Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem (Blu-ray 3D Review)
Director
Jeff RoweRelease Date(s)
2023 (February 27, 2025)Studio(s)
Nickelodeon Movies/Point Grey Pictures/Paramount Pictures (Turbine Medien)- Film/Program Grade: B
- Video Grade: A-
- Audio Grade: A
- Extras Grade: F
Review
[Editor's Note: This is a Region-Free Blu-ray 3D import from Germany.]
Absent for seven years on the big screen after the Platinum Dunes-produced Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and its sequel Out of the Shadows, it was only a matter of time before the crime-fighting foursome would return for another adventure, but this time through a different entity: Point Grey Pictures. This team would bring the turtles back to their roots for something a little different, reveling more in the turtles’ teenage-ness, and developing a story that would give them a modern-day freshness. The result, 2023’s CGI-animated Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem, was successful with both audiences and critics, and managed to bring in a healthy profit at the box office, securing further adventures with this take on a classic intellectual property.
Fifteen years prior, one of the heads of TCRI (Techno Cosmic Research Institute) in New York City sends a team of soldiers to find Baxter Stockman, a scientist who has created a mutagenic ooze. Stockman is killed during the raid on his lab, but his mutants escape, and a vial of his mutagen falls into a sewer, spilling onto a rat and four baby turtles. They subsequently mutate into larger, walking-talking creatures, later studying martial arts, and hiding themselves away from the rest of the world. The four turtles, Leonardo, Michelangelo, Donatello, and Raphael, dream of human interaction, often going behind their father’s (Splinter) back to observe them. After inadvertently thwarting a group of criminals, they meet April, an aspiring teenage journalist eager to prove herself. Together they hatch a plan to go on a crime-fighting spree in order for her to get her big story, unknowingly stumbling upon Stockman’s now grown-up mutants, led by Superfly, who are hell-bent on stealing technology capable of transforming all lifeforms into mutants.
The cast includes Nicolas Cantu as Leonardo, Shamon Brown Jr. as Michelangelo, Micah Abbey as Donatello, and Brady Noon as Raphael, as well as Jackie Chan as Splinter, Ayo Edebiri as April, and Ice Cube as Superfly. Providing other voices are Seth Rogen, John Cena, Paul Rudd, Rose Byrne, Natasia Demetriou, Hannibal Buress, Austin Post, Alex Hirsch, Maya Rudolph, and Giancarlo Esposito.
One of the most successful aspects of Mutant Mayhem is that the turtles are played by actual teenagers, and they’re all terrific. They’re very natural and don’t necessarily sound like the turtles of old. Some of the improvisational-style banter can be a little overbearing, but since the idea is that these are truly modern-day teenagers, it works. It’s also nice that the villains do not include the Shredder or Krang for a change, though there’s a post-credit tease of the former for a future film. But doing something different with this franchise is much-appreciated, especially from someone who’s been a fan since he was very young when its popularity was at its all-time peak.
The plot itself isn’t all that compelling as it’s fairly conventional: a bad guy with a world-ending device must be stopped, like in so many other comic book-based films. It’s not the main thrust, and thankfully it all ties together much better than other recent films with similar elements. The turtles want to be accepted by humans, and through heroic actions, they eventually are; April wants to get the big story, and she does so by showing the world that the turtles are not the enemy; and Splinter fears the world above, learning through the words and actions of Superfly that he’s been far too protective of the turtles. The downside is that there’s not a whole lot of dimension to Superfly. He’s more or less just an unstoppable villain by the end, despite the initial dynamic with his family of mutants, all of whom he fostered on his own.
Some of the elements left out from the original comics, which include Hamato Yoshi and Splinter learning ninjutsu prior to meeting the turtles, can be forgiven to some degree. The attempt is to make these characters more relatable for a modern audience, and in this incarnation, the turtles learn their kills by watching kung fu movies. The film is also full of references, though not at the expense of the story. Eagle-eyed fans might recognize that the turtles are the colors of their original action figures, which is a very nice touch. The soundtrack is mostly composed of 1990s-era hip-hop, with surprising needledrops like Ninja Rap by Vanilla Ice from 1991’s The Secret of the Ooze and the SLACKCiRCUS version of 4 Non Blondes’ What’s Up?, not to overlook the solid score by Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross.
Mutant Mayhem borrows its style of CGI-animation from the Spider-Verse films, but does so in its own sloppy but organized way. According to the filmmakers, the designers and animators were instructed to design and draw these characters and this world as if they were still young kids; meaning that characters and backgrounds are messy and almost impressionistic at times, yet still very distinguishable. This facet and many others are why Mutant Mayem manages to re-invigorate the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles franchise, even spinning off a TV series, Tales of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, and a sequel that’s due out in 2027, as of this writing.
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem was digitally animated in the ARRIRAW (2.8K) codec, finished as a 2K Digital Intermediate, post-converted for Digital 3D by SDFX Studio, and presented theatrically in the aspect ratio of 2.39:1. Turbine Medien debuts the film on Blu-ray 3D with a solid three-dimensional presentation. The picture quality itself offers crisp animation and beautiful color, though bitrates can be a little erratic at times, but certainly more forgiving due to the style of the animation. The 3D offers some nice depth in the streets of New York City and in the sewers below. There are never really any gimmicky moments on display, but there doesn’t need to be. The world of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles offers gritty and colorful environments, enhanced here with deep blacks and excellent contrast. The 3D brings you into that world for a more immersive experience than standard 2D without sacrificing the intended look or aesthetics.
Audio is included in German and English Dolby Atmos. Subtitle options include German and German SDH, and English and English SDH. Texture and immersion are the name of the game here, and the Atmos experiences certainly provide that, encircling viewers with a wide variety of ambient activity, as well as explosive action, and solid dialogue engagement. Low end is a little tamer than expected, but it still manages to pack a punch in all the right places. The only difference is in the dubbing.
The Turbine Medien Region-Free Blu-ray 3D release of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem, #12 in the Turbine Collector Series line, sits in a clear Amaray case with a double-sided insert, featuring the film’s main US theatrical poster artwork on the front, and the US theatrical teaser poster on the reverse. No extras are included, but the whole purpose of this release is to provide consumers with something they won’t be getting elsewhere. It’s a terrific presentation and very much worth the additional import coinage if you’re a fan of this franchise.
- Tim Salmons
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