Fúria em Duas Rodas

In reviewing the incredible annoying House of the Dead, I wrote, 'Why flirt with the concept of overkill when you can make it say 'whose your daddy?' Torque does not flirt with overkill; Torque *is* overkill's daddy, and it was fun.

Just a few hours before I watched Scary Movie 3 and that film barely managed to summon a chuckle from me. Torque had me in stitches before the first sixty-seconds were up. After years of watching 'serious' films with ridiculously over the top chase sequences (especially lately), finally a movie comes along and puts them all in their place. I have waited a long time for a racing-movie to recognize its own lameness and just (knowingly) go for all the over-the-top stunts it can possibly collect in a loosely strung together plot about a bunch of stereotyped misfits no one really cares about.

As stated above, the key was the fact this film does not take itself seriously. Take for example the MTV quick-cut commercial editing style, its overly colorful nature in sets and props, the comic-book-ish camera angles, the overused CG for impossible camera/bike moves, and the lighting which left the high-contrast shadows in mid-day. Want more? How 'bout when a bike speeds past a road sign, making it do a Looney Toonsesque-spin, and if you look carefully you can see the words 'Cars Suck?'

Everything perfectly matched the goal this film set out to hit, which is basically a tongue-in-cheek XBox game on the silver screen so commenting on the characters and plot seems virtually pointless. It's about as well developed as most action films-characters and plot serve enough purpose to get the bikes from chase scene A to chase scene B while poking fun at characters/lines from other racing films. No more no less.

I personally loved Torque. Would I recommend it to friends, family, or Joe-Shmoe who happens to pass me by in the video store? Well . . . for those who watch films with an anal eye and point out, 'That's not a logical plot point. That defies the laws of physics. That's the single stupidest thing I've ever seen in cinema?' No. Heck no. Don't even pick up the box. However, for those who can watch a film where the comedy lay not in punch lines rather in the style -- a film that's a celebration of all things lame in all of cinema's over-glorified chase scenes? Have a blast and join in with Torque's mockery of the genre.

When sitting down to watch a movie like Torque my expectations are down so low that they almost touch the earth's core. Maybe that's also why i actually found this movie to be mildly entertaining? The closest movie references here seemed to be the "Fast and the furious"-movies, at least before the movie started. But while the setting is not unlike those movies (criminal gangs racing each other in custom vehicles) there was still a big difference in how the movies played out. First of all i like the style of "Torque" a lot better. Granted, the over-the-top racing sequences with quite a lot of CGI tucked in to create the illusion of speed are too much many times. But still, there is a certain style and feeling here that actually makes it work pretty well.

The beginning of the movie almost made me give up though. The "hero" arrives at a biker meet where women with more silicone than natural tissue greet him and it almost becomes too much to bear. But when the obligatory naked skin passes by the action picks up, and so does the entertainment. Don't be mistaken, this movie is a hopelessly juvenile testosterone-fest. But in the genre it's not too bad.

So if you like fast bikes and fast paced racing this might just be your choice for the Friday night entertainment. Easily digested, easily forgotten, but a fun ride while it lasts. I rate this 5/10.

The whole setup of this movie is to make cash. From the beginning the movie just looks overproduced. When I tuned in I even thought it was some kind of commercial, and I was right because this whole movie is basically a advertisement for motorbikes. The way a sign at the start reads "cars suck", the comments throughout the film "thats why I hate 4 wheels!". Its pretty obvious, even though you can't really take stuff like that serious.

There are a lot of errors in this film as well, but what I didn't like about this film is that it focuses too much on the bikes and vehicles. Believe me when I say that this has nothing else to offer then people racing against each other with a very thin plot about a guy who gets framed for a murder he didn't commit. Thats basically the entire premise of this movie, so if you are not into bikes and cars (yes those people exist) then you can scratch this movie from your list now.

One aspect that was not that bad was the use of CGI to create a kind of hyperdrive-feeling during some of the driving/chase scenes. But again, this feels like a bike-commercial quickly. Hell, they could paste a Yamaha-logo at the end of a driving-sequence in Torque and there you go; a perfect TV-commercial.

The characters also are nothing different from the typical Hollywood-stuff, and they are just as thin as the plot they are representing. The acting could be worse, but the dialog is the most awful and laughable tripe you will ever hear. If bikes are your life and you always wanted something like Fast and the Furious but with bikes then give this a try, if you want a good movie then just avoid this.

It was so awesome my favorite movie along xxx 1&2 elf potc Harold & kumar go to white castle top 100 seen it over 30 times each time excellent the coolest stunts ever on a movie screen hope they make another one i could see it over and over again and never ever be bored to call this movie bad you'd have to be crazy definitely better than the Alfie remake Jude law is by far the worst actor ever on screen. torque had a really really great cast Matt Schulz has to be the greatest villain ever i loved all of the really awesome motorcycle action its a five star movie hands down the plot was not lame i was so exited when i left this movie i had to buy it when it got on DVD and I've watched it ever since

A lot of people think that I love the "Charlie's Angels" movies because I think they're "so bad, they're good", when that's actually not true. On the contrary, I think they are pretty smart (especially in the precise way they constantly reference pop culture in clever and heartfelt ways). And yes, they are totally silly and unrealistic and goofy, but what I like about that is that it's completely intentional (which is what most people don't get, and is so obvious to me).

"Torque", on the other hand, is a perfect example of a movie that is TRULY so bad, it's good. Or at least enjoyable in a surreal, lunatic sort of way. This movie seriously doesn't have a brain in its head.

In every sense a B-movie, it most resembles those gleefully exploitive, low-budget movies that Roger Corman and Russ Meyer made decades ago, where biker gangs did battle with their switchblade-toting girlfriends at their side. And it's every bit as silly as it sounds, which could be either good news or bad news for you, depending on what kind of filmgoer you are.

Personally, I knew it was crap the whole time, but still had a blast watching it. The story is ridiculous and the dialogue is ludicrous (these characters exist in a world where when a girl says "Nice bike", the guy says "Nice a**" and she LIKES it). But I cannot fully resist a movie in which two improbably beautiful biker chicks stare each other down on their bikes in a photogenic, deserted alleyway (both of them in front of huge product logos, for extra giggles), one of them yells "Bring it on, b****!", the other whips out a switchblade, and then they charge! As a classic B-movie enthusiast, I offer no apologies for having fun watching a scene like that.

It's really not all bad, either. Martin Henderson and Monet Mazur have some genuinely nice and tender scenes together, and the great, color-conscious cinematography makes everything look so shiny you could eat off the screen. Jamie Pressly is an absolute hoot as the evil biker chick, and Adam Scott scores some laughs as a conceited F.B.I. agent.

Also, several of the action scenes are pretty amazing, once you get over the idea that this movie is obviously not taking place on planet Earth, but rather some video game universe or a 12 year-old's dream.

I wish Ice Cube was off doing the kinds of good movies he used to make (like "Three Kings", the original "Friday", "Boyz N The Hood", "Higher Learning", "Ghosts Of Mars"...), but he contributes some laughs as one of the heavies here. I do wish he had changed his expression at least once, though. You know the one where he grits his teeth and curls his upper lip so that he look like he hates your guts and steam is about to come out of his ears? That's the one that he has throughout the entire movie.

Basically, I'm not gonna fight for this movie or anything, I realize it's of essentially no value. I'll just say that it made it easy for me to shut off my brain and I enjoyed it, and maybe you will too. I give "Torque" 3 stars the same way I would give "Switchblade Sisters" 3 stars. They're awful and cheesy, but a hell of a lot of fun, and that counts for something, doesn't it?