Turbo (Not the Power Rangers Movie!)

[TheCube]

Coming to theaters July 17 in US (my birthday!).

I'm kind of ambivalent about this movie. On one hand, this reminds me just a tad too much of the *shudders* Cars franchise. On the other, it's DWA and they've been pretty much been nailing it with non-sequels the past few years.

Oh, and possible HTTYD2 teaser before the film (it will probably be online too, but still I would prefer a theater experience with better speakers, etc.).

What are your thoughts? Going on release date? Waiting for blu-ray? Not interested at all?

[Hiccup's Apprentice]

After watching the trailers, I think the movie could be good, but it does seem to have a lot of the classic DreamWorks tropes: pop-culture references, use of popular music, attempted use of humour (for both kids and the adults), clichéd plot devices, and so on. It could be a Shrek or Madagascar kind of good, but definitely not at the level of HTTYD or KFP greatness. The kids will like it, and it'll make money, and that's what matters most, right?

If the reviews are decent, and I can coax someone to go with me, I'll see it. If the reviews are not good, and the HTTYD trailer gets released online, I'll consider saving my for-two movie pass for another day.

[TheCube]

The music's a bit of a mix and match, you hear the kind of garage-rock style music but the first trailer made me laugh when they started it with "Tick of the Clock" by Chromatics, which was featured in Drive. Even though the only thing they share is that they're both movies with cars in it...

The composer for this movie is Henry Jackman, who's been doing some of the smaller DWA projects and other films. His Wreck-It Ralph score is pretty good, but still nowhere as profound or coherent as Powell's HTTYD score, which I'm assuming is partially due to the filmmakers' desire and also due to the mashup nature of the film. He also did the score for Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter, where you can definitely hear he sounds more like Hans Zimmer than Powell. He should be more than capable for a movie like this.

It's interesting to see in these trailers what previous works they mention. For the second trailer they only bring up two, Madagascar and Kung Fu Panda. It feels like a lighter film than KFP but definitely not as crowded as Madagascar movies, so I guess it's somewhere in-between.

And speaking of Kung Fu Panda, if you think about it this is kind of the same synopsis as the first KFP film: average person/animal/whatever gets some insane power/privilege that they have been wishing for apparently by chance.

[Hiccup's Apprentice]

Oops, Sorry I never replied to your post above, I meant to but I guess I got sidetracked.

I'm going to be seeing Turbo tomorrow (actually today) and I will post impressions or a short review after I get back.

I've only read the plot summary, and I have watched the above trailers but I forgot what was in them, so I'm going into this movie knowing only the basic plot is, and what TheCube has said above.

Turbo currently has 65% on RottenTomatoes and 59 on Metacritic. I'm going in with my expectations deliberately low, so I hope I can get pleasant surprise form this.

[Hiccup's Apprentice]

Just got out of the theatre now. Trailers were Planes, Cloudy/Meatballs 2, HTTYD 2, and Rio 2, all in 3D. Full impressions when I get home

[TheCube]

My instant reaction to the list of trailers -

HTTYD 2: YES
RIO 2: YES
Cloudy/Meatballs 2 : ehh
Planes: *jumps off a cliff"

[Hiccup's Apprentice]

I should have written that since I'm in Canada, the trailers might not be the same as in the States, or in other countries. Still I imagine HTTYD2 will play in front of any showing of Turbo because they're both DWA movies.

My reaction to the trailers:
Planes: Meh, looks like the worst aspects of Cars mixed with a plot similar to Turbo. I'll pass.
Cloudy/Meatballs 2: Seriously, really? This trailer makes the movie look incredibly dumb. Although the food *did* look great in 3D. Still, I'll pass.
How to Train Your Dragon 2: Oh god, this looked amazing in 3D! And the sound was excellent too. Definitely the best of the trailers, but I most certainly am biased. (I saw this film with a friend that I'm not too sure knows about my HTTYD fandom, so I tried to avoid getting too excited while watching.)
Rio 2: The first movie was a very pleasant surprise, and I am definitely going to see the sequel. I wasn't paying attention to this trailer as I was too busy trying to get my heart rate down. I'm not sure if John Powell will also be scoring this like the first one, as I think the music was the best thing about the first. I'm planning to see this movie.

I saw the 5:20 PM showing in the Cineplex's second-largest auditorium, about 400 seats. Less than 20 people were there. Most of them were kids with their families, but thankfully none of the kids were too rambunctious.

Thoughts on the movie itself:
(I will try to avoid spoiling anything, but I do bring up some positives and negatives of the movie, as well as referencing what happens at the end. Read at your own discretion.)

Admittedly, it was much better than I thought it was going to be. A ridiculous plot begets a ridiculous film, and this film's plot is pretty difficult to buy in to. Yes, quite a lot of the plot is predictable, but there is heart in this movie. I was surprised to find myself actually rooting for Turbo at a couple points, and this is something a movie rarely gets me to do. The movie surprisingly does make you want to see this little snail achieve his dreams against all odds, and not just in a passive way. There were a couple of surprises near the end that I did not predict; I like it when an otherwise predictable movie does this. The animation quality was great, especially during the racing scenes, but some of the human's faces occasionally look weird. Overall, the movie was far better than my expectations, and I would recommend this film to others, not just HTTYD fans wanting to see the trailer.


Some things that weren't so good: There were a LOT of characters, and we never really get to know any of them besides the two main snails, one of the taco brothers, and one of the race car drivers. I think they could have reduced the number of characters and/or spent more time on character development, and less time trying to crack lame-ish jokes. The music was decent; the score fit in when it needed to and the songs used were (mostly) relevant, but there were no 'stand-out' memorable songs like there are in HTTYD and other movies. We don't hear from several characters again after we're introduced to them, and some things in the movie don't really get addressed again after they're brought up. The ending of the movie caught me a bit off guard as I felt it ended a bit abruptly with loose ends. Also, the 3D did not really add anything to the film, but seeing Hiccup and Toothless in 3D was worth the $3 upcharge.

Still, the movie's heart, good moral, and making me want to see Turbo win (despite the ridiculousness of it all) make up for its flaws. I give the movie a 7 out of 10, which I consider to be 'average'. Give it a watch if you get the chance.

"TURBO: Performance-enhancing drugs can help you achieve your dreams."

[TheCube]

www.imdb.com/title/tt2357291/fullcredits?ref_=tt_cl_sm#cast
Rio 2. "Original Music by: John Powell"

Yep.

I saw someone comparing Turbo to Planes and HTTYD2 to Frozen, saying first they put out the weak pawns and then go for the bigger cannon. I disagree; Planes is pretty much an extension of Cars, which has already been completely depleted of ideas by the second film. DWA is at least making the apple pie from scratch.

Regarding the main feature, it's only 6 percent points below Pacific Rim on Rotten Tomatoes ratings. Now, mind you, Pacific Rim is literally the big-budget blockbuster of this summer. So I wouldn't mind the ratings too much; critics often look for things that the movie obviously is not intended to have.

And judging by the trailers, Turbo is supposed to be a straightforward movie that doesn't deviate from the general formula. Plays it safe, but plays it fun. I'm probably going to see it this weekend, but from what I've read it sounds like DWA hit the target pretty well. It's a bit of a shame they settled on a safe film instead of exploring more, but honestly I wouldn't complain.

EDIT: JeremyJahns review! Always witty and honest. Also refers to the Power Rangers movie.

[Hiccup's Apprentice]

I totally agree with everything JeremyJahns says. The movie ends almost exactly like you'd think it would, but the movie is still a good time. I think keeping my expectations deliberately low helped me enjoy this movie a little bit more.

And yay, John Powell for Rio 2

[TheCube]

blip.tv/the-cinema-snob/midnight-screening-turbo-6617862

Here's a midnight-screening review from one of my favorites [LANGUAGE WARNING]. Now I'm probably not seeing this movie... 

[Hiccup's Apprentice]

Wow, uhh, that video is pretty long. Could you summarize the main point, and explain why you're not seeing the movie now? (I thought it was pretty good and worth a watch IMO)

[TheCube]

The video's a review mixed with jokes and rants so the actual review fragments add up to only about 30 minutes. Summarized:

• The movie is not insulting or condescending to the intended audience (really young kids) like Epic or the upcoming Smurfs sequel, etc. but it is so geared towards that specific range of people that anyone else would not get much out of it.
• With that, the movie is perfectly harmless but consequently extremely forgettable. To quote JeremyJahns: "You're not gonna remember it in T-minus one day—Yep, already forgot."
  
• The cast is just baffling. This is a relatively small movie when you look at DreamWorks' upcoming pipeline; the number of A-list actors and other celebrities is a bit ridiculous. Not to mention, Ryan Reynolds talks like Ryan Reynolds, etc. etc. Sometimes the voices don't fit into the characters because of this, and it would have been better if they just hired professional voice actors, who practice the art that seems to be slowly dying today.

Their conclusion is that if you have kids, this is an excellent time-filler for them. Maybe you'll buy the DVD and just put it on for your boys, going "Go crazy, you might get some life lesson or entertainment out of it." But for anyone above 8, Pacific Rim is a better popcorn movie, and there's just not enough substance or spectacle in Turbo to justify spending 100 minutes in the cinema.

And these people go to screenings of the best and the worst movies, from This Is The End to Pacific Rim to After Earth. Their reactions are really down-to-earth but genuine. The only reason I might possibly go to see this at this point is to see the teaser in 3D, but I think I'll wait until later to have my socks blown off.

P.S.: These guys said 3D was well-executed, but then this is a 3D animation. No blatant pop-out moments for the sake of 3D, no image errors, etc.

[Hiccup's Apprentice]

Turbo?

Pacific Rim?




If you're on the fence, you could always wait until it gets to one of those second-run theatres I keep hearing about. (We don't have those here unfortunately)

I personally felt that even though it isn't the greatest movie, and I won't be picking it up on Blu-ray, it was still worth a watch. If you think your movie preferences or what other reviews say might mean you won't like it, well I will admit that this movie isn't for everyone. It definitely is aimed at families with young kids and not our demographic, and I think that this skews movie reviewers to be against it. Is it a bad movie? No. But is it forgettable? Yep. (I'm not trying to change your mind or anything here, this is just my thoughts on why it isn't doing as well as it could have)

Box-office wise, Turbo ain't doing so well. It came in 3rd place on its opening weekend with only $21.5 million domestic, behind even Despicable Me 2 which, despite being out for almost an entire month, is still dominating the box office at the #2 spot with $25 million domestic just this weekend.

They definitely released Turbo at a bad time: on a busy weekend with lots of new films opening (The Conjuring, RED 2, R.I.P.D.), and right in between Monsters U and Despicable Me 2, and Smurfs 2 and Planes. The animation genre is totally saturated this summer. I'm just hoping this doesn't turn into another "bomb" for DWA, as I'm worried that it could affect Dragons 2 in some way.


EDIT: OH and is This Is The End still playing where you are? (It is here) I still recommend seeing this movie if you're able to.