
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: SATURDAY, March 23, 1991                   TAG: 9103230311
SECTION: EXTRA                    PAGE: E2   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: CHRIS GLADDEN STAFF WRITER
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Medium

`TURTLES II' IS A NOTCH ABOVE THE FIRST LIVE-ACTION MOVIE

We have just been oozed, my nearly-4-year-old assistant and I. He was delighted by the experience and I found it a lot more tolerable than I anticipated.

We're talking about "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II: The Secret of the Ooze." This is the live-action sequel to the hit live-action movie based on the hit cartoon series based on the cult comic about four human-sized turtles who have the mentality and tastes of contemporary teen-agers and the skills of Bruce Lee.

The first movie was a barrage of karate fights with splintered wood, flying glass and much destruction. It seemed way too serious, considering the youngsters that the material targets.

There are plenty of karate fights this time around but they're handled in a more slapstick manner and the entire movie is a notch above its predecessor in terms of quality. There's no danger of it replacing "Pinocchio" or "The Wizard of Oz" in the pantheon of children's entertainment. But at least director Michael Pressman doesn't think he's Sam Peckinpah.

This time out, the four creatures are living with April (Paige Turco), the pretty TV news woman who befriends them. Sharing the apartment is the turtles' master, Splinter. He's a wise rat who still looks, well, ratty. Splinter has raised the turtles, who were mutated along with him 15 years back by the ooze of the title. As they're watching television, they see April interviewing the head of a chemical company (David Warner). Eureka! Splinter thinks the polluting company may be the key to the freakish incident responsible for his condition and that of his students.

Also interested in the chemical company is Shredder, the evil samurai who was the good guys' nemesis last time around.

Predictably, there's a lot of pizza-driven humor and a lot of surfer slang. Mercifully, the appearance of kiddie rap star Vanilla Ice is brief and unobtrusive. Commendably, the movie tries to explain some of the mysteries behind the Turtles. For instance, we learn that they received their Renaissance-artist names - Michaelangelo, Donatello, Leonardo and Raphael - from an art book Splinter found in a gutter.

To beef up the slim story line, the filmmakers have included a new human martial arts expert (Ernie Reyes Jr.) and a couple of new, grotesque mutants.

The turtle phenomenon seems not to have lost any of its momentum. And if the delighted giggles of my young companion are any indication, it's going to be around for a long time. I just hope the people behind it continue to upgrade the product.

`Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II: Secret of the Ooze' **1/2 A New Line Cinema release at the Towers Theatre (345-5519) and Valley View Mall 6 (362-8219). Rated PG for mild violence. 88 min.

by CNB