Torque DVD Review:

Returning to California after spending six months on the run in Thailand, Ford (Henderson) has finally come up with a plan that will clear his name. With the FBI on his trail for drug trafficking, he turns to his ex-girlfriend Shane (Mazur) for help but before he can put his plan in motion, he is framed by Henry James (Schulze), the leader of a biker gang and the real drug trafficker, for the death of rival gang leader Trey Wallace’s (Cube) brother. Now Ford has the authorities, a brother looking for revenge and Dalton on his tail, so the only thing he can do is grab his motorbike and ride as fast as he can for the border.

Imagine “The Fast and the Furious” on motorbikes but without any plot and some of the worst special effects you will ever see and you have “Torque”.

This is a movie that is all style and no substance but even then the style isn’t that great. The over reliance of computer generated special effects is far too evident in the chase sequences. Sometimes, especially during the final climatic chase, you feel like you are watching a computer game not a movie, the CG is that bad. You will find yourself laughing when you should be exhilarated, that’s how appalling his movie is.

After making a name for himself in the US remake of “The Ring”, Martin Henderson tries to enter the action market. While he has the looks and the swagger to make his way in the genre, he will need another shot to announce his entrance into the action hero fraternity. He does have leading man qualities but this movie is neither challenging nor believable enough to get him noticed.

Ice Cube switches from comedy to action quite easily however and he probably has the best part in the movie. You have to wonder why he took the role though because it does nothing to advance his career. Matthew Schulze seems to play the same character whenever he appears in a movie and this film is no exception. The man has such a limited range that the only way you could tell his performances apart are his different costumes and haircuts. Monet Mazur is just the eye-candy of the piece and a particularly nice one at that but she does do quite well in a completely over the top bike battle catfight with Jaime Pressly.

Torque is a lesser version of the Fast and the Furious movies and that is saying something. In fact director Joseph Khan could almost be accused of plagiarism with his only defence been “they are on motorbikes”. This is mindless pap at its most mindless that has no originality at all, offering nothing new to the genre. It certainly won’t make you want to go out and buy a super bike any time soon.

Star Rating = *

PICTURE & SOUND

Presented in 2.35:1 Anamorphic Widescreen with a Dolby Digital 5.1 surround soundtrack, this is good transfer. The picture quality is very sharp throughout, accentuating the bright colours of the biker world. There is no pixelation at all, even during the ridiculous end sequence. The sound quality is very good, as the sounds of the bikes echo in every speaker.

BONUS FEATURES

Actor Commentary

Actors Martin Henderson, Monet Mazur, Will Yun Lee, Jay Hernandez, Adam Scott, Matt Schulze, Fredro Star, Justina Machado and Dave Cook join Director Joseph Khan for a fun and very chatty commentary track. The group constantly take the Mickey out of each other’s performances bringing up things like Matt Schulze’s mullet, Monet Mazur’s entrance and outfight and Martin Henderson wanting to be Kurt Russell. The director reveal that the movie originally had an 80s Rock soundtrack but it was far too expensive and that shooting the train stunt was boring due to the fact that it was very repetitive and he had to work with stunt people all day.

Technical Commentary

Director Joseph Khan, director of photography Peter Levy, special effects supervisor Eric Durst, writer Matt Johnson, supervising sound editor Tim Gedemer, 2nd Unit director Gary Davis, picture editor David Blackburn and production designer Peter Hampton come together to talk about the more technical aspects of the movie. In this chatty commentary, the crewmembers take you through the look, sound and special effects of the film with each one revealing many secrets of the trade. Everything from the use of matte paints, to lighting and colour pallets is discussed, with talk the extensive FX and stunt work also covered.

Racing Animatic (1.24 mins)

Director Joseph Khan compares the storyboard to final film for the opening race between the two cars and Ford (Martin Henderson) on his bike.

Train Animatic (2.51 mins)

Director Joseph Khan and special effects supervisor Eric Durst compare the storyboard, the pre-visualisation Animatic and the final completed footage of the train chase.

Music video “Lean Low” by Young Bloodz (4.00 mins)

Your chance to watch the promotional music video for the movie.

Theatrical Trailer (2.28 mins)

The full theatrical trailer used to promote the movie.

OVERALL

Warner Bros have done a decent job with a movie that really didn’t deserve this much attention. The commentaries are very good but the lack of a making of featurette means that the extras are not as comprehensive as they could have been. This aside the quality of the transfer is first rate and there is enough to please fans of the movie (if there are any)

DVD star rating = * * *

Jamie Kelwick

Site Contents Copyright© The Z Review, unless used with permission.This site has no intention to infringe on the rights of the film owners of Torque and intellectual copyright holders of the movies mentioned herein & hold copyright over the movie, characters, merchandise & storyline.