Ninja Turtles: Teenage Years

"Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem" is the new film based on the acclaimed cartoon that aired from the late '80s to the mid-'90s, both animated and live action film adaptations had previously been made, this new film stands out with its computer animation mixed with some scenes based on the look of a comic, in addition to the excellent use of shadows and colors. The script is common telling the story of people trying to fit in and family relationships, all from a mutant perspective. The soundtrack is good, having an eighties style in some of its compositions. A well-made film, with an unoriginal script but wonderful animation.

This is one of those animations that pleases everyone, from a 5-year-old to a 15-year-old teenager, a 35-year-old adult and a 75-year-old.

The story can be minimally complex for the little ones, but in itself, it is extremely fun and brings some interesting reflections throughout its plot. Both in the original language and in the dubbing (Brazilian Portuguese), the voices and their slang are perfectly matched to the characters, what a perfect cast! Only the jokes with references to PT-BR, made me laugh more than I should.

Mr. Spilnter is a little left out, but nothing that bothers him. What bothers you is that some drama cliches are present in your character. However, only in him... (which I find strange, as the story of the film is not predictable).

I thought changing April's ethnicity was just another way to cash in on diversity, but it doesn't seem like that, and yes, I like this version of the character.

The movie is amazing for those idiots whose middle school jokes still occupy their mind! Did I describe you?

Watch it in the cinema right away!

Prior to showering it with compliments, I'd like to address a couple of minor criticisms. To begin with, Splinter underwent significant changes from the familiar and beloved character. Certain villains were left with insufficient screen time to truly shine, and Raphael's anger wasn't adequately explored.

Moving on to the positives: The animation boasted exceptional uniqueness, accompanied by superb pacing. The humor was genuinely delightful, and the turtles authentically conveyed their teenage nature through their dialogue. The voice acting was skillfully executed, capturing both the tone and essence of teenage voices. Particularly notable was Jackie Chan's portrayal of Master Splinter, which stood out significantly. Overall, this movie provides a highly enjoyable viewing experience.

Things I liked:

I liked that they used actual teen actors for the turtles for the first time, and getting them to record at the same time created a natural, but at times chaotic and difficult to decipher, dialogue.

Splinter's character was more fatherly and less focused on the strict sensei/teacher role.

Superfly was a decent central villain with a bit of a backstory. He was kind of likeable to start with and turned quite dark and psychotic. Well acted by Ice Cube and gave the character some depth.

The action set pieces were exciting and fast paced.

The art style is different enough to make it visually interesting and the colours pop.

A decent soundtrack of East coast hip-hop tunes.

Things I didn't like:

April is supposed to be a vulnerable teen who is a victim of bullying, but she came across a little annoying and arrogant, with an attitude, making it difficult to warm to her.

Michelangelo wasn't "Mikey" enough, not the silly 'party dude'. Donatello didn't 'do machines' either, no gadgets or creations. There was a definite lack of distinction between the individual turtles personalities.

Many of the villains felt under used and had little screen time. With dialogue often difficult to hear clearly due to background music or sounds. They also seemed very easily swayed over their allegiance.

The origin story was changed and didn't make as much sense, but I guess it meant that they could drop Shredder and skim over it in 5 mins.

Love it or hate it, the art style is different enough to appreciate, but I hated the use of real world footage at the movie and on YouTube. It snapped you out of the world they had created. At one point I thought the cinema had randomly started playing a different film.

Some blatant product placement.

Deliberate gender and race swapping, that felt forced to appease the Hollywood quotas, and often failed to hit the mark.

Some poorly forced 'jokes' and cultural references that were often over pushed and quite literally 'milked'.

I really liked this for being a fun movie. It was a good take on TMNT with a nice looking art style to boot. The turtles and April were portrayed well, and they bantered like actual teenagers. The other mutants were also likeable, and I'd be interested in seeing them fleshed out. Also, I do have to point out that the soundtrack by Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross is outstanding, and the old school hip hop songs were nicely implemented. My biggest issue with it was the formulaic story, with plot points than have been done 1000 times before. Hopefully the sequel will improve. Overall though, not a bad watch at all.