Review of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem. No spoilers.
I’ve got to say, I was really hoping this movie would capture the spirit of the original TMNT comics and cartoons that I grew up loving. But unfortunately, it feels like Seth Rogan missed the mark on really understanding what made those early stories and characters so cool. I didn’t really care April O’Neil was changed probably because we’ve all become numb to it now. I was kinda interested to see what they did with her, but damn they made her annoying.
The animation style is okay, but it doesn’t feel super polished. And the writing is just kind of corny and shallow. The plot moves along in a predictable way without much depth. And the attempts at humor just didn’t land for me – it was trying too hard to be “hip” and use modern slang that felt really forced.
Some of the voice acting was decent, like Ice Cube and Paul Rudd who I thought brought some fun energy. But a lot of other roles felt kinda flat and forgettable.
I think if you’re a kid and a fan of the Ninja Turtles you might have a half-decent time with it. But as someone hoping for a movie that did them justice, I left feeling pretty disappointed. It could have been a chance to capture the spirit of why so many of us fell in love with these characters decades ago.
At the end of the day, it plays it too safe and feels like a forgettable retelling we’ve seen many times before but worse. I know they’re working on another one – hopefully, they take more risks to make it truly stand out next time.
But for now, this one is a bit of a miss for me. Not the worst thing ever for kids, but far from capturing what makes the Turtles so great. Let me know if you check it out – I’d love to hear your thoughts too!