Torque

So, I'm the new guy, I figure for a few weeks at least I'll have to endure all sorts of bottom of the barrel fare. I envisioned having to sit through an entire season of McLeod's Daughters or Meet the Teletubbies, little did I know the editor had a more sadistic streak than I could have possibly imagined.

Warp Speed Mr Sulu!

Little did he know that his little plan would be foiled by my ability to watch and enjoy just about any schlock he can throw at me (apart from Timeline but that’s another story and another review).

From the opening scene, which is an unsubtle salute to The Fast and the Furious, to the end chase sequence which is an amazing special effects extravaganza, Torque keeps the engine running on action and thrills if a little light on originality.

Target Audience, Targeted.

Motorcycle rider and mechanic Cary Ford (Martin Henderson) one day falls in with the wrong crowd and discovers a drug smuggling operation involving ridiculously ugly motorbikes. After realising that he’s in big trouble with a bad bunch of guys known as the Hellions and the FBI, he heads to Thailand and hides out for 6 months.

Ultimately Cary realises he can’t live without his girl Shane (Monet Mazur) and returns to L.A. to clear his name. Cue lots of road racing with fast bikes, several salutes to other famous movies (see below), insanely impossible stunts and corny dialog, it’s great!

“I live my life a quarter mile at a time� – Cary
“That is the dumbest thing I have ever heard� - Shane

Target Audience, Targeted, again!

Torque is presented in it’s original theatrical aspect ratio of 2.40:1 and is 16:9 enhanced. The standard of the transfer is excellent with the only fault I noticed being some mystery floating white specs around the 4-minute mark. It is impossible to tell if this is a mastering fault or part of the original master (or just some weird lense flare). Apart from that single flaw everything else was fine, colours are rich and deep, shadows are dark yet detailed.

The quality of the image is preserved even in fast moving scenes; this is particularly well done in the final special effects soaked bike chase; mullets included.

There is only one audio track on the DVD being English Dolby Digital 5.1.

Obviously, with all the revving of engines and thumping music the sub channel gets the most work to the point that near the end of the movie my sub decided it was all too much and started a solid thumping bass tone that I could only stop by wiggling the cable, I’ll have to get that looked at.

Moooooooo (play spot the random cow).

The other channels are all put to good use, but in the early part of the movie the centre channel seemed a little muddy, a slight upward adjustment of the overall volume soon fixed it though.

The soundtrack is a mix of hip hop, rock and metal, firmly aimed at the target audience and makes good use of all the channels although the surrounds are not used as much as they could have been during some scenes, particularly when there is music playing over action.

Product placement, subtle as a hammer.

The highlight of the extras offered on this disc is without a doubt the 2 Audio Commentaries, particularly the Actor Commentary which features just about every headlined star in the movie and then some. Conspicuous in his absence is Ice Cube who probably had some G’s to pop a cap in but even without him the cast have a great time tearing apart the movie and generally having fun with the story. They also spend some time explaining the various subtle references to other movies like Duel, Dr Strangelove and even a Hitchcock-esque cameo by the director. It’s a real treat and well worth listening to.

Other extras include:
Commentary – Technical
Another full-length commentary led by director Joseph Kahn, and another 7 other crew members (writer, director of photography etc). This commentary is not as fun and light hearted as the actors version but since the subject matter is more to do with cinematography, lighting and other such technical aspects it remains remarkably non-dry.

Racing Animatics
Not so much an animatic as a storyboard comparison with a split screen and accompanying commentary shows the opening race scene progress from concept to actual footage.

Train Animatics
The biggest stunt scene in the movie is shown here in triple split screen with the storyboard, animatic and actual footage together with commentary by the director.

Music Video: “Layin’ Low� Youngbloodz
The usual movie inspired promotional music video feature footage from the movie cut into video footage of Youngbloodz.

Theatrical Trailer
Presented in 16:9 but only using dolby 2.0 sound this is just as it sounds, the original theatrical trailer for the movie.

The director confesses that Torque is a popcorn movie, a switch-your-brain-off and enjoy yourself amusement park ride. While this can sometimes be the excuse of a movie that failed to meet it’s own expectations, it’s clear from the opening scene where a speeding bike causes a road sign to spin around and spell out the words “Cars Suck� that Torque doesn’t take itself seriously at all.

Clearly if motorbikes are your thing Torque will be a movie you will enjoy without qualification even if you're not into bikes it's still worth a look. As shallow and mindless as it is, every now and then (or more often) you just have to accept that not all movies are going to mentally stimulate you and there’s nothing wrong with that.

Just sit back and enjoy the ride.