Rotten Tomatoes: 88% Tarantino and Rodriguez may be to blame for the last few years' wealth of post-modern Grindhouse flicks, but they are also to be thanked for a new generation of indie filmmakers' realisation that they can make a wonderfully, purposefully kitsch movie on a shoestring budget. Turbo Kid is the latest one of these; the closest thing to a barometer of whether you'll like it or not is probably Kung Fury, the half-hour short that debuted online earlier this year (check it out ASAP, if you haven't already). Both have gleefully contagious rose-tinted viewpoints of exploitative 80s action movies. The trio(!) of directors behind Turbo Kid add to that aesthetic by seeming to write a love letter to coming-of-age teen fantasy films from the same decade; think The Last Starfighter, with more blood. (So much blood.) Gore-hounds will be far from disappointed. The plot is as flimsy as many of those movies from that tragic decade, but that's not really what you're turning up to Turbo Kid for anyway. The film does make up for its basic post-apocalyptic kill-the-evil-gang-leader plot by having its dystopian future actually set in... 1997. This is a vision of the future from the 80s, after all. It's one of several cute touches that add to the overall cheesy entertainment on offer. Of course, the reason viewers plonked down their hard-earned bucks was to enjoy the Grindhouse violence and bloodletting on offer, and there's a lot of action here to be ruthlessly enjoyed - most likely with some sort of alcohol to hand. Turbo Kid ultimately wears its heart on its sleeve, and you can't fault it for that. Besides, there are few things more interesting than hearing Michael Ironside say 'joie de vivre'.
Cinephile since 1993, aged 4, when he saw his very first film in the cinema - Jurassic Park - which is also evidence of damn fine parenting. World champion at Six Degrees of Separation. Lender of DVDs to cheap mates. Connoisseur of Marvel Comics and its Cinematic Universe.
