Movies with Isaiah: 'Mutant Mayhem' is an entertaining, fun origin story

During my formative childhood years are memories of being accepted into the circle of "cool children" after weeks to months of pleading with my mother, who purchased one of the "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles" action figures. If someone had one of the turtles, immediately they were part of the secret club of children obsessed with the new phenomenon in the '80s.

In 1990, the very first live-action adaptation of the turtles was released to exciting fanfare with its more faithful depiction of the characters from the comics with a darker, grittier and more mature tone compared to the original animated series from 1987. The following sequels ventured more into a lighter and comedic territory with the second and third films. In 2003, another animated series returned more to its serious direction, at the same time remaining suitable for children. When it comes to my personal favorite adaptations in a cinematic format, the 1990 live action and 2007 animated films are at the top of my list of elite quality and storytelling of the characters from my childhood.

Upon hearing about the involvement of Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg with the writing and production of "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem," immediate hesitation came into my mind and anticipation level for a few reasons. First, their brand of humor is not for every member of the audience, and second, if their ideas are not curtailed in some fashion, it can become quite insufferable, and third, their overall style is not what comes to mind with this concept. The film serves as an origin story for Leonardo, Donatello, Raphael and Michaelangelo, who are not fully formed as mysterious ninjas fighting crime and sinister organizations.

Its story has four brothers seeking to find their place in the uncertain world of New York City, pondering if a normal life is possible and if the world would accept their appearance. News reports surface of sightings of mutants successfully completing heists, pushing the turtles into action in a taste of their first dangerous adventure. What impressed me greatly is how the new take leaves room for growth with the characters. If memory serves correctly, there has never been an origin take of this scope, displaying the turtles as rookie, naïve and out-of-their-element ninjas. I found myself emotionally connecting with Leonardo, Donatello, Raphael and Michaelangelo in the feature, as they are actual children/teenagers. Providing there is a sequel in the future, it will provide necessary growth when more serious themes are introduced into storylines where far more sinister threats emerge.

The voice acting for the turtles was an amusing standout, highlighting how teenagers of our modern era would communicate with one another, reacting to combat they have never experienced before, and the potential for maturity is there for the audience to embrace. Rapper/actor Ice Cube portrays the antagonist of the film, Superfly. A giant mutated house fly bent on transforming the entire animal population into vicious creatures during the elimination of humanity, he without a doubt is the amusing highlight of the film with his seamless ability to sound sinister, creepy and disturbing before he exhibits genuine disturbing humor. From the onset, it is apparent "Mutant Mayhem's" target audience is children with its release. There is a lot of harmless, teenage humor on full display here with most likely every child understanding the references.

"Mutant Mayhem's" animation style is a combination of what I would state is if "Coraline," "Paranorman" and "Across The Spiderverse" mixed artistic features. Moments during the film did become somewhat jarring, and yet, on the surface, perhaps the artists were going for a dynamic like the tone of the original comics of a grittier feature. From my visual point of view, I believe that being spoiled from "Across The Spiderverse," "Puss In Boots" and "Guardians" had my expectations a bit too much for the animation presentation. My most severe complaint about the film is the depiction of April O'Neil's character. It did nothing for me after reading and watching several adaptations from the '80s, '90s and early 2000s. I simply do not understand what Rogen and Goldberg hoped to accomplish with their version of the iconic character. However, I simply did not care for it, as it became crystal clear what happens when there is no one to improve the ideas of Rogen and Goldberg.

Despite that major gripe, I found the new take on the turtles quite refreshing with the exploration of a group of teenagers that are not fully formed as master ninjas. It is understandable changes of origin will always occur at some point. Either way, there was not any significant detraction with the change in how they learned their skills.

Michaelangelo happened to be my favorite out of the group in this film. Once all four of them grow as characters in future sequels, it will absolutely be an emotional rollercoaster if anything happened to him. He's the picture-perfect presentation of the party kid interested only in partying, pizza, video games and movies. In the end, "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem" was very, very entertaining, fun, unique, amusing and a great origin story. The musical score provided by legendary musician Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross is both haunting, melodic and fitting for the visual presentation of the film. My final rating is an 8/10 and two thumbs up. There is room for massive improvement providing Rogen and Goldberg tone down their brand of humor.

Be sure to stay for an extra scene during the credits of a surprise character for the sequel. "Mutant Mayhem" is safe for children to watch, and parents do not need to worry about any language, violence or innuendos.

To watch Isaiah Ridley's movie reviews online, find him @Izzy's Cinematic Escape on YouTube.