Torque (film)
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| Torque | |
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| Directed by | Joseph Kahn |
| Produced by | Brad Luff Neal H. Moritz |
| Written by | Matt Johnson |
| Starring | Martin Henderson Ice Cube Monet Mazur Jaime Pressly Will Yun Lee Jay Hernandez Fredro Starr |
| Distributed by | Warner Bros. |
| Release date(s) | 16 January 2004 (USA) |
| Running time | 84 min. |
| Language | English |
| Budget | ~ US$40,000,000 |
| IMDb profile | |
Torque is a 2004 action movie about underground motorcycle gangs and racers. The film stars Martin Henderson, Ice Cube, Monet Mazur, and Jay Hernandez .
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[edit] Plot Summary
Henderson plays biker Cary Ford, who is framed by an old rival and biker 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.
[edit] Similarities to The Fast and the Furious (2001 film)
It has often been called "The Fast and the Furious on Motorcycles," 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." The lines are a poke at The Fast And The Furious by the writers of Torque.
[edit] Criticisms and Factual Inaccuracies
Torque received a majority of negative reviews, garnering only a 22% rating on Rotten Tomatoes and a 3.2 out of 10 on the IMDB. Rotten Tomatoes' consensus for the movie is that "[Torque is] Silly and noisy ... stylish fun for the MTV crowd."
Torque is also criticized for its unrealistic portrayal of motorcycling in general, as seen in the following points:
- In the beginning scene, Ford locks up the rear wheel of his motorcycle via the right-hand brake lever, when in reality all sport bike rear brakes are controlled by a foot brake lever.
- It is actually impossible for Junior (Fredro Starr) to cut Henry's motorcycle's chain, as the motorcycle is a Yamaha Roadstar Warrior, which is belt driven, and does not actually have a chain.
- When Trey's gang chases Ford and his friends into the desert, all of the motorcycles go from Slick tires to knobby tires spontaneously.
- Also in this scene, it is notable that the motorcycles themselves make a transformation. The motorcycles ridden offroad are in fact longer-suspension dirt bikes covered in the plastic fairings of super sport bikes.
- Frequently characters converse casually when riding their motorcycles at 60+ mph, a feat which would be nearly impossible in real life due to their helmets and roadway noise.
- The bike chase was filmed on the California State Route 210 Freeway before it was complete. There is a sign that shows "Base Line Road" and "Campus Drive" which are two exits on the highway.
- It is impossible to see the Los Angeles skyline from CA SR 210.
[edit] Box office
The movie bombed at the box office. It took in a total of $21,215,059 in the United States and worldwide $46,546,197, despite having a budget of $40,000,000 [1].
[edit] Trivia
- Monster Magnet make a cameo during the film, playing a band whose concert is disrupted by a fight. Lead singer/songwriter Dave Wyndorf also did the score for the movie.
- Ice Cube's character Trey states at one point, "Fuck tha police," a reference to Cube's rap group, N.W.A's song of the same name.
- In the first scene where Ford passes the two cars, his tailwind causes a road sign to spin, which reads, "Cars Suck."
- Trey's chain necklace is made of a bicycle chain, not a motorcycle chain.
- Kid Rock's song, "Forever" appears on the soundtrack to the film. Kid Rock stars in the similarly-themed 2003 movie, Biker Boyz.
- A Kawasaki Ninja 250R is knocked over in the first scene that Luther (Max Beesley) appears in, probably poking fun at its entry-level status.
- On the director's commentary track on the DVD bonus features, the director and cast frequently poke fun at the absurd nature of the movie.
- Jesse_G._James (uncredited) of Monster Garage makes a cameo ("Sign said...") when Ford first talks to Shane (~ 0:14:00).
