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.
