Fanboy inspiration has just unleashed the best Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles film ever.
Seth Rogen, Evan Goldberg, Jeff Rowe and co’s super-cool computer-generated action-adventure offers up something for the little ‘uns – but throws in enough past and present pop culture references for the older generations too.
That, coupled with the artistically ‘sketchy’ animation and humorous script, makes this a bright and breezy hour-and-forty that most cinema-goers should lap-up.
The premise is fairly straightforward to the origins of the turtles – just with a contemporary spin – as amphibian brothers Leonardo (Nicolas Cantu), Donatello (Micah Abbey), Michaelangelo (Shamon Brown) and Raphael (Brady Noon) are raised by their adoptive rat father Splinter (Jackie Chan), after they were all mutated by secret ooze some fifteen years previous, and have been hiding from human contact in the sewers of New York City ever since.
But after a chance encounter with budding reporter April O’Neil (Eyo Edebiri) – who has been tracking the nefarious Superfly (Ice Cube) and gang who have been causing havoc across the Big Apple – the martial-arts-trained foursome hope they can gain public favour by turning into crime-fighters and bringing the villain to task.
And even though the finale falls into generic ‘end third’ territory, the chemistry between the relatively unknown cast, nice modern twists on the franchise, and a stand-out performance from Chan among some guest cameos, leads to Mutant Mayhem all coming together into one ‘Cowabunga’ of a production. The lack of Shredder for a different main antagonist is welcomed too.
There’s already meant to be a sequel and potential series in the making, and if the enthusiasm with how this has been pieced together is anything to go by – then count me in.
It’s about time Turtle Power reigned supreme once again for a new generation.
ESP Rating: 3.5/5
Gavin Miller
Showcase Cinema De Lux Peterborough, Out Now
Voice Cast: Nicolas Cantu, Micah Abbey, Shamon Brown, Brady Noon, Jackie Chan, Eyo Edebiri, John Cena, Ice Cube, Rose Byrne, Hannibal Buress, Paul Rudd & Maya Rudolph
Running Time: 1 Hr 40 Mins
Director: Jeff Rowe
Go to www.showcasecinemas.co.uk for all the latest film information & showtimes at Peterborough’s Showcase Cinema De Lux