José Luis Torrente
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| José Luis Torrente | |
|---|---|
| First appearance | Torrente: El brazo tonto de la ley |
| Created by | Santiago Segura |
| Portrayed by | Santiago Segura |
| Information | |
| Species | Human |
| Gender | Male |
| Age | 40's |
| Occupation | Private Investigator/Bodyguard/Cop |
| Family | Torrente |
| Spouse(s) | None |
| Relatives | Mauricio Torrente (father) Felipe Torrente (uncle) Torrente Junior (son) Several half-brothers |
José Luis Torrente is a fictional character created by Spanish actor and director Santiago Segura and the main character in the three parts of the Torrente dark comedy-action film series (which includes Torrente: El brazo tonto de la ley (1998), Torrente 2: Misión en Marbella (2001) and Torrente 3: El protector (2005)-) and the videogames Torrente: El videojuego and Torrente 3, which were released with the second and third movies, respectively and pornographic films Torrente X: Operación Vinagra (2005) and Torrente X 2: Misión en Torrelavega (2006).
[edit] Description and Career
Born and currently living in Madrid, Spain, José Luis Torrente is an ugly, bald, overweight, dirty, corrupt, liar, fascist, racist and male chauvinist retired cop who refuses to accept his expulsion from the Police corps, so he still "patrols" each night in his old car in order to "fight" what he considers criminal actions. Poor immigrants and drug-addicts are often victims of his actions, while he usually refuses to confront real criminals due to his actual cowardice (sometimes, however, Torrente is able to show a surprising amount of courage). Torrente openly states his admiration for Generalissimo Francisco Franco(and after of the King Juan Carlos )and is a declared fan of the Atlético de Madrid Football Club and Spanish singer El Fary. He is also a not so occasional demander of alcoholic drinks, drugs and prostitutes.
Due to his lack of a proper job, Torrente faces financial problems from time to time and lives in a dirty small apartment in a depressing part of the city. He used to live with his old and sick father Felipe (later revealed to be actually Torrente's uncle, due to an affair between Felipe's wife and his twin brother Mauricio) and forced him to beg for food and money in the streets, spending almost all the money collected plus his social security annuity in his personal affairs. Felipe is not the only one manipulated by Torrente in order to achieve his own goals.
In El brazo tonto de la ley, Torrente accidentally discovers and destroys a drug dealing maffia which uses a Chinese restaurant as cover, only to steal their money and start a new life as new rich in Torremolinos. He spends then millions in the Spanish Mediterranean coast until he loses all his money in a casino in Marbella. There, he establishes himself as a private investigator, discovers that his real father is the local crime boss Mauricio Torrente and stops the James Bond-type supervillain Spinelli from destroying the city - throwing his super-missile over the British naval base at Gibraltar instead. Due to this action Torrente receives a medal and is permitted to join the Police again as a traffic cop in Madrid.
In El Protector, Torrente is ordered to act as the personal bodyguard of Eurodeputy Giannina Ricci, which is targeted by a powerful corporation which dislikes her environmental policies. The decision is actually the result of a secret agreement between the company itself and corrupt elements within the upper levels of the National Police: as Torrente is the worst agent in the whole country, everybody expects that the assassination attempt will be easy. Torrente and his men, however, are able to save Ricci and later flee to the United States, where they accidentally kill US President George W. Bush. During his last mission Torrente mets for the first time his secret son, Torrente Junior, who is the result of one of the severals relations of Torrente with prostitutes.
[edit] Coming to America?
Santiago Segura has said several times that there will be more Torrente movies if they still due well at the (Spanish) box office. The idea of making an American remake in the United States was offered for the first time in 2002 by US filmmaker Oliver Stone, who suggested Robert de Niro for the lead role. Stone had seen the first two movies during a film festival in Europe and declared his admiration for the character, meeting Segura and befriending him. This first negotiations, however, didn't end well, but the rights to make an American version were finally purchased by New Line Cinema in 2006 and two American writers, Mike Bender and Doug Chernack, were hired to draw a first version of the script. It has not been revealed if the new movie would be a real remake, in which the new Torrente will be a US version of the Spanish one, or a movie featuring a mission of the horrendous Spanish policeman in US soil. In any case, it seems that Segura will not repeat in the role if there is any American version..
