Torque
Release Date: January 16, 2004
MPAA Rating: PG-13 for violence, sexuality, language and drug references
Directed By: Joseph Kahn
Starring: Martin Henderson, Jaime Pressly, Ice Cube, Jay Hernandez, Matt Schulze, Adam Scott, Will Yun Lee, Faizon Love, Christina Milian, Fredro Starr, Monet Mazur
Plot:
Set in the fast-paced world of motorcycle racing, this action movie shows what happens to long-time biker (and non-gang member) Cary Ford (Henderson) when he is framed by a long-time rival, Henry (Schulze), the leader of a biker gang called the Hellions for the murder of Sleepy D, the brother of Trey Wallace (Cube), the leader of the Machine, the most notorious and feared biker gang in the country. Cary and his friends must make a run for it as they have both Trey and his Machine bikers and the FBI on their tails.
Review:
Let me just start off by saying that if it wasn't for the camera work in this film, it would have been a contender for one of the worst films of the year. Its the debut for Director Joseph Kahn and the first picture he chose is he infamous Torque. The trailers weren't promising and Torque doesn't set out to be anything, but a fast paced racing film.
This film looks like The Fast and The Furious and feels like XXX. Torque simply was a blend of films that have already been witnessed before it. From the looks of it, this film was simply an excuse to bring back the crowd that likes these type of films. The film fails because overall there is nothing new that it delivers. There are not many aspects in the film that hasn't been seen before.
The acting in this film is very bad and the story was pretty much a mess from the beginning. At times witnessing Torque was intolerable. Its almost tough to point out the originality in Torque, because it was hardly visible. Hollywood tends to torture us with bad films that are not supposed to have a plot and are filled with casts and crews that lack talent. Torque can be tolerable in a few scenes, but overall it fails and the entertainment is not completely present.
Speaking about the acting, the film stars Ice Cube and Martin Henderson as the main characters. Martin Henderson was in 2002's The Ring, a great and well crafted horror film. After his achievement in that film, his role in this film is a tragedy and its definitely a shame. However, he does a better job than possible the worst actor of Torque and that is of course Ice Cube.
The words Ice Cube uses in the film and lame and plain stupid. The way he talks is too over the top for this film and feels like he tried too hard and falls harder on the ground for doing so. There is nothing over average in Torque besides the camera work and it has been said before. It also shouldn't come as a shock that the best character in the entire film is played by Jaime Pressly and her name is China in the film.
For a film as such, a script has to made. It almost makes me wonder if there was even a script for Torque because the idea behind it is awful. Its hard to endure Torque because its clear that something was wrong with the writers of this film. Practically the only things enjoyable in Torque was the fast and quick camera angles and effects they used for the stunts. Besides those qualities in the movie, there is nothing else to offer.
Torque is a bad film nonetheless, but there are thanks to be given in certain parts that the film will probably only receive a dishonorable mention at the end of the year. Actor Martin Henderson certainly needs to separate for a while and think about the route he wants to take. This route is of course the wrong one, but he might just like the way he is going. He, along with the cast deliver very bad acting.
Torque is a failed project and even with a good amount of popcorn you will find yourself cringing at whats on the screen. It has terrible acting and a horrendous script. The only thing pulling this project in not being a complete disaster is Joseph Kahn's direction. One has to wonder though, he certainly had a solid vision, but a Director does get the final say in choosing actors, so why this cast? We might never know.
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