Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem

After years of ho-hum installments, this long-running franchise has finally produced something truly original — though its bizarre, often nightmarish vision won’t be to all tastes.

As a grown adult who went in stone-cold sober, I can’t say that Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem took me anywhere I hadn’t been before, though that doesn’t mean I was given nothing to think about.

As Hollywood continues to strip-mine 20th-century pop culture wherever it can, Mutant Mayhem is worth acknowledging as the rare reboot that harkens back to its franchise origins while presenting something new.

The nostalgic 80s and 90s hip-hop soundtrack is sublime, and while the action sequences can be hard to follow, there’s no faulting the film’s fizzing energy.

Sometimes comes off as a little too slack, with its teen-dirtbag ’90s hip-hop vibe leaning toward oddly languid for a movie that’s for kids as much as it is about them (in turtle form). But it’s just so charming anyway.

If you've stayed away from TMNT over the years — whether because of "Cowabunga!" or "Ninja Rap" or Michael Bay or whatever — don't be afraid to break out your swords, shout something that sounds cool and leap back into the fray.

It's one of the year's most joyful and fun films.

Mutant Mayhem is a joyous mess of energy, ideas, and chaotic fun. It isn’t perfect, and the script is all over the place, but it also doesn’t feel like it matters when everything is this much fun.

It’s a modern(ish) spin on the classic Turtles although one that doesn’t really distinguish itself outside of its surface-level flourishes. Yet I’m betting there’s enough of that to satisfy the TMNT faithful, young and old.

It’s the Bumblebee effect all over again.