{"id":40538,"date":"2023-08-03T00:05:46","date_gmt":"2023-08-03T04:05:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.cinema-crazed.com\/blog\/?p=40538"},"modified":"2023-08-03T01:36:55","modified_gmt":"2023-08-03T05:36:55","slug":"teenage-mutant-ninja-turtles-mutant-mayhem-2023","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.cinema-crazed.com\/blog\/2023\/08\/03\/teenage-mutant-ninja-turtles-mutant-mayhem-2023\/","title":{"rendered":"Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem (2023)"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>What we\u2019re seeing with \u201cMutant Mayhem\u201d is what happens after every movie makes a bang at the box office. The \u201cThe Spider-Verse\u201d movies were so beloved and influential that we can expect studios to ape its animation and storytelling style for at least a few years. The first of what will probably be many to come is \u201cMutant Mayhem.\u201d Jeff Rowe\u2019s animated movie is a new re-imagining of Eastman and Laird\u2019s \u201cTeenage Mutant Ninja Turtles\u201d franchise, but aimed a lot more toward Generation Z. That\u2019s both a quality that improves what producers Seth Rogen and Evan Goldbergh aim to be the beginning of a new wave of popularity for the Turtles, and a hindrance<\/em><\/strong>.\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

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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, aspiring journalist April O’Neil, 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.<\/p>\n

\u201cMutant Mayhem\u201d doesn\u2019t just reboot the \u201cNinja Turtles\u201d but it takes us back a bit with the writers now aiming for more of a \u201cYear One\u201d tale. This isn\u2019t the Turtles at their prime, but the Ninja Turtles learning about their world. They\u2019re actual teenagers that want to belong, and they\u2019re learning what kind of power that they wield as potential warriors in the fight against evil. \u201cMutant Mayhem\u201d is great at being an action movie but it\u2019s a lot more of a coming of age comedy with a lot of action thrown in. For hardcore fans of the property this might be a turn off, but I appreciated the approach. Producers Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg lean \u201cMutant Mayhem\u201d in to the teen movie sub-genre as a means of not just entertaining the target audience.<\/p>\n

It also works as a means of helping the foursome connect with the preteens and tweens likely to flock to theaters. Each Ninja Turtle has their own reason for wanting to integrate in to society, but they\u2019re kept tucked away from their over protective father and sensei Splinter. For the most part, the new formula works and it amounts to such a raucous and action packed movie. The sad fact is that the movie painfully under utilizes Splinter to where he\u2019s pretty much an after thought for about a good chunk of the movie. The writers do eventually lend him a spotlight but it feels too little, too late by then. Meanwhile the villain for the film, Superfly, felt so stock and dull, despite the neat idea to feature a lot of the more prominent mutant characters in the \u201cNinja Turtles\u201d gallery.<\/p>\n

Despite their inclusion (gotta increase those toy sales, after all!) the mutants have almost nothing to do and aren\u2019t given any real arcs. Even Bebop and Rocksteady who are featured have almost no dialogue. Superfly comes off as silly most of the time and his grand scheme is so derivative and convoluted. Did the writers not see the original \u201cX-Men\u201d movie? I also wish we\u2019d seen so much more of the ninja turtles engaging in hand to hand combat. Often times their innate sense of skill and martial arts acumen felt watered down. Nevertheless, when \u201cMutant Mayhem\u201d works, it works as the voice performances are energetic and charismatic, and folks like Jackie Chan and Ayo Edebiri help carry the movie to finish line.<\/p>\n

I wouldn\u2019t put it up there with the 1990 live action film<\/a>, or even the 2007 CGI movie<\/a>, but it\u2019s a good first step in an interesting direction for the classic series.
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