“The film follows the Turtle brothers as they work to earn the love of New York City while facing down an army of mutants.” – IMDB
Now listen, I’m as sick as anyone of sequels, remakes, reboots, reeeep-offs? re.re.re.re.re.re.re.RE.RE.RE.RE.RE.REDRUM!!!! Oops, sorry, don’t know what happened there, keyboard must have gotten stuck….
Anyway, I understand how difficult it is to see a piece of beloved childhood pop culture tarnished. Luckily, I think Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem escapes many of the pitfalls that plague other reboots.
First of all, it’s accessible. I have faint memories of my brother watching TMNT while I was…I don’t know, probably drooling? But I remember next to nothing about the original series. Okay, okay, I knew their names and that they liked pizza. But aside from those two nuggets, I was starting from scratch. And it seems like the filmmakers made a conscious effort to include both original and new audiences. They walk us uninitiated through the Turtles’ backstory, while also subtly nodding at those original fans. And while I could tell when those nods* were happening, I never felt left out of the narrative (a sin that Marvel is often guilty of).
The movie was also written by Seth Rogen, Evan Goldberg, and Jeff Rowe, three superfans of the original series. In that way, the movie has the same quality as Stranger Things, which was written by 80s/90s pop culture Superfans the Duffer brothers. As with Stranger Things, TMNT drips heavily with nostalgia without ever being overwhelmed by it or sacrificing its own originality.
And aside from all of that nerdy stuff, it’s also hilarious, has amazing voice actors, retro yet futuristic animation, and a badass soundtrack, AND is only an hour and a half! So, hey, if you take my recommendation to go see this movie and end up somehow hating it, at least I only wasted 90 minutes of your time amiright?!
*Thanks to Disney, Marvel, and T-Swift, I am really sick of the term “Easter Egg.” We need a rebrand. Please submit your ideas to Mr. Iger and/or Ms. Swift.
Rating: 8 out 10 Claire Bears
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If you like this movie, you should also watch: Kung Fu Panda, The Mitchells vs. The Machines
Streaming: In Theaters
With: Micah Abbey, Shamon Brown Jr., Nicolas Cantu, Brady Noon
Directed By: Jeff Rowe, Kyler Spears
Let Me Clarify 