Turbo Kid is an upcoming post apocalyptic film from Anouk Whissell, François Simard and Yoann-Karl Whissell (aka the RKSS Collective). It stars Munro Chambers, Michael Ironside and Laurence Leboeuf. The film debuted theatrically and on VOD, August 28th.
In a post-apocalyptic parallel future of 1997, an orphaned teenager called The Kid scavenges the Wasteland searching for relics from a better time (the 80s). During one of his expeditions he meets Apple, a mysterious girl with a rather large secret. As their relationship deepens, they accidentally run afoul of Zeus, the self-proclaimed leader of the Wasteland. Zeus, a sadistically droll maniac who murdered The Kid’s parents, now controls the Wasteland’s most precious commodity: fresh water. When Zeus’ gang kidnaps Apple, The Kid joins forces with Frederick, the laconic leader of the legendary Arm-Wrestling Clan. Armed with little more than blind faith and an ancient turbo-charged weapon, The Kid must fulfill his ultimate destiny: destroy Zeus, avenge his parents’ death and get the girl of his dreams.
Turbo Kid was one of my most anticipated films of the year (click HERE for that list) and when the time came to finally check it out, not only was I NOT let down, but the Canadian throwback to 80’s sci-fi action flicks was even better than I’d ever hoped for. Turbo Kid is by far the most fun you’ll ever have during the apocalypse. Munro Chambers stars as a scavenger who has been wandering an acid rain-ravaged wasteland in search of food and comic books. Until one day after killing a mutant rat — he meets a strange girl named Apple and the most loving onscreen bond of friendship in 2015 is formed.
At the core of this goofy homage to oldschool sci-fi movies like The Road Warrior and retro videogaming, Turbo Kid is a tale about friends. Apple and ‘The Kid’ (we never do learn his name do we?) are just so much fun to watch together that you kinda forget about how they’re fighting a skull-masked sawblade throwing BMX riding psychopath. Limbs and heads fly with reckless abandon and the bloodspray is endless. You thought Kill Bill used too much? Wrong bitch – Turbo Kid wins that war. The practical effects are amazing, the action is surprisingly well choreographed during brutal fight scenes and the kills are all amusing/grotesque in their own neat ways.
As fun as Turbo Kid was, there are some intense moments that actually surprised me. The flashbacks to ‘The Kid’s’ parents were impactful and even though people wind up wearing their buddy’s torso for a hat — I truly did care whether or not Apple, the Kid or Frederick (the arm wrestler) died or not. The stakes were high and at several points in the film (how many times you gotta put Apple through this?!?!) I found myself flabbergasted at the twists and turns. There was much more clever writing than I would have given a film like this credit for.
Michael Ironside plays the villainous Zeus and he does a fine job but he really pulls it home in the end with a terrific badguy speech of epic proportions. I was a little worried he’d be phoning this performance in, but Ironside was just as good as the old days when he was kicking ass in Starship Troopers. Zeus’ number one guy – Skeletron – is one of the coolest villains of the year and he steals every scene he’s in. Edwin Wright’s speechless performance was all in those crazy eyes that shined through that badass metal skull mask making you truly believe that this nutjob was capable of horrible things.
Turbo Kid is part of this new wave of amazing Canadian throwback films like Hobo with a Shotgun and Wolf Cop but just like those movies, it’s also something more significant. It’s original, it’s fun and it’s entertaining as hell. I’m proud that a film like this comes from my homeland of Canada and I solute Anouk Whissell, François Simard and Yoann-Karl Whissell for creating one of the year’s best releases.
Rating: [star rating=”5″]