Torque Review
by Michael Dequina (mrbrown AT iname DOT com)February 2nd, 2004
_Torque_ (PG-13) ** 1/2 (out of ****)
All the advertising plays up the fact that it is "from the producer of _The_Fast_and_the_Furious_," and from the initial indications in _Torque_, it appears that the movie itself falls all too closely in line with that thinking, with director Joseph Kahn going out of his way to evoke--rather, completely and shamelessly carbon copy--that high-speed hit. The movie not only opens with a familiar scene of a couple of tricked-out import cars racing down a desert road, but the scene is enhanced with those _F&F_-trademark swooping camera moves that fly in and out of the bowels of the automobiles with abandon. Suddenly, as if from nowhere, a motorcycle speeds from behind the two cars, ultimately, effortlessly leaving those souped-up roadsters to eat its dust.
That sequence serves as a mission statement of sorts, and I'm not talking about the on-screen declaration that closes it: "cars suck." It's not so much Kahn's declaration that _Torque_'s speed machines race past those in the _F&F_ franchise than his announcement than that this film itself will race past those, doing away with just about all pretense of a plot and placing an even greater emphasis on flashy style. Indeed, this soon comes clear as the opening race is followed by a slick opening credits sequence set against more blazing bike footage and then an out-of-nowhere fight scene. In fact, it's maybe a half-hour in and following the death of a character that anything resembling a plot becomes clear: our nominal hero (Martin Henderson), framed for murder and also wanted by authorities for a bogus drug charge, tries to clear his name with the law and the warring biker gangs who both want his blood.
With very little in the way of story or character stringing together the stunts, the movie speeds by for most of its running time in a incomprehensible blur. To say it's barely contained chaos is definitely not an inaccurate description, but it is undeniably captivating chaos, for what it's worth. Kahn's music video-trained eye for the most flamboyant of shots, David Blackburn and Howard E. Smith's hyper-caffeinated editing, and cinematographer Peter Levy's ever-moving camera make for agreeable eye candy--and, in all honesty, isn't that what films of this ilk are all about?
That said, the cinematic calories in _Torque_ are empty, instantly forgettable ones, as the superficial delights of the action sequences (a girl-on-girl motorcycle race/brawl is most memorable) come with a virtual dearth of personality. The actors don't add much in that department; lead Henderson comes from the nondescript Paul Walker mold, and those who display some inkling of identity (Ice Cube, who seems to be only actor really in on the joke as one of the biker gang leaders; Monet Mazur, somehow eking out a real performance amid the insanity as Henderson's galpal) are only onscreen in small doses. _Torque_ is best summed up by its final racing sequence, a hyperspeed showdown in the streets of downtown Los Angeles that is so overly CG-'ed it is no exaggeration to call it a mere step away from the race sequence in _Tron_. There is a certain kick to the film and its massive mayhem, but it all feels coldly programmed--quite literally so, in that final stretch.
©2004 Michael Dequina
Michael Dequina
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