Arts & Entertainment Movie Reviews: ‘Mutant Mayhem’ Entertains And ‘Meg 2’ Sinks “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles” makes its return after 16 years. In “Meg 2: The Trench,” Jason Statham reprises his role as a rescue diver. Reply
Brady Noon, Nicolas Cantu, Shamon Brown Jr. and Micah Abbey in “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem.” (Paramount Pictures)
HOLLYWOOD, CA — This weekend, two movie franchises return to the big screen, featuring four legendary turtles, as well as a prehistoric shark known for its fangs of terror.
The “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles” movie franchise returns with its latest incarnation, “Mutant Mayhem,” the first one in 16 years, starring Brady Noon, Nicolas Cantu, Shamon Brown Jr. and Micah Abbey. This time around, the Turtle brothers try to find their footing in New York City. But Cowabunga! Mayhem erupts. Shark fans can check out “Meg 2: The Trench,” the sequel to the 2018 box-office hit, “The Meg.” Jason Statham reprises his role as rescue diver Jonas Taylor, who crosses paths with his old “chum,” a super-eager megalodon.
Check out what we thought of the two films below. Related:
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Summer 2023 Blockbusters: Barbie, Ken, Indie And An Impossible Mission “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem” Micah Abbey, Shamon Brown Jr., Nicolas Cantu; directed by Jeff Rowe and Kyler Spears With the VHS home video release of “Heroes in a Half Shelf” in the 1980s — Yes, Gen Xers, we’re going down memory lane — the “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles” (TMNT) comic-book franchise exploded into a phenomenon.
Over the next four decades, it would expand its offerings ranging from action-toy figures to numerous video games and from the live-action films, “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles” (2014) and “Out of the Shadows” (2016), to the animations, “Rise of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles” (2018) and the latest incarnation — “Mutant Mayhem.” The new TMNT movie, directed by Jeff Rowe and Kyler Spears, starts the story chronicling the genesis of the turtles. The rat Splinter (voiced by Jackie Chan) becomes the adoptive father to the foursome brother siblings — Leonardo (Nicolas Cantu), Michelangelo (Shamon Brown Jr.), Donatello (Micah Abbey) and Raphael (Brady Noon).
The next 15 years in the movie then capture the brothers’ development into their teenage years as they get trained in ninja-style combat. Along the way, they also acquire a taste for pop-culture entertainment, ranging from the Avengers to the Korean boy band BTS. For sure, like any other teenagers, the teenage turtles just would like to blend in. However, much to their disappointment, many are yet to embrace their existence with open arms. What are they to do to convince the entire world that they are not a menace or a mere nuisance? See it. The “Mutant Mayhem” endears with a colorful palette utterly filled with entertainment delights. It’s extremely amusing especially during the first two acts of the movie. “Meg 2: The Trench” Jason Stathem, Jing Wu, Cliff Curtis; directed by Ben Wheatley Remember the titular megalodon that graced the silver screen in the 2018 box-office hit, “The Meg”? It’s back for the sequel, and this time around, the mega shark is super-eager to send tremors of terror undersea. With painstaking attention to detail, the first few minutes of the film take audiences to the Cretaceous era, where a myriad of creatures are seen buried in the oceanic depths for millennia.