by ECI Released : 2023-08-03
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem is a 2023 animated feature length film intended to be a new iteration of the titular heroes. This film is directed by Jeff Rowe (Mitchell and the Machines) and written by comedy duo Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg (Superbad, Pineapple Express). It specifically focuses on the turtles longing to live life as normal teenagers, in an aspect that has not been explored enough in the franchise's lore. In order to do this they get help from high school wannabe reporter April O’neal in order to take down a gang of mutants and be seen as heroes in the eyes of the city.
Let’s start with the good. The animation clearly inspired from the Spiderverse franchise is fantastic and makes for some excellent action scenes. The voice acting is entertaining and fun throughout the film with Jackie Chan’s Master Splinter and the four teenage actors portraying Raphael, Leonardo, Michelangelo and Donatello being highlights. The writing and comedic elements really work and there's more than a few funny moments throughout the concise 100 minute run time.
However the film has some flaws that hold it back from being on the same level as a Spiderverse film and make it a good and entertaining watch but not an amazing film. These flaws include a mediocre main villain who was created for the film, his creation seemed like an excuse to have Shredder as the villain in the sequel. However there are so many mutants in the turtles lore I felt one of them would have served as a superior villain. There are some great action scenes but not enough of the street level action I love seeing from the turtles and with a 100 minute run time It was long enough to justify more of this specific Turtle action. Overall I would recommend the film to any fan of the franchise and eagerly look forward to the sequel.
