Release Date: January 16, 2004
Starring: Martin Henderson, Ice Cube, Monet Mazur, Jay Hernandez, Will Yun Lee, Jaime Pressly
Directed by: Joseph Kahn
Written by: Matt Johnson
Distributed by: Warner Brothers
MPAA Rating: PG-13 (violence, sexuality, language, drug references)
It’s movies like Torque that make us critics wonder whether or not every film is worth reviewing. Why bother bashing a movie that intentionally avoids taking itself seriously, or furnishing a tangible and plausible plot, or creating something that a wide audience (intellectually mature and not) can equally enjoy? Because sometimes when these movies know they’re bad, the filmmakers actually know to run with that and have fun. Torque really isn’t a good movie, but it has fun with itself and sometimes lets the audience in on it, too.
In the high-octane, adrenaline-filled racing world (which only seems to exist so lavishly in the worlds of movies like The Fast and the Furious and XXX), you’re bound to get a beautiful girl (or a handful of them), a gorgeous car or motorcycle (or both), and the occasional dispute with a rival racer who can never seem to get the better of you because of your superhuman abilities and dashing good looks. These are all requirements of a hero in these types of movies and Torque fulfills them exceptionally well, which is something it should probably receive a little credit for doing. After all, how could there be guilty pleasures without films that proudly and deliberately meet far-fetched standards like these?
Martin Henderson plays Cary Ford, Torque’s handsome and untouchable protagonist. He specializes in motorcycle racing and has just returned from a six-month disappearance to be with his girlfriend (Monet Mazur). It turns out, however, that the people he fled from six months ago are still on his trail and want the drugs he supposedly hid from them. In an act of revenge, and to get their high-priced product back, the leader of the rival biking gang frames Ford for the murder of another biker (Ice Cube)’s brother. Now Ford is on the run from two rivals -- and the police -- all at once, so it’s a good thing he’s so good looking and has the driving know-how of an impossibly talented hero.
The movie has an intended over-the-top flavor, but that by no means says the film is gripping, engaging, and makes complete sense -- just that it’s able to get away with more than other movies of this type, like XXX and 2 Fast 2 Furious (two movies that tripped over their own plots and culminated in giant headaches for the viewer). The plot of Torque is neither original nor extraordinarily exciting, but it does have structure and allows, at least, the “why” questions to be answered -- for the most part, things have a reason for happening when they do.
Don’t expect many answers to the “how” questions, though. Like how it’s physically possible to drive a motorcycle on top and inside of a speeding train, and why no one loses their head (or at least an eye) when they crash through so many roadblocks without helmets on.
Joseph Kahn is the director of Torque, and it’s quite obvious this is his first major motion picture after a solid career as a music video helmer. There are plenty of moments where the movie turns into a big rock video, though thanks to a decent soundtrack featuring bands like Jane’s Addiction, Hoobastank, and Nickelback, it’s not that bad. The beautiful women, the chases, and the elaborate camerawork and visual effects are all a part of this aesthetic, too, and it definitely helps make the film the guilty pleasure plenty of viewers should find it to be.
Essentially, Kahn understands his mindless material well enough to give the target audience what they want -- beautiful people and fast action. He might have been able to go the extra step and work out some of character and acting flaws, but then Torque would have been trying to be more than it ever could be. And then us critics would have had even more to complain about than we already do.
-- Andy Zientek (zfilm@earthlink.net)