Praises pour in for ‘Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem’

CEBU, Philippines — This is bonkers, yo!

The first reviews for “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem” are in, and they’re pretty gnarly…in the most awesome way possible. The film, directed by Jeff Rowe (Oscar-nominated The Mitchells vs. the Machines) and written by a team that includes Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg, currently has a 97 percent Fresh rating on Rotten Tomatoes.

It features a star-studded voice cast that includes Jackie Chan, Rose Byrne, Hannibal Buress, John Cena, Ice Cube, Natasia Demetriou, Ayo Edebiri, Giancarlo Esposito, Post Malone, Seth Rogen, Paul Rudd and Maya Rudolph. The titular teenage mutant ninja turtles are voiced by Micah Abbey, Shamon Brown Jr, Nicolas Cantu and Brady Noon.

The Hollywood Reporter couldn’t sing enough praises of the film as it complimented the visuals, the dialogue and the voice acting. The film “features vibrantly distinctive visuals that perfectly suit the rambunctious and frequently violent proceedings,” they said.

“The dialogue proves consistently amusing (not surprising considering Rogen’s participation), and the fact that the young actors voicing the TMNTs were actually teenagers when they recorded their performances infuses a welcome youthful energy to the goings-on. The celebrity performers seem to be having a blast as well.”

“Fans will not be disappointed with any of the decisions here, notably the scattershot animation that feels rough around the edges, stylish, visually surprising and satisfying and anti-CGI blandness,” said Deadline Hollywood, who also praised the story for being “heavy on pop culture humor in all the best ways.”

Indiewire raved that Mutant Mayhem “is another fresh, funny animated outing that breathes serious new life into a classic franchise, proving that even old IP has its legs (claws?)” and called it “a genuinely entertaining film for the whole family.”

“This lively reboot is a raucous collage of influences,” said Mashable. “But whether you’re an expert on the canon or not, the movie sets up all you need to follow its flow. Deep-cut fans will surely pull out references and implications, but newbies won’t be lost amid the flood of characters, in part because their main purpose is to be a tornado of energy, action, and comedy.”

In “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem”, after years of being sheltered from the human world, the Turtle brothers set out to win the hearts of New Yorkers and be accepted as normal teenagers through heroic acts. Their new friend April O’Neil helps them take on a mysterious crime syndicate, but they soon get in over their heads when an army of mutants is unleashed upon them.

In Philippine cinemas starting August 23, “Mutant Mayhem” is distributed in country by Paramount Pictures through Columbia Pictures. — (FREEMAN)