With its far-reaching references, “Mutant Mayhem” is similar to the new wave of animated films, like “The Mitchells vs. the Machines” and the Spider-Verse films (and perhaps even going back a few years, with “Ralph Breaks the Internet” and the Lego movies), that revel in a pop culture pastiche of emojis, gifs, viral videos and chatspeak.
And the music is always on-point; Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross produce a killer score in their signature wild, industrial rock mixed with a few softer piano-heavy interludes. Other sequences jump off the screen thanks to the addition of quintessentially New York hip-hop, such as DMX and Blackstreet.
The casting is a thing of beauty, with more comedic talent than I have the space to call out here. Hearing Paul Rudd, Rose Byrne, Seth Rogen, John Cena, Hannibal Buress and Post Malone (as a reluctant bad guy who just wants to sing) as various colorful — and I mean that literally and figuratively — mutants is like, say, getting a free order of breadsticks with your pizza.
In fact, the cast of side characters almost outshines the turtles themselves in the comedy department, with Chan’s endearing Splinter and Ice Cube’s 1970s Blaxploitation-style funky-fresh villain, Superfly, being the prime examples.
But in the end, there’s little complexity to the characters and no surprise to the plot. And even the messaging, about tolerance, good intentions and outsiders finding their brood, is so unimaginatively expressed that it feels cliché.
A film unintentionally stuck in its own kind of adolescence, “Mutant Mayhem” has plenty of charms but tries so hard to be cool, funny and relevant — so totally online — that it forgets to kick back with a slice, some buds and just, you know, vibe.
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem
Rated PG. Running time: 1 hour 39 minutes. In theaters.