUT OF THE SHADOWS is family; everyone involved in the film that I met while on the set insisted that the Turtles and how they relate to one another is the real core of the sequel.
Fisher, who just as in the movies comes off as the little brother of the group, said: "Us four as people have a really great natural chemistry that's been there from the get-go. We really genuinely like hanging out and busting each others' balls, like brothers would. I think that's the main thing we're bring along with more of the turtles in this movie. So we got the opportunity to bring all of that energy to it."
As to how that translates to the sequel, Ritchson offered: "I think the comedy and the chemistry of the turtles was what seemed to work the best the first time, and what is the emphasis this time." Fisher had similar thoughts, adding that director Dave Green is instrumental to making this film a more lighthearted affair. "He focuses a lot on the heart of how the brothers interact, showing a lot about the love there. And we get to explore that a lot more this time. That's kind of what I look forward to."
Ploszek, too, was eager to explore the brotherhood of the Turtles. "What I’m most excited about with this movie is it’s a lot more emotionally driven amongst the brothers. You’re really going to see four brothers being brothers, and fighting and trying to make up and telling each other how they feel and I think it’s the point now where we’re all a little bit older."
It's clear that making the first film wasn't exactly easy on the guys. When asked how it felt to be back for another film, Ritchson said, "It feels good. I've got to be honest, I was a little nervous about coming back because the first run of this – the first trial run of the first film – was pretty tough. Pretty tough." Ploszek added, "I think that has informed our approach to this one though in the sense that I think we're all very aware of the movie we made last time. What worked. What didn't work. When you see what made it and what didn't make it (into the final cut), it really informs your choices as an actor. "
As for what the guys are looking forward to doing in this one that they didn't have a chance to in the last? Play with the badass new Turtle Van – or, as Andrew Form calls it, the Turtle Truck, which is much bigger than the van they had in movie one and has been outfitted by Donatello into "literally the best man cave" he's ever seen. There's also a new Turtle Lair to look forward to, what with their last one getting destroyed and all.
And what sequence should we look out for? Ritchson's suggestion: "I would say the opening, the first act. The first act is essentially a giant, amazing action sequence. The film starts out super explosive and it just doesn’t let up. We’ve actually seen some of it already cut together and it’s pretty mind blowing."
Laura Linney is the Turtles' New Frenemy
I knew beforehand that she was in it, but I still think it took actually seeing Laura Linney on the set of TMNT2 for me to actually believe it. The three-time Academy Award nominee plays Rebecca Vincent, a bureau chief of organized crime in New York City who at first opposes the wacky antics of the Turtles before coming to accept the gang as her necessary comrades in the fight against evil.
Describing her character, Linney said: "I think she’s just a skeptical New Yorker… she has some wisdom to her, she has some instinct that there’s goodness there [referring to the Turtles], so she has a heart. Through the course of the movie, without being this great portrayal of a woman who’s a police chief, she does change through the movie. You see her be hardened and stereotypical towards the beginning, and then the more time she spends with the and she sees not only what they’re capable of, but they're different personalities."
Probably not a spoiler to let you know Linney confirmed that she'll indeed be a friend to mutant turtles everywhere.
"It takes me a while to grasp the situation, to understand what these creatures are, to value their assistance and what they have to offer, and then I become an ally."
As for what drew her to the part, Linney explained it was hardly scientific. "I didn’t seek it out, it came to me and it took me a minute to sort of think about it and then I watched the first one and those turtles are just fantastic and it was filming here in the city and I now have a little boy and it all just sort of fell into place and I just thought why not?"
Why not indeed! No one's complaining.
I didn't get a chance to talk to Megan Fox (although she was on set) and hardly had a moment with Stephen Amell (who sat down with myself and the other journalists on set for all of two minutes before being pulled away forever), but the two are obviously the human protagonists in the film and forge a burgeoning romance together.
The Turtles will have a typically uneasy relationship with Casey initially before finding him to be an ally as well. They'll need all the help they can get if indeed the portal to Dimension X is opened up.
TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES: OUT OF THE SHADOWS hits theaters on June 3, 2016.