Torque (2004)
Directed by Joseph Kahn
Biker Cary Ford is framed by an old rival and biker gang leader for the murder of another gang member who happens to be the brother of Trey, leader of the most feared biker gang in the country. Ford is now on the run trying to clear his name from the murder with Trey and his gang looking for his blood.
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11 films that influenced Torque
What critics say influenced Torque
Though it could very easily be summed up as “The Fast and the Furious with motorcycles,” Torque is a clone endowed with a pleasant self-awareness, even taking the time to poke fun at its progenitor.
Another ‘new wave’ exploitation flick from the producer of The Fast and The Furious , Torque is as fast-paced and loud as it is dumb.
Scribe Matt Johnson 's attempted jibe at The Fast and the Furious is absolutely pathetic; in one scene, Ford repeats Vin Diesel 's infamous, "I live my life a quarter mile at a time," and Shane sneers something about that being the dumbest line she's ever heard.
All the advertising plays up the fact that it is "from the producer of The Fast and the Furious ," and from the initial indications in Torque, it appears that the movie itself falls all too closely in line with that thinking, with director Joseph Kahn going out of his way to evoke--rather, completely and shamelessly carbon copy--that high-speed hit.
First time director Kahn lobs in quotations from Duel and lifts two fingers in the direction of The Fast and the Furious, but the chase on, through and in front of a Trans-Am train isn't believable for a second, and the effects in the climactic pursuit have Cheap Video Game written all over them.
Viewers have come to expect an alternative universe within "The Fast and the Furious" and its sundry clones where the races mix interchangeably, the women are all post-breast enlargement puffy, and posted speed limits are signposts to be mocked.
Genre enthusiasts will probably enjoy a catfight between 'good girl'Shane and Henry's goth-punk moll China (Jaime Pressly, "Not Another Teen Movie") where the two practically joust on bikes (shades of Romero's 1981 "Knightriders").
Despite the action and the tension, being light-hearted, it is a welcome addition to the motorcycle genre, which includes Marlon Brando�s The Wild One (1953) and Dennis Hopper�s Easy Rider (1969).
Despite the action and the tension, being light-hearted, it is a welcome addition to the motorcycle genre, which includes Marlon Brando�s The Wild One (1953) and Dennis Hopper�s Easy Rider (1969).
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Ford needs the support of his loyal buddies Val (Will Yun Lee, "Die Another Day") and Dalton (Jay Hernandez, "Crazy/Beautiful") after Henry sets him up for the murder of rival Reaper leader Trey's (Ice Cube, "Barbershop") brother Junior (Fredro Starr, "Save the Last Dance").
Agent McPherson (Adam Scott, "High Crimes") back on his trail as well, Ford's lucky he's got "Torque."
Ford needs the support of his loyal buddies Val (Will Yun Lee, "Die Another Day") and Dalton (Jay Hernandez, "Crazy/Beautiful") after Henry sets him up for the murder of rival Reaper leader Trey's (Ice Cube, "Barbershop") brother Junior (Fredro Starr, "Save the Last Dance").
The film stars Down Under import Martin Henderson ("The Ring") as Ford, doing an impersonation of the long-haired Tom Cruise in "Mission: Impossible 2." Ford skipped town to avoid heat for possessing drugs smuggled in motorcycles.
While he seemed vaguely out of place in his turn as a distant ex-boyfriend in Gore Verbinski’s The Ring , Henderson is spot-on in Torque‘s half-serious universe.
Martin Henderson ("The Ring") stars as Cary Ford, a biker whose red-leather racing suit has the words "carpe diem" emblazoned on the front.
After a six month stint in Thailand evading a false drug distribution charge, Ford (New Zealander Martin Henderson, "The Ring") has returned to settle his score with the real perpetrator, Hellion gang leader Henry (Matt Schulze, "The Fast and the Furious"), and explain his absence to his bike-maintenance shop owning girlfriend Shane (Monet Mazur, "Just Married").
The film stars Martin Henderson (whose only previous claim to fame was co-starring in "The Ring") as the studly cyclist Cary Ford, newly returned to the U.S. from a year's exile in Thailand.
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Genre enthusiasts will probably enjoy a catfight between 'good girl'Shane and Henry's goth-punk moll China (Jaime Pressly, "Not Another Teen Movie") where the two practically joust on bikes (shades of Romero's 1981 "Knightriders").
This is a dumb action movie, not "Citizen Kane."