A Review

Uniting the director of "The Mitchells vs. the Machines," the writers of "Detective Pikachu," and the creative duo of Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg, "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem" is loads of fun. An always moving, very bawdy, and sometimes gross action comedy with lots of spirit. The drawing style is peculiar but interesting, and while the characters aren't especially deep or complex, they are likable and very easy to relate to. The jokes are very funny and cut it pretty close for a PG rated movie. There was quite a few moments where I thought, "Did they really just say that in a kids film?"

One fault I found with the writing was the two separate villain storylines. One with a revenge-hungry, scene-stealing mutant fly voiced by Ice Cube, the other involving a stereotypical mad scientist played by Maya Rudolph. These two plotlines never fully converge. In fact, the latter one just gets suddenly dropped before the movie even enter its final act. I get that it's saving a place for a potential sequel to work off of, but I wish movies would try to be more self-contained more often. Finish this candy bar before you open another.

While I'm no expert on the Ninja Turtles, my friend who I saw it with is a big fan and he enjoyed this movie as much as I did. From what he told me it does deviate a bit from traditional TMNT lore, but not so much it feels bastardized. There's no denying this is a labor of love. Whether you're a die hard TMNT fan or a normie like me, "Mutant Mayhem" should please just about anyone with its irreverent humor, unique animation style, and almost nonstop action.