The second the painfully 80's opening logos hit the screen, I was immediately terrified that I was about to experience another Kung Fury. Just like Kung Fury, Turbo Kid is an independent action/comedy film released in 2015 that finds itself firmly entrenched within the culture of the 80's and 90's. However, while Kung Fury was nothing more than a collection of neon and non-sequiturs, Turbo Kid actually remembers that it has to be a movie. Unlike Kung Fury, Turbo Kid has an actual plot and characters. That's not to say that this is the strongest plot or that these are the strongest characters I've ever seen, but I digress.
Taking place in the post-apocalyptic year of 1997, the story follows The Kid (Munro Chambers), a boy-with-no-name who lives a life of solitude in the arid wasteland the world has become. After crossing paths with an eccentric girl named Apple (Laurence Leboeuf) and finding a discarded superhero suit, The Kid decides to rise up against the tyrannical leader of the Wasteland, Zeus (Michael Ironside). To get my biggest complaint with the film out of the way up front, the plot isn't great. There's a number of holes and inconsistencies which begin to pile up around the third act (most of them involving robots, who seem to operate on whatever set of rules best serves to move the story along). However, while the proverbial boat has its fair share of holes, it still stays more or less afloat until the credits roll. There's a beginning, middle, and end, character motivations are clear, and there's never really any confusion or nonsense to clog things up. It's not an excellent plot, but it functions just fine, which is more than I can usually say for indie films that are essentially based off of little more than a fun idea and a heap of nostalgia for the years before the new millennium.
While it may seem a tad shallow of me to say this, Turbo Kid is definitely a film in which the plot takes a backseat to the fun. The world in which this all takes place is fleshed out to an impressive degree; any references to the 80's (such as appearances from pink lawn flamingos and a Viewmaster) make perfect sense, considering that the junk of the 80's would be the trash and salvage of the post-apocalyptic 90's. It's essentially Mad Max, but with bikes instead of cars. In addition to being far cheaper to film, bicycles don't require any gasoline to run. The result is a unique blend of The Road Warrior and Rad, managing to pay tribute to an era of film and pop-culture while still giving the movie a look and identity of its own.
Speaking of looks, I would be remiss if I didn't bring up the phenomenally silly gore effects. There is hardly any garish CGI blood to be found here; this movie brutally dismembers mannequins and sprays corn syrup with all the eagerness and enthusiasm of a young Sam Raimi or Peter Jackson. I make no exaggeration when I say that this movie contains some of my favorite instances of cartoonish bloodshed and dismemberment ever committed to film. It would almost be hard to watch if it wasn't so absurd; as goofy as it is, this is probably not the film to watch if you've got an especially weak stomach.
The main cast all does fine work; Chambers is awkward and endearing as The Kid and, even though I found Leboeuf's Apple to be supremely annoying when she first appeared, I must admit that she gradually won me over somewhat. Michael Ironside couldn't be cornier in his role as the main antagonist, seemingly channeling the main villain from the Lethal Weapon sequels on It's Always Sunny. Aaron Jeffery also appears as Frederick the Arm Wrestler, without a doubt the coolest character in the movie. I almost wouldn't have minded him being the main protagonist, as he doesn't appear nearly as often as I would have liked. While the performances aren't particularly mind-blowing, the characters are endearing and memorable and help add something to this film aside from a cool setting and spectacular gore.
While it's not exactly loaded with substance, I still found Turbo Kid to be a good deal of fun. It's like a cinematic slice of cake; it's not exactly a "smart" choice, with little to offer in the way of substance. That said, it tastes good and it'll probably make you smile at least a little bit. While I do sincerely wish that the story was tighter, I in no way feel as though I've wasted my time giving Turbo Kid a watch. If you're looking for something different with buckets of bombastic gore, you could certainly do a lot worse than Turbo Kid.
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