Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem is a mayhem of mad fun accompanied by some fantastic animation.
After years of being sheltered from the human world, the Turtle brothers set out to win the hearts of New Yorkers and be accepted as normal teenagers. Their new friend, April O’Neil (Ayo Edebiri), helps them take on a mysterious crime syndicate, but they soon get in over their heads when an army of mutants is unleashed upon them
This new universe opens with an entertaining pace as the opening has that origin component, but not in the traditional sense adding action, a little twist, and setting up a tone that was surprising. It maintains this fun pace throughout the film, without skipping too much of the story, feeling again like the start of a new series that works very well. It’s a nice blend of storytelling and action which covers a lot of ground in a decent runtime.
There have many Teenage Mutant stories and finding a unique story can be quite challenging. This new movie covers some deeper moments and the moral ties to it were very surprising and well thought out. It was relevant but doesn’t go over the top for the most part. It still has that original turtle feel to it so as to not be completely rewritten or twisted to the moral agenda the world thrives on these days. The origin story is relatively the same, but with enough surprises to help freshen it up and make it feel new, but doesn’t compromise the integrity of our turtles.
The voice acting was great and the new direction is about teenagers and they casted a group of kids that sound like a blend of teenagers that help diversify things. Shamon Brown Jr. is great in his delivery and portrays the improv and idolizing Michaelangelo quite well. Micah Abbey has that geek element down, and the new twist of an excited fanboy with smarts plays extremely well. Nicolas Cantu’s portal of Leonardo is probably the most balanced and closest match to the turtle we have. Cantu definitely did his homework to really help sell the new version of the blue turtle. Brady Noon is perfect as Raph and captures the attitude and temperament, while still having that teenage mannerism that goes with the rest of the direction.
The film music and sound editing have a life of their own and help bring life back into the series. Slicing blades, blunt thwacks, and various other mixes bring the scenes to life and match the art style to make the film come alive. The music further advances the movie, adding that causal city life tone, and in some cases, acts as intro music for the characters.
The visual style is odd, yet very unique. It’s got the attitude of a video game, this cartoon/comic style mixed with that zany darkness the turtle verse has and captures the spirit very well. The animation really makes the action sequences pop as well.
Overall, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem in many ways was a win for me. Its got a unique art and animation that works very well and the action sequences that take hold of the new direction and work on many levels. The movie has a killer soundtrack accompanied by voice acting that feels like another match to the new energy that Seth Rogen’s team has infused with their writing. The humor and story are going to appeal to a lot of viewers given the respect to tradition and new age that somehow manages to balance things out and expands the audience’s appreciation. However, the movie could have used a little more tweaking, mainly in time management and balancing of characters and I’m some of the voices seemed overly annoying or out of place. All in all, the movie really surprised me and was a fun experience that I can’t wait to watch again.
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem is now playing in theaters.
What did you think of the film? Let us know in the comments below
