“A
fun and blood-thirsty homage to retro action-adventure films.”
“This is the future. This is the year 1997.”
Thus begins the Mad
Max kiddie version Turbo Kid,
the debut feature of directors-screenwriters Anouk Whissell, Francois Simard
and Yoann-Karl Whissell. Popularly known as the RKSS (Road Kill Super Stars),
the Quebec trio breaks from making shorts to bring homage to ‘80s cult classic
action adventure films. In this yesteryear’s future, water has become the most
treasured resource and one kid will rise to stop the villain that controls it.
Humanity is doomed with acid rain, endless war and robot
revolution. Civilizations have collapsed and each man is for himself. The Kid (Munro Chambers),
a nameless boy who is a Turbo Man comic-book fan, lives in an underground bunker
in one of the Wasteland zones. Riding his bike, he scavenges the surrounding
area and trades his finds to marketer Bagu (Romano Orzari) for bottles of
scarce drinking water. Later, he comes across an overeager pink-haired drifter
named Apple. With a tracking device she puts on his wrist, she follows him
around, much to The Kid’s dismay.
Unfortunately, Apple is abducted by the BMX “biker” gang,
the ruthless henchmen of sadistic, one-eyed Zeus (Michael Ironside). Zeus has
one vicious hobby – he pits his men against the ill-fated captives. The corpses
are then fed into an extractor that juices the water out. After stumbling into
what appears to be the remains of Turbo Man (actually a bygone soldier), The
Kid dons the hero’s trademark red helmet, knee and shoulder pads and some sort
of a Turbo laser blaster.
Apple and Frederic (Aaron Jeffery), a wandering cowboy and
arm-wrestling champion, find themselves face-to-face with Zeus’ right-hand man
Skeletron (Edwin Wright), a muted, saw-blade-handed killer, and the rest of the
army. Turbo Kid comes to their rescue which sets off a chain of battle of
survival in the water-thirsty land.
Turbo Kid is a
delightful treat for the aging ‘80s boys and a pleasing chance for the younger
ones to see how things were done back in the era. It is not an old movie; it
simply foregoes the complexities of modern filmmaking and takes on the
laborious and firm practical approach to bringing superhero adventures to life.
The film is generally sweet-natured and unexpectedly pleasing. Yes, it is
entertaining despite the fact that it never runs out of blood and guts. Geysers of blood
are overflowing and intestines are just dangling around or are being wickedly
pulled out. Characters are easily amputated, sliced up, disembowelled, impaled
and decapitated. This weightless violence becomes excessive and revolting at
some points. But then, there is a killing spree and the picture is simply not
modest about it. It is like mixing outrageous gore to what is supposed to be
children’s stuff.
All those bloody exhibitions are achieved through practical
effects, soliciting a more realistic and literally gut-wrenching response. CGI
is minimal, almost indiscernible. Obviously, the film is made on such low
budget; yet, it manages to be resourceful and creative. Barren lands and empty
warehouses are turned into post-apocalyptic dystopias while other production elements
appear to have been recycled from junkyard scraps. Cinematography also matches
the inexpensiveness of the whole feature. The retro musical score is remarkable and infectious though.
Other than its creativity and blood-thirstiness, the film adds nothing new to the genre. Voiceovers are cheesy and lines are generic. They could
have been funnier, too. Not only that violence is over-the-top but the action
sequences, though seemingly have passable choreography, is sloppily executed,
resulting to less dynamics and momentum.
Leboeuf is the winner in this as her carelessly unrestrained
performance as Apple shines through. She is completely charming with that doll
face and enthusiastic optimism. She is the film’s life. Chambers is also quite
good with his undeniable devotion and intelligent timing. Together, they have
tender moments which are lovely and affecting. Being a veteran to the genre,
Ironside is efficient switching back-and-forth between being grim and
absurd.
Turbo Kid is
humbly airless and bloody. It is conventional and unoriginal. It offers nothing
much except warm nostalgia, stirring fond memories or exciting curiosity. With
all its gore, it is surprisingly enjoyable, possibly because at its core, the
film is well-meaning, honest and good-natured.
Production companies: EMA Films, T&A
Films
Cast: Munro Chambers, Laurence Leboeuf,
Aaron Jeffery, Edwin Wright, Romano Orzari, Michael Ironside
Directors-Screenwriters: Anouk Whissell,
François Simard, Yoann-Karl Whissell
Producers: Anne-Marie Gélinas, Ant Timpson,
Benoit Beaulieu, Tim Riley
Executive producers: Jason Eisener, Patrick
Ewald, Shaked Berenson, Michael Paszt, Stéphanie Trépanier, Jean-François
Ferland, Matt Noonan
Director of photography: Jean-Philippe
Bernier
Production designer: Sylvain Lemaitre
Costume designer: Éric Poirier
Editor: Luke Haigh
Music: Le Matos
0 comments:
Post a Comment