I also agree. I just watched this piece of garbage on Netflix. I feel like the film creators fundamentally don't understand all the campy, b-quality, practical effects movies from the 80s, 90s, and late 70s. 70s is s stretch. I am 31 and I've watched most of this stuff starting in 89 and in 90s.
The films references to which Turbo Kid seems to be full of (they'll call it "homage" I am sure) were mostly bad to begin with. They weren't cool then and they are not even cool now. The films I refer to are not the quality popular films but rather the b-films which are mostly of poor quality. I am not saying many of them do not deserve cult following. Cherry 2000 is alright, Trancers, Screamers, Buckaroo Banzai, Waterworld, Mad Max sequels, the crappy American Ninja movies, the movie about motorcycle Knights (forgot the title, it's where people fight each other joust style on motorbikes and swing medieval weapons). Of course a bunch of late 70s film references like from The Boy and His Dog, Rollerball, Romero movies,
Those are the ones I can name from the top of my mind. Turbo Kid seems to be filled with a ton of "references" to nearly every film. Even the Troma films. The word referencesare in quotation marks because they're simply stylistic cut and paste rip offs. They are not subtle or nuanced at all. For example remember the guy you see Indiana jones looking guy arm wrestling in beginning. He has a helmet made from bones. It is s direct copy of the snake king from the tv cartoon called Conan The Barbarian when Conan movies were popular. And of course they there in a ton of cliche anime plot elements.
Anyway, I digressed into not very relevant observations. The creators of this incredibly annoying and frustrating film do not get what it is in these cult films that may have appealed to post 1995 audiences. It is not the cheap synthesizer sound and music or overly simplistic plot structure and it is not the depiction of technology stuck in the 80s imagination (Walkman, Nintendo glove, 8-bit games and all crap like that).
The films of the 80s appeal to audiences today because despite limitations of budget, despite limitations of available film making technology, and despite crappy music they had, they tried to be serious about the visions of the future the directors showed in those films. They didn't make those films as mockery of parody of any other movies. Not even as parodies of old black and white sci fi. And what makes old movies appealing today is the gap in technology of 70s and 80s, and technology of late 90s and today. Those old movies were often failed experimental attempts to make something good. They would try to top each other with practical effects and visions of the future.
But Turbo Kid, just like the even worse Kung Fury, are mockeries. They're uncool mockeries of the limitations and of the really interesting aspects of the old movies. I watched Turbo Kid and I am angry. I am angry how Turbo Kid fails to capture the good, exaggerates the worst, and makes it all look like a cheap mockery of that which still sits in memories of young adults as a warm memory.
Well, basically I hate Turbo Kid. Even the exaggerated and mocked elements depicted in it do not match each other. Naïveté of the non comedic old scifi films is mixed with excessive gore of horror and satire films that Troma or Croneberg could have made. They simply have nothing to do with each other.
Ugh, so angry. How could anyone not get it and make this junk?!
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Bobby_vs_Satan
8 years ago
Even though I enjoyed the movie I understand what you mean about the difference of paying homage or parodying to back when they were trying to make the best movie they could but just didn't have much money or enough talent. I enjoyed TK because I didnt take it that seriously and I also think it wouldn't be possible now to make a more serious take on it as it's still homage, due to the 80's covered it already to excess. Even though I usually hate remakes I must admit I got a "what if" twinge when you mentioned Trancers. Too bad Tim Thomerson is too old now. Jack Deth was the bomb.
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