Themes: Flight of the Innocent, Clearing One's Name, Race Against Time
Main Cast: Martin Henderson, Ice Cube, Monet Mazur, Adam Scott, Matt Schulze, Jaime Pressly, Jay Hernandez
Release Year: 2004
Country: US
Run Time: 81 minutes
MPAA Rating: PG13
Plot
Shelved for almost a full year, the feature-film debut of acclaimed music video director Joseph Kahn, Torque is an action thriller set in the fast-paced, high-adrenaline world of biker gangs. Martin Henderson (The Ring) stars as Cary, a biker who is framed for the murder of a gang leader Trey's (Ice Cube) brother by Henry (Matt Schulze). Now, Cary finds himself on the run from both Trey's gang and the FBI, headed by the wise-cracking Agent McPherson Adam Scott. From Neal H. Moritz, producer of The Fast and the Furious and XXX, Torque co-stars Jaime Pressly and Monet Mazur. ~ Matthew Tobey, All Movie Guide
Review
Torque is a shot of adrenaline straight to the heart, eliciting so many moments of amped-up and overblown excitement that those with medical conditions (and very serious taste in film) should probably stay ten blocks away. In what could only be called "Extreme Cinema," this little slice of joy relishes in being abundantly over-the-top at every explosive turn. With The Fast and the Furious franchise never quite living up to its full high-voltage potential, Torque takes the wheel and slams on the gas, delivering scene after glossy scene of ludicrous stunts, laughable dialogue, and a pace akin to modern day Playstation games. With its hilarious B-movie aesthetics worn squarely on its sleeve, the film delivers the juice in so many absurd ways that it's hard not to have a guilty smile on your face throughout its breezy 81-minute running time. Some would blame it on MTV wunderkind Joseph Kahn's first-time filmmaker's incompetence (many moments become barely coherent due to the manic editing), but thanks to his train-wreck-style mishmash of comic book flair and tone, each blemish only ends up adding to this thrill ride's crazy charm. Completely contrasting the dull and needlessly dramatic Biker Boyz, this flick does more than just deliver on the chases it promises. Each explosive action scene consistently raises the bar of lunacy until the very end, as images (helped by loads of CG) breathlessly race by the camera at 200 mph, making the finale a cartoon of mayhem and destruction that redefines the word "outrageous." Sure, it might not be everyone's cup of tasty caffeinated beverage -- but for those who are tired of all the inflated two-hour-plus "epics" out there, Torque is a refreshing distraction that's lean, mean, and 100 percent entertaining. ~ Jeremy Wheeler, All Movie Guide
James Shanahan - Art Director, Randi Hiller - Casting, Sarah Halley-Finn - Casting, Greg Tharp - Co-producer, Elisabetta Beraldo - Costume Designer, Steve Danton - First Assistant Director, Joseph Kahn - Director, Gary Davis - Second Unit Director, Howard E. Smith - Editor, David Blackburn - Editor, Graham Burke - Executive Producer, Michael Rachmil - Executive Producer, Bruce Berman - Executive Producer, Trevor Rabin - Composer (Music Score), Peter J. Hampton - Production Designer, Peter Levy - Cinematographer, Neal H. Moritz - Producer, Brad Luff - Producer, David Ronne - Sound/Sound Designer, Matt Johnson - Screenwriter, Eric Durst - Visual Effects Supervisor, Rand Sagers - Set Decorator
Henderson plays biker Cary Ford, who is framed by an old rival and gang leader for the murder of Trey's (Ice Cube) brother. Ford is now on the run trying to clear his name of the murder with Trey and his feared gang looking for blood.
Similarities to The Fast and the Furious
The film has often been called "The Fast and the Furious on Motorcycles",[citation needed] referring to the use of many of the same thematic elements between the two films. Both films were produced by Neal H. Moritz.
Torque specifically references The Fast and the Furious at one point, taking a line directly from the film. Henderson's character Ford borrows Vin Diesel's line, "I live my life a quarter-mile at a time." To which Shane (Monet Mazur) replies, "That is the dumbest thing I have ever heard."
In The Fast and the Furious, Dom, played by Vin Diesel, ends up going to Mexico. In Torque, Ford and the rest of the crew also end up leaving for Mexico.
Reception
The movie's theatrical run took in a total of $21,215,059 in the United States and worldwide $46,546,197, having a budget of approximately $40,000,000.[1] Torque received mostly negative reviews, earning only a 22% rating on Rotten Tomatoes. Rotten Tomatoes' consensus for the movie is that the film is "Silly and noisy ... stylish fun for the MTV crowd."
