Sometimes, the comic book movies and emotionally exhausting dramas just need to be put on the backburner to make room for something that seems like a lighter affair. I had this in mind when I wanted to see Turbo, almost entirely built upon the concept of "hey, that snail is cute" along with how many animated films tend to be quite good. Did it turn out that way? It's time for another REVIEWPOINT as we break down the film's hits and misses.
NOTE: SPOILERS BELOW. IF YOU HAVE NOT SEEN THE MOVIE AND DO NOT WANT TO KNOW DETAILS, SKIP THIS AND COME BACK LATER
As always, let's start with the bad news first.
THE MISSES
1. THE SLOW MIDDLE
Halfway through the film, everything stops dead. It then takes quite a while to get rolling again, almost as if it's starting from ground zero. This is annoying, because you'd like to keep the momentum going rather than come to a screeching halt. The reason they do this is to set up another problem...
2. THE HUMANS
I didn't like a single one of them. As mentioned, the setup for them slows the entire film down to...well...a snail's pace, and for what? Some incredibly cheap, overly stereotypical boring characters? Why did the human need to be a taco selling fat dude named Tito? How come Ken Jeong is playing an old, short Asian woman that owns a nail salon? I can't even tell you the names of the mechanics. Why they thought this was a good idea, I have no clue.
3. MOST SUPPORTING SNAILS
That's not to say that the humans were the only problems. With the exception of Chet (Paul Giamatti) and to an extent Whiplash (Samuel L. Jackson), I didn't really like any of the other snails outside of Turbo. Burn and Skidmark were utterly pointless as was Smoove Move, which just got annoying after a while.
THE HITS
1. THE STORY WORKS
Is it generic? Sure. But that doesn't mean it's a bad things. The most repetitive stories are often done so because they work and you can't blame them for going the easy route. Snails are slow, so let's make him a racer. Everything's already done for you outside of the touches here and there that you make along the way.
2. PUNS, REFERENCES AND JOKES
One of the best things about these films is how they incorporate aspects about the subjects into cute little jokes. For instance, Turbo uses a tortilla for a blanket and a sauce packet for a pillow. His eyeballs are his headlights. So on and so forth.
END NOTES
The big flaws come in the supporting characters, so every scene that focuses on them ends up being a drag, but the Turbo scenes themselves are entertaining enough to not make that overbearing.
Would I recommend it? Maybe. If you typically like animated films like this, you should check it out. If you're someone that has an aversion to them, avoid it. I wouldn't suggest anyone watch this as their first viewing of an animated film if they weren't used to them, as there are FAR better options out there (Toy Story for instance) but if you're looking for something light to watch, particularly to take the kids to see, go for it.
If you want to check out some more recent Reviewpoint articles: White House Down | The Lone Ranger | Man of Steel | Justice League: The Flashpoint Paradox | The Wolverine
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| This review was done so fast you can only see it's shadow |
What were your thoughts on the movie? What should the next Reviewpoint be?
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