Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem RealD 3D Review

MOVIE REVIEW

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem is a 2023 animated film based on the famous Nickelodeon franchise and brought to us by self-professed "permanent teenager" Seth Rogan. It centers around everyone's four favorite teenage crime-fighting turtles Leonardo, Raphael, Donatello, and Michelangelo as they roam the sewers of New York City hiding from the humans above because of their father's fear of them not getting accepted due to their status as mutants. However, one night, they all end up meeting a girl named April who immediately becomes fascinated with them. And they soon discover she's on the case of finding a mutant super-villain named Superfly who's been behind a series of recent high-end robberies. With her help, they work to find the menacing creature and unearth his secret dastardly plan.

I have a confession to make: prior to this movie, I have not followed anything TMNT related. I've never seen an episode of any of the cartoons, I've never read a comic book, and I haven't even seen the Michael Bay live action movies (though that's probably for the best). I've grown up knowing the premise of the franchise, that four turtles got into radioactive ooze in the sewer and became humanoid ninjas. But then again, who hasn't? Point is, TMNT wasn't a brand I was particularly invested in. So coming into Mutant Mayhem, my viewpoint was directed to how it worked as a film rather than anything nostalgic. I was sold on the animation style and humor presented in the trailer. So I came in hoping to have a fun time in spite of my lack of attachment to the franchise in the past. Thankfully, having seen the film, I can say regardless of where you stand on TMNT or what age you are, Mutant Mayhem is a blast.

The visuals and action are the main draw to the film, of course. It's pretty easy to see Spider-Verse's inspiration on Mutant Mayhem. And you know what, it works here extremely well. In case you couldn't tell from the trailer, its highly saturated colors, hand drawn shapes, and cartoony designs all offer lots of eye candy. The action and motions are choreographed splendidly. And its comic book-esque aesthetic serves the story greatly. Obviously though, to talk about the animation would be in vain as it's something you're intended to check out for yourself. But as you can tell, from a visual standpoint, this film is an absolute treat.

What really surprised me though, were the characters and how they were introduced, the four main turtles in particular. It's no secret the digital age hasn't really fared the bond between adults and the youth. Whenever movies, TV shows, or any other form of media tries to appeal to Gen Z using slang terms or current buzzwords, pretty much 100% of the time, it comes off as forced, contrived, or often times, obsolete. As part of Gen Z, I should know. However, whether its due to the mind of "permanent teenager" Seth Rogan or maybe someone at Nickelodeon with a time machine, but Mutant Mayhem is somehow the miraculous exception. Not only do the turtles talk and act accurately to modern day teens, but they do it so naturally they come off as easily investible, surprisingly nuanced, and quite often, funny characters. Everyone else turns in a good vocal performance from Jackie Chan as Splinter the rat to Ice Cube as Superfly, and the comedy consistently lands with each of them. But in the end, it all comes down to the good script Mutant Mayhem provides.

Now what about the story itself? Is the plot as inventive as the style and characters? All things considered, probably not. But for what it is though, I'd still say it delivers all the goods you're looking for. There aren't any real plot twists that catch you off guard. And if you've been keeping up with the trailers, you can see all the story beats coming a mile away. But still, from a technical standpoint, everything comes together like it should. There's a nice message about standing up for others even they don't accept you, and it's brought about in a genuinely developed way through multiple characters' story arcs. The plot is paced well, and the villain stakes are pretty high. It never drags on longer than it should. And by the time the story ends, you feel everyone, in some way or another, has gone on a personal journey that resulted in good. I wouldn't call the film a masterclass in ingenious storytelling. But then again, it doesn't have to be.

Mutant Mayhem, put simply, is fun. It delivers plenty of unique visuals, it nails the writing, especially on the teenage characters, and its story, while a bit on the predictable side, still services its message well and is so effortlessly breezy you'll never get bored. There's no question kids will enjoy it. But even for the adults, it's still an entertaining, stylized romp with some clear cut passion behind it that only the most hardened won't appreciate. It's not every day you can say that a cartoon about martial arts turtles is one of the best films you could be seeing at the theater (besides Oppenheimer of course). But I guess in the age of soulless flops like The Flash and Indiana Jones 5, any film that offers something remotely unique can be considered high art. Still, in between this, Across the Spider-Verse, and Elemental, I think it's safe to say that there are still some people out there who care enough about animation to create something truly worth seeing, especially on the big screen.

OVERALL FILM RATING: 4/5

3D REVIEW

I know we live in an age where 3D only really garners buzz if an Avatar movie is coming out. But even still, with most movies getting releases nowadays such as The Meg 2 and Elemental, 3D still gets some degree of promotion whether its the RealD 3D logo appearing in the corner of the end of a movie trailer or a measly "See it in 3D" stamped on under the release date. TMNT: Mutant Mayhem, though, is a pretty special case in that I had no idea a 3D release was scheduled for it until the tickets for it became available online. I have no idea how much planning and effort got put into the 3D version of the film. But obviously, I knew I couldn't pass up the opportunity to see it. So is it worth paying the extra money to see these famous turtles in 3D glory? I suppose in the end, it'll depend on who you ask. But personally, I say yes.

In between films like Titanic and The Adventures of Tintin, I've begin to notice a bit of a pattern with 3D films released by Paramount: the separation of the left and right eye images are pretty minimal. That isn't inherently a bad thing. But in most films, it means a much lower range of depth. However, movies like Titanic and even this film for example, can still provide some pretty decent and interesting 3D in spite of the lack of parallax. Throughout the movie, characters, objects, and backgrounds are clearly separated. And because of the hand-drawn comic book style, the shapes carry an extra layer of oomph in three dimensions. On a small scale, we get views inside of sewers, hallways, and rooms that feel properly spaced, views of the turtles at different places along the z-axis, alleyways and street level views that look realistic, and claustrophobic shots inside of cars and crowds. The 3D also helps to truly give everyone a sense of size and scale, which helps to make the villain an extra dimension more intimidating. On a larger scale, the cityscapes are seen going clearly deep into the background, buildings look tall and far away, and there are even a few shots of New York City from far away across the Hudson River, in which the 3D greatly enhances the distance between the subjects and the city.

As for fun 3D shots, TMNT gives us quite a few, right after we get pass the opening logos which are left entirely flat. The visual aesthetic allows for things like pen and marker drawings around the environment to really stick out in 3D space, especially around places such as lights, backgrounds, sound waves, and various surrounding elements. The moon and stars and their hand-drawn appearance really shine when it feel like we're actually looking up at them from a distance. Now as for good 3D composition, there's a first-person view pretty early on from a creature looking up at a human in a lab. We see a couple of shots involving narrow tunnels, one which has a blue vial falling through it and lighting up the tunnel as it goes down. There are shots of large instruments and inventions, glowing ooze, and electricity. Of course though, the best 3D occurs during the action sequences. A lot like Spider-Verse, there's plenty of different elements moving throughout the frame which really captivates in 3D. We get everything from knives, throwing stars slicing a watermelon, a big stick, people getting thrown around, debris, car chases, explosions, and even mutant saliva. The climax though, is where everything good gets unleashed upon the screen. I don't want to spoil anything, but there is a giant monster who utilizes the 3D to enhance how big it is. The action is also especially chaotic with everything from vehicles, flying creatures, and big scale destruction.

Mutant Mayhem is a bit more scarce on pop outs than most animated films you'll encounter nowadays. A bit like Shrek, most all the action stays within the screen. Unlike Shrek, though, the film manages to bring us more than a couple good noteworthy moments of screen protrusion. There's one pretty funny scene early on when Splinter sits right over the screen. Occasionally, things like sticks, ninja throwing stars, pieces of debris, dogs, and green saliva will leave the screen. There are some very fun explosion shots which throw fire and smoke into the audience with it's hand-drawn markings and outlines. But the one who has the most fun coming out into the theater is Superfly himself, him and his big claws. Still, beyond these moments, TMNT doesn't seem all too interested in bringing the world of its movie into yours.

I do have one main thing to complain about this film's 3D, and that would be that in spite of all the good things 3D brings out, there doesn't seem to be a whole lot of effort from the people at Nickelodeon to make the film shine in the third dimension. In some movies like Jaws and Kung Fu Panda, that kind of thing wouldn't really matter. But in other films, you can certainly feel it. Mutant Mayhem isn't the latter, but it's not the former either. Besides the sparse parallax, there are also shots that go completely flat such as the aforementioned studio logos, the credits, a hand-drawn sequence, and some shots from an iPhone (3D from an iPhone probably wouldn't make sense. And I wouldn't have a problem with it if it weren't for a couple of other iPhone shots that did use 3D). While sure, these shots probably wouldn't make much sense to be in 3D, it almost gives the impression that maybe the creators didn't have 3D in mind when making the film. And like I said before, many of the shots keep everything inside the screen, which isn't always, but typically a sign that 3D was a bit of an afterthought on the producers's end. Maybe none of these notes prevented me from enjoying the 3D overall, I can see some people getting turned off by them.

2/3rds the way through Mutant Mayhem, I was on the bubble between giving it a 3D rating of "good" or "great". On one hand, 3D isn't exactly necessary to the experience and there are a few parts where it feels like 3D wasn't really a creator's priority while animating the film. But on the other hand, there are plenty of parts that do utilize the 3D well and deliver a mesmerizing view of the world of the film. And the 3D experience overall is pretty clean and consistent with its depth. For me, the part that helped it lean over on the "great" side of the spectrum was the last act which had some great frenzied action and large scale fighting that made the 3D well worth seeing. I doubt many people will agree with, but I was pretty pleased by the 3D presentation of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem despite its few shortcomings. If you're coming in expecting scenes with extensive depth and lots of pop out fun, you might want to lower your expectations a bit. But if you're looking for a film that does a good job utilizing the 3D depth it does have in some unique and dazzling ways, you'll probably find a lot to like with what this movie has to offer.

3D RATING: GREAT

OTHER SOURCES THAT REVIEW THIS MOVIE'S 3D:

None.

FINAL THOUGHTS

Like I said before, I haven't grown up on the TMNT films, tv shows, or comic books. So I'm probably not one to talk on how Mutant Mayhem will please nostalgic fans of the franchise. But I will say this: if you love animation or movies in general, you're sure to get your money's worth with this installment. The animation style of course is main draw. But even beyond that, you got a solid, well-constructed story, good character arcs, and a smart, witty script that knows how to properly portray these turtles in a true teenage fashion. On that mark alone, TMNT: MM is worth seeing. All in all, it's the fun family outing parents and their children have been waiting for. And for you fans of the franchise, I bet you'll especially have a great time. Now what about seeing it in 3D? I say it depends on your preferences. If you enjoy seeing the 2D/3D art style blend on a flat screen and believe it's the way the filmmakers intended for you to see it, that's perfectly cool. Go Find Fun said in his review of "The Bad Guys" that 3D isn't the ultimate theater experience, but rather an alternative. If you enjoy seeing the stylized visuals in 2D, go right ahead. On the other hand though, if you're like me and you enjoy watching how 3D works on animation styles just like this, you'll probably find much to appreciate here. The environments look properly spaced out, the characters all carry great shape to them, and the action carries an extra dimension of fun to it. The choice is ultimately yours. But if you're asking me which version of Mutant Mayhem to watch, I'd recommend the 3D version.

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