Nerds That Geek Movie Review: 'Turbo Kid'

Written by Scott Edwards

It can be entertaining to think about what will happen when the world slowly starts to fall apart and what you will be able to do when it happens. I like to think that I would be able to secure a small town and block it off from the rest of the world and just live comfortably with friends and neighbors and be able to send people out to find things that will help us survive. But then there would be those that don’t want to see anyone be happy, especially if they cannot take part in that. When they come riding to the gates of my town, I would try to invite them in, but then seeing what they really want, it would change my outlook on the world and make me believe that all outsiders are evil and must be destroyed at all costs. Wow, that is kind of depressing actually, maybe I will think about dancing gnomes or something, instead.

The Kid has been able to make a good life for himself after the world has fallen apart. Being a pretty good scavenger, he has been able to procure many items that have value for him and is able to trade the rest for life saving items, such as water. When the apocalypse started, it was blamed on the robots of the day, but what really changed the world was the lack of clean drinking water for people. Water is the only thing that matters and whomever owns it, can run much more than a community, they can run their own world. The Kid never gave this much thought and with his daily activities, he is busy enough to stay under the radar of other scavengers, or so he thinks.

While taking a break from his day, The Kid is approached by a new friend who seems a little off. Although Apple seems to be cute and friendly, she appears to be a touch psycho toward The Kid and he tries to leave before she is able to follow him. But she is able to place a tracking bracelet on him, leading her to The Kid’s underground home. Getting to know his fellow survivor, Kid and Apple embark on a scavenging trip that will change their lives forever. When Apple learns all of the rules of survival in the wasteland, she is captured by one of Zeus’s men and taken in for processing. When seeing that his new friend is gone, Kid is ready to go find her before something bad happens, but he is chased down by one of Zeus’s men as well, but before he is captured, Kid falls into an old base that will make his fight a little easier.

Stumbling upon the original Turbo Rider, the comic that Kid has fallen in love with, Kid now has a suit and a pulse weapon at his disposal and is ready to take the fight to Zeus and his men. Rolling up to the pit, where Zeus likes to have people fight to the death, Kid finds out that the dead bodies do not go to waste, they are recycled into the water that everyone needs to survive. Joining the fight to save his friends Apple and Fredric from his trading post, Kid surprises all of the onlookers with his new power and the group is able to escape their fate of becoming a drink. But Zeus does not take defeat lightly and will do anything to show his followers that he is the most powerful man in the wasteland and now has his sights set on The Kid and his friends.

After watching this movie, I had to let John know right away that he needed to see it as soon as possible. Since I loved it, I knew he would as well and of course, he did. If you were going to try and describe this movie to someone, it would have to be Mad Max meets RAD and for any child of the 80’s, that is a winning combination. I liked every character in this movie and I would have to say that Apple has to be my favorite since she seems to see the best of the world, rather than the awfulness it has become. Besides, she had a Gnome Stick as her weapon in the movie and it tickled me to see a gnome used that way on the screen. With a great sound track, some good actors and of course some special effects that remind you that not everything needs to be be CGI, you also get some great action and a ton of blood. Don’t let the title fool you, you might want to check it out before your kids do. Happy Viewing!

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