Jeff Rowe’s “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem” is the brand new CGI animated adaptation of the traditional Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird comedian ebook sequence
It’s additionally a reboot that reimagines/modifications the origin story of the central characters.
Right here, Leonardo, Donatello, Michelangelo and Raphael first encounter April O’Neil whereas she’s in highschool and spend most of their first journey coping with a military of mutations, run by kingpin named Superfly.
The most important distinction right here between the supply materials, the a number of prior movie diversifications and the animated sequence is that now the title characters are bummed out by their existence. You learn that proper – these speaking turtles who’ve a secret lair, are martial arts masters and feast on pizza on daily basis are experiencing Teenage Mutant Ninja Anguish.
Are you kidding me?
Do not forget that nice second in Steve Barron’s 1990 “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles,” when Michelangelo’s potential to dodge a sword by ducking into his shell conjures up him to scream, “God, I love being a TURTLE”?
Right here, our heroes are having an existential disaster and truly lean into the will to be human. It’s an ill-advised, Physician Moreau-like conundrum that by no means ought to have been thought-about.
Clearly, there’s nothing cooler than being a freaking Ninja Turtle! Giving our 4 leads a “Wizard of Oz”-like need to be human undermines what ought to be a celebration of their freakish bravado and synergy of popular culture components.
I recall how violent these early black and white problems with Eastman and Laird’s comedian books have been (and nothing right here comes near duplicating that). However, have been the comedian books ever this off-putting?
FAST FACT: The 1990 movie “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles” earned $135 million on the U.S. field workplace. The 2014 reboot? $191 million. (BoxOfficeMojo.com)
There’s manner an excessive amount of gross-out humor right here. I’m betting that the forthcoming “Exorcist” sequel received’t have as a lot projectile vomiting as this film does.
“Mutant Mayhem” is involving however by no means charming. 5 screenwriters, together with Evan Goldberg and Seth Rogen are credited. Maybe there have been too many cooks within the pizza kitchen?
The scenes with Grasp Splinter are essentially the most emotionally partaking and that has so much to do with how in tune Jackie Chan’s vocal efficiency is. Splinter is one other character that has been refashioned by Rogen and Goldberg’s angst, although the angle of the rat being a lonely, stay-at-home dad not less than has some kick.
The screenplay leans into how the turtles not solely wish to work together with people (which, by what we see right here, is because of how a lot they take pleasure in “Ferris Bueller’s Day Off”) however truly go to highschool (!).
We’re additionally imagined to imagine that humankind has been relentlessly merciless to those outsiders however stop all bigotry after a single newscast that informs us that the title characters are heroes. Additionally, Donatello and Splinter each put on prescription glasses (take into consideration that for a second).
I should buy the speaking, big turtles with martial arts prowess however the lack of logic right here goes past the breaking level.
Chan and Ayo Edibiri as O’Neil provide a terrific deal of their vocal performances and provides heft to the reconfigured tackle the characters. I like April O’Neil’s pluck and vulnerability and Splinter has all the time been the middle of those tales – within the inevitable sequels, I’d like much more of those two and fewer of all the pieces else.
The screenplay additionally bombards us with popular culture references, to a level that you simply’d suppose this was a self-parody. There’s a second the place Superfly pronounces that he’s now “Super-duper fly,” then waits a beat earlier than trying into the digital camera and asking us if we bought the Missy Elliot reference (Sure, we bought it!).
It’s not intelligent or humorous.
Superior official #TMNT #MutantMayhem piece by @Th3Valentine pic.twitter.com/gvidVQsY66
— The Outdated Turtle Den (@TheOldTurtleDen) August 9, 2023
The usage of classic hip-hop tracks was truly served higher within the different Paramount nostalgia fueled summer time flick, “Transformers: Rise of the Beasts.”
As an motion film, solely Splinter’s takedown of a roomful of villains elicits any awe. In any other case, Kevin Munroe’s undervalued “TMNT” (2007) had much better motion, as did the nonetheless unbeatable 1990 reside motion unique, which has the grit, humor, motion and scrappy appeal that this lacks.
The visible presentation is the largest aesthetic distinction between this and the opposite Ninja Turtles motion pictures. The animation suggests a portray come to life; it’s lovely to take a look at for some time, till it lingers on rotting environments and puke brown coloration schemes, with a blurring impact that undermines most of the large motion set items.
To say the least, the filmmakers clearly supposed to match the strategy of “Spider-Verse” motion pictures and have mirrored a few of the method with out connecting to the visible poetry of these movies.
I used to be on this film’s nook for a lot of the manner, till the indifferently grotesque facet characters, relentless puking and unfunny popular culture nods and shaky-cam motion wore me down.
I like that there’s a brand new tackle a Ninja Turtle film and there are components right here which might be promising as this franchise strikes ahead, however there’s an excessive amount of junk floating on this ooze.
Two Stars