Turbo Kid is set in a post-apocalyptic world wherein civilization
had fallen in the 80’s (as what I can infer from the lingering articles and
items being scavenged and utilized by the people) and water is a scarce
commodity. The story focuses on a teenage
orphan – simply credited as “The Kid” – who is obsessed on an old comic book
superhero named “Turbo Rider” and who spends his days scavenging for stuff he can
trade for water, comic books, or some other objects.
One day, the Kid meets a mysterious and ebulliently quirky girl named Apple who convinces him to let her tag
along as he goes scavenging.
However, a henchman of the savage warlord Zeus kidnaps Apple, while the Kid barely escapes himself. In his
flight, he comes across an armor and weapon that are coincidentally similar with those of his hero, Turbo Rider. He puts
them on – thus, becoming “Turbo Kid” – and proceeds to go save Apple.
80’s and 90’s kids, who became
familiar and fell in love with both the cheesiness and charm of 80’s pop culture,
will have a blast with Turbo Kid. It agreeably pays homage to the ridiculous
but adored genre tropes and tones from that era. It has the production value of a low-budget
movie, but this aspect never became a point against it. It has succeeded in tapping into nostalgic
tastes, and its “B movie” quality actually enhances the appeal.
It’s also pretty hilarious. The movie isn’t excessively over-the-top as Kung Fury, but it still has plenty of
laughs. Most of them emerged from gory
sequences though.
Furthermore, Turbo Kid and Apple emit a genuinely warm and congenial chemistry. When the story gets too ridiculously violent or starts to flirt with clichés,
it fortunately has this positive characteristic to fall back to.
Turbo Kid is not the post-apocalyptic masterpiece that Mad Max: Fury Road is. But it does have the craftsmanship and appeal
of a cult classic from the 80’s, and I found that that’s sufficient to have a
great time with this film.
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