Torque

Though it may be difficult to believe, Neal Moritz, the producer of the Fast and the Furious flicks, has managed to make an even louder, dumber movie in this insanely pumped-up variation on Biker Boyz. The hero of the movie--if you can think of a scruffy thief in such terms--is Ford (Martin Henderson), a slacker-type dude who's stolen some motorcycles from scumbag drug-dealer Henry James (Matt Schulze) and then skipped town. But after six months Ford returns to L.A. in hopes of winning back his girlfriend Shane (Monet Mazur), and tries to set up James for a bust. Only things go wrong, and before long Ford and a pair of buddies are being pursued not only by the drug lord and his minions, but also by a gangsta type (Ice Cube) persuaded by the dealer that Ford killed his little brother, and by a slick, self-promoting FBI agent. The whole mess is staged like a 90-minute music video, with oppressive close-ups, splashy cuts, glitzy cinematography, and overblown action sequences, all accompanied by a pulverizing soundtrack of noise and hip-hop. In this context, acting is hardly called for: the cast members merely pose, posture, swagger, and smirk while delivering terrible dialogue with laughable intensity. Ultimately, watching Torque is about as pleasant as being trapped in an internal combustion engine running at full speed. Not recommended. [Note: DVD extras include audio commentaries (one by director Joseph Kahn and costars Martin Henderson, Will Yun Lee, Monet Mazur, Jay Hernandez, Adam Scott, Matt Schulze, Fredro Starr, Justina Machado, and Dane Cook; the other by Kahn, writer Matt Johnson, cinematographer Peter Levy, visual effects supervisor Eric Durst, supervising sound editor Tim Gedemer, second unit director Gary Davis, editor David Blackburn, and production designer Peter Hampton), racing and train animatic storyboard comparison sequences with optional director commentary, the music video “Lean Low” by Youngbloodz, and a trailer. Bottom line: a talky extras package for a action-packed dud of a film.] (F. Swietek)