Remember the totally bonkers ‘Kung Fury‘ that became an internet sensation early this year? If you did enjoy it, you’ll dig Turbo Kid more than everyone else. Directed by four people who I’m sure were born in the 80s, or at least are immensely nostalgic about it, Turbo Kid is set in an apocalyptic Mad-Max-esque wasteland. It is essentially an 80s movie set in modern times. While Kung Fury relied a lot on modern technology to fuse the retro with the modern, Turbo Kid is more focused on creating an authentic 80s feel much like the brilliant Tucker & Dale Vs Evil. There are tons of cheesy prosthetics, gallons of over-flowing fake blood, awful one-liners, and a sinful electronic soundtrack which all screams of an 80s movie.
Similar to the Turbo Kid – SLIGHTLY OVERRATED FILMS: MAD MAX: FURY ROAD [2015]
The film revolves around this character that we only know as ‘The Kid’ (Munro Chambers). He lives in a world where water is a dying resource. He is not only a scavenger who roams around collecting things that would help him stay alive but is also a huge comic-book fan. He is especially head over heels in love with the comic-books about the ‘Turbo Rider.’ One day he comes across a girl named ‘Apple’ (Laurence Leboeuf). Even though she is extremely creepy and weird, he develops a soft-side for her. The film basically revolves around two sub-plots. One that takes you to a very charming tale of friendship between the two kids and the other takes you to the over-the-top cheese feast of superfluous dialogues and completely douched-up insane gore revolving around Zeus (Michael Ironside) who is the ruler of the wasteland.
The film is part Mad-Max, part any random slasher-flick, part western, part 80s superhero flick and partly a rom-com too. While I was watching Turbo Kid, I was reminded of Dave from Kick-Ass, whose sole aim was to be a superhero so that he could do good. Turbo Kid has a very likable superhero origin story somewhere in its narrative. It is partly naive and partly awesome. When Apple and The Kid meet for the very first time we see him running away from her and not liking her. But slowly they develop a friendship that’s both acceptable and charming. That’s because the directors have created two very likable characters cleverly slipping in a very subtle message of realizing who and what a person is when you know them well.
Turbo Kid is a film that walks along the fine line of being too-dramatic and too-cheesy. Which, in my opinion, it does flawlessly. However, there are not many surprises to be had in this simple tale of Good Vs Evil. It chalks-out pretty much like an 80s television episode which is a huge negative in its kitty. Even though the violence is ridiculous (which is a definite plus in my bag) the film is not funny enough. It doesn’t make you laugh your guts out as you expect it to. Having said that, the people in the film ride BMX bikes when needed to run or hide, stumble upon silly superhero suits that shoot lasers, and make friends with robotic strangers who are more eager than humans themselves.
Also, Read – Back to the Future [1985] Review: Pure Sci-Fi Delight
Turbo Kid is a completely stupid, over the top, action-comedy with a heart. It’s enjoyable if you are one of those who don’t need their stories to make a whole lot of sense.
★★½
Turbo Kid Trailer
Turbo Kid Links: Wikipedia, IMDb, Rotten Tomatoes. Metacritic
