Writer(s): Simard, Whissell, and Whissell (sounds like a law firm!)
Starring: Munro Chambers, Laurence Leboeuf, Michael Ironside, and Edwin Wright
Let me preface this review by stating that I have a soft spot for low-budget films. They’ve always functioned as the antithesis to Hollywood blockbusters, those stale, watered-down, half-baked cinematic “experiences” that are manufactured only to put people in theater seats. Thankfully, I outgrew those in my teen years, when I realized that forced jokes, superhero movies, and computer-generated effects just didn’t do anything for me. They still don’t.
But while such independent films have always been labors of love, the stakes feel even higher now, when mainstream movie budgets continue to rise at alarming rates (in between talking heads crying foul over movie pirating that threatens to dismantle the movie and music industries…something about that doesn’t add up). In other words, as much as I loved Peter Jackson before he grew into the record-breaking creator of the Lord of the Rings trilogy (a series I succumbed to halfway through out of pure boredom), I enjoy them even more now. One would argue that the Internet has soured the market, and indeed a quick search on YouTube can yield thousands of low-budget shows and movies and clips--things that should never have been made (or at the very least, uploaded). But to me, that just makes finding a good little low-budgeter all the more rewarding.
Enter Turbo Kid, an ingenious ode to kids and action movies from the ‘80s. How is it that a movie constrained to such a small budget has infinite more imagination than almost all Hollywood films, which actually have the monetary means to create anything that they could possibly envision? This movie was clearly a labor of love, created by a group of three directors (two guys and a gal, all of whom also appear in bit parts throughout the movie) who work well within their budgetary limitations, delivering an exciting, surprisingly bloody, and comedic trip through an apocalyptic wasteland.
Munro Chambers plays a character known simply as “The Kid”, a boy whose parents are killed by an evil water tycoon, unsubtly referred to as Zeus (Michael Ironside). You see, in this futuristic society, all of the Earth’s water is tainted, with Zeus controlling all of the freshwater supplies, and when he discovers that The Kid’s parents were hording a stash for themselves, he didn’t take too kindly to that. And so The Kid has spent the last decade of his life wandering the barren landscape, collecting trinkets that he finds, and trading them in for necessary survival supplies with Bagu (Romano Orzari), a local shop owner.
Life gets pretty lonely for The Kid, at least until he meets the acquaintance of Apple, an endlessly cheery gal who proceeds to follow him around, courtesy of a tracking bracelet she places on him. At first, The Kid is off-put by her creepy charms, but of course he is eventually won over…just in time for her to be kidnapped by one of Zeus’ henchmen. Zeus isn’t just content with having the monopoly on clean water, and an endless supply of wealth—he also enjoys staging Coliseum-style fights between commoners and his own henchmen, fights that don’t end well for the commoners.
Meanwhile, The Kid stumbles on a secret underground lair where he finds the costume to Turbo Rider, his favorite comic book character. A playing video informs him that he is the last hope for humanity, and must don the outfit to continue Turbo Rider’s fight against evil. He accepts the mission and shows up to Zeus’ castle, where he must fight his way through several of his henchmen in order to save the girl that he loves.
One of the critiques that I’ve read is that the film never puts Turbo Kid in any apparent, immediate danger, which lessens the impact of excitement for the viewer, but I disagree wholeheartedly. The entire movie has a quality of “dreaminess” to it, and so I take it as a film that more or less takes place inside the head of a child. What kid hasn’t dreamed of being a superhero at one point or another, or dreamed of saving the life a girl that’s rejected him, if only to win her heart? I’ve never been much of a superhero fan, but even I would daydream about scenarios like that during elementary school (and probably even through high school). I can also assure you in those instances, the bad guys never even came close to winning. While this viewpoint is never directly stated, or really even implied, just the whole superhero subgenre itself feeds into this mindset, and relies upon this level of escapism. Maybe I’m putting words in its mouth that weren’t actually there, but regardless of the danger a main character is put in in a film like this, we already know he’s going to make it out alive anyway, which kind of lessens the argument.
Anyway, despite its lack of funds, this is a movie that looks straight out of the ‘80s, from the hilariously cheesy Turbo Glove blaster effect, to the main title screen, to bicycles as every character’s main mode of transportation, and even on down to the pitch-perfect, synth-heavy score. We can see its budget lovingly rendered on the screen, in the form of delightfully cheesy CGI effects (of which I am hugely against, but which really work in this kind of intentionally-campy romp), and ridiculously bloody deaths that recall the arterial sprays of the Lone Wolf and Cub series of samurai films.
Yes, despite its name, this is not a film for children. But it is a film for adults who may be children at heart, and who may be disillusioned by the recent spate of unending Hollywood superhero extravaganzas. Above all, despite the practical effects and gallons of gore, Turbo Kid is also a movie with a surprising amount of heart, something the mainstream won’t be able to touch until they either allow quality writers to write their films, or invest billions of dollars in a technological advancement that would allow the addition of synthetic feelings and emotions in their films. Sadly, of those two scenarios, it’s the second one that has the greater odds of coming true.
RECAP: This loving homage to kid and action films from the ‘80s features a shocking amount of blood, and a few slapstick bits of gore humor that wouldn’t feel out of place in an old Peter Jackson film. But grue aside, this film also has a freewheeling, wacky inventiveness and confident go-for-broke style that transcends its budgetary constraints. There’s also a surprising amount of heart that manages to be charming, without ever feeling strained. It’s not perfect—there are some slight pacing issues throughout, with the main story taking a little too long to get going—but for those that grew up on ‘80s kids films, you owe it to yourself to track this one down.
RATING: 8/10
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