Review of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem (2023) by Maxim-Chornyi — 03 Aug 2023

While attributing myself to an ‘I want to become a Ninja Turtle’ generation from the 1990s in Ukraine, I intentionally diminished expectations before going to the cinema premiere, and the new reincarnation, in fact, made my yesterday.

The visual. The 2023 version feels better than the latest animated versions and two mediocre cinematic reboots (2014/2016). The bulky boxy styling models and environment looks outdated and fresh at the same time, with the recent ‘Across the Spider-Verse’ as the closest reference. My personal favorite is the lightning and the movement of cars in night scenes.

The story. It combines the renewed ‘becoming’ and the absence of Schredder (that’s a relief). A few brilliant parts, not very much intriguing, in fact, boring in the final ‘big boss’ sequence, but interesting enough for the 100-minute appearance.

The characters. While the ultimate antagonist seems to be another ‘I want to kill everyone because I am evil and smart’, the Turtles characters gave me a smile. The magnificent four as well as Splinter are not superheroes, but rather more prosaic and vulnerable creatures from the NY sewer, with a couple of dozens of well-executed jokes and as many failed ones.

It is hard to guess the acceptance of this story by a new generation (I believe, they must have their own heroes), but the guys in their 30/40-odd years have the means to look for the nearest big screen for a piece of nostalgia.