The year is post-apocalypse 1997. The world is mostly barren wasteland that looks like rural Canada. A kid (Munro Chambers) scrapes by scavenging, cruising on his tiny, colorful kid's BMX bike. He mostly stirs clear of danger by keeping to himself and escapes the cruel reality by reading his beloved comic book, Turbo Rider. One day, he runs into a freaky blonde girl Apple (Laurence Laboeuf). She's like a puppy dog, cute but doesn't quite understand personal space. The area is ruled by ruthless Zeus (Michael Ironside) who grinds down his gladiators bodies in a meat grinder for water after his famous arena (empty pool) battles. After being chased by Zeus's murderous goons (who killed his parents) on BMXs, the kid discovers a secret bunker where actual Turbo Rider gear were hidden. The message from yesteryear on the ancient looking monitor and graphics tells him that Turbo Rider is indeed the only hope for humanity. The turbo glove, which very much resembles Nintendo Power Glove, when charged, can blow up enemies with turbo power!
If anything, Turbo Kid is unabashedly, immaculately done pastiche of the 80s kid's movie from the title to music to costume. It also makes good use of excessive amount of blood bags practical prosthetics and dummies as it is ultra-violent, harkening back to old Peter Jackson and Sam Raimi grinder movies. Directors are fully committed to keeping a straight face and that helps the film from being a third rate parody. And I love its smart and economical production design. Chambers and Laboeuf are adorable. I really hope this isn't the one hit wonder from these peoples.
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