02/08/23

Cineworld, Edinburgh

Those sewer-dwelling, pizza-devouring ‘heroes in a hard-shell’ return to the big screen, courtesy of Seth Rogen and his team and it’s clear from the outset that the key word here is Teenage. The word Ninja has also been reinstated – those in the UK with long memories may recall that, for a while, Hero was used as a replacement. How times change. This film only has a PG certificate but it doesn’t hold back on the violence – and clearly the message isn’t getting through. The afternoon screening I attend features quite a few parents trying to handle confused-looking children, who clearly aren’t sure what to make of what’s happening up on the big screen.

TMNT:MM begins with a pre-credit sequence explaining the origin stories of Leonardo (Nicholas Cantu), Donatello (Micah Abbey), Michelangelo (Shamon Brown Jr) and Raphael (Brady Noon). They begin life as part of a disrupted science experiment, and are accidentally flushed down the drain into the sewers. (We’ve all been there.) Down in those malodorous depths they are adopted by friendly rat, Master Splinter (Jackie Chan), who is also affected by the chemicals they’ve absorbed and, like them, grows to be bigger than he should be. After a disastrous attempt to introduce his ‘family’ to human society, Splinter decides that people aren’t quite ready to embrace something so different so he keeps the foursome hidden below ground – but he does give them intensive martial arts training.

Now they are teenagers and itching to be out in the real world, where they can chase after girls and watch Ferris Bueller’s Day Off (it’s pretty clear what decade we’re in). When they see teenager April (Ayo Edebiri) being robbed of her scooter, they cannot stop themselves from helping her out, swinging into action and despatching a whole gang of tough customers with ease. But this starts a complex chain of events that will eventually lead to them taking on mutant master villain, Superfly (Ice Cube), who has dedicated himself to the task of eradicating human life from the face of the planet.

The first thing to say here is that the animation style is ravishing, borrowing some of its look from the Spider-Man animations, perhaps, but adding its own expressionistic dazzle into the process. Occasionally, the four heroes have the solidity of stop-frame animation characters; at other times, they are more fluid, more experimental – and there’s even a delightful childhood experience rendered as crayons on paper. Co-directors Jeff Rowe (of The Mitchells Versus the Machines) and Kyler Spears attempt to keep everything coherent and mostly succeed.

The script, written by Rogan and Evan Goldberg (in collaboration with several others), is obsessed with the horrors of puberty and never misses the opportunity to go for cheap belly laughs. (Want to see somebody puking uncontrollably? It’s here.) This occasionally feels like a bunch of older guys desperately trying to reconnect with their own teenage years and, inevitably, not all of the quips hit their targets as solidly as they might. It’s also true that some of the action sequences – particularly an extended set piece towards the film’s conclusion – are a little muddled at times. Who’s hitting who? With what? And… why?

Reservations aside, I have a lot of fun with this, despite the fact that I’m not a former Turtles fan and barely gave them a glance back in the 80s. It has some interesting points to make about inclusivity but it doesn’t hammer me over the head with them. However, those looking to entertain little ‘uns in the school break should be warned: unless you want to explain a giant rat snogging an enormous cockroach, this may not be the film you’re looking for. Just saying.

Oh yes, stay in your seats for the post-credit bit, which seems to suggest a follow-up is in the works.

3.7 stars

Philip Caveney