Just Some Mindless Action Fluff on A Sunday Afternoon

I watched Torque on Sunday. It’s basically a motorcycle version of The Fast and The Furious. The movie has a guy who is simultaneously on the run from a redneck motorcycle gang who want their drugs back, a black motorcycle gang who think that he killed the leader’s brother, and the FBI who think he’s a drug dealer. Martin Henderson stars as the guy in question with Monet Mazur as his girl and Ice Cube as the leader of the black gang. It’s the first movie from Joseph Kahn, the director of many videos, primarily those of hip-hop and R & B artists.

Plain and simple, this is a silly, over-the-top, action-packed movie that isn’t as bad as you think. The performances and dialogue ride that fine line between being serious and being campy. There are a ton of computer-generated special effects in it, so many that they give it the feel of a video game more than a movie at times, especially during the climactic chase. I mean, this is a movie that takes the “camera” through cars in traffic and even under a railroad track that’s on the ground. Also, there are a lot of little silly things placed in it. I enjoyed the blatant product placement that took place during a big duel between the good and bad motorcycle girls. They stood on their bikes at two ends of an alley. The good girl stood in front of a huge Pepsi sign, while the bad girl stood in front of a huge Mountain Dew sign.

If you’re looking for a fun, brainless action flick to watch, then Torque isn’t a bad choice. It’s short (only 84 minutes long), unintentionally hilarious at times, and features some cool motorcycle stunts.