> ## Content Index
> Fetch the complete content index at: https://www.smdp.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further.

# ‘Torque’ should have been tweaked before test drive
- URL: https://www.smdp.com/torque-should-have-been-tweaked-before-test-drive/
- Published: 2004-01-16T16:00:00.000Z
- Updated: 2026-10-23T03:34:03.000Z
- Author: Dan Dunn
- Tags: Entertainment, Santa Monica, #archive-import

“The Fast And The Furious” franchise has been a cash cow for producer Neil Moritz, and he’s intent on milking it for all it’s worth. “Torque” is “The Fast And The Furious” with crotch rockets replacing the muscle cars. The feature debut of hotshot video director Joseph Kahn is an eye-pop-ping, all-out assault on the senses that makes very little sense. But if you’re the sort who’ll take flash over substance any day, well, “Torque” will no doubt rock your world. The ever-thinning line between — don’t laugh — art and commercialism is all but erased in what amounts to a big-budget shill for designer motorcycles, Budweiser and Mountain Dew, set to a kinetic sound-track that features Jane’s Addiction, Pennywise and Kid Rock (On sale now at record stores everywhere!).

Martin Henderson (“The Ring”) stars as Cary Ford, a rugged drifter who returns to his old stomping grounds — a “Beyond Thunderdome”-like biker enclave in the barren California desert — after six months on the lam. Ford was forced to flee from Johnny Law after he unwittingly took possession of a shipment of methamphetamine belonging to a ruthless drug dealer named Henry James (Matt Shulze). As he attempts to clear his name and patch things up with his girlfriend Shane (Monet Mazur), Ford is framed by James for murdering the brother of fearsome gang leader Trey (Ice Cube), and finds himself running again … or riding, that is. Riding very, very fast.

Everything that passes for plot in “Torque” is merely a means of getting the scantily-clad, ethnically-diverse young cast’s well-toned butts in the seats of their suped-up cycles for some of the most fantastic chase scenes ever put together. Though it’s not clear where they’re going or why most of the time, it’s for damn sure they’re in a hurry to get there. During the fleeting moments when they let up on the throttle, the actors grapple with some typically two-fisted dialogue that only serves to amp-up the anticipation for the next action sequence. And that’s just fine here. After all, when it comes to mindless action flicks, who needs talk when you’ve got torque? (Rated PG-13 for violence, sexuality, language and drug references. Running time: 81 minutes)

![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/55/9f/559f9abc-8372-4a2e-8c2d-27386da4e363/content/images/2026/10/011604-14_01.jpg)

*Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on January 16, 2004.* [Read the original PDF.](https://s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/smdp%5Fbackissues/011604.pdf?ref=smdp.com)