Torque Parent Guide

Imitation may be the finest form of flattery, but in this case audiences might feel they’ve seen it all before on the big screen. Squealing tires, crashing cars and airborne vehicles are all reminiscent of the Fast and the Furious movies. Hurtling down a narrow passageway on motorbikes, a pair of girls catfight with fists and knives, a sequence surprisingly similar to Charlie’s Angels: Full Throttle.

Clocking in at only 81 minutes, the film is one of the shortest action flicks in a long time and is clearly dominated with more stunts than story.

In short, several months earlier, Cary Ford (Martin Henderson) agreed to house a couple of motorcycles at his girlfriend’s bike shop for Henry James (Matt Schulze), the leader of the Hellion’s gang. When he attempts to start the engines, Ford discovers the fuel tanks are full of tubes of illegal drugs instead of gas. Unfortunately the FBI also gets wise to the drug stash and raids the shop.

However, by the time Agent McPherson (Adam Scott) shows up, Ford has hid the bikes and hightailed it to Thailand, leaving his love interest, Shane (Monet Mazur), to face the Feds on her own.

Now the whiskered renegade is back in California. He’s ready to clear his name with the law, make it right with Shane, and help put Henry behind bars. Unfortunately, along the way he takes a jaunt through the Reapers’ territory and ends up as the prime suspect in one gang member’s untimely death. With the Reaper boss (Ice Cube) following his exhaust, Ford has even one more threat to outrun.

Reckless stunting, irresponsible drinking and the lack of helmets are just the start of concerns parents may have for their teens that want to see the two-wheeled action. Profanities fly as frequently as fists, and chains, knives and guns all make their appearance as the weapon of choice. While gore and blood are minimal, the likelihood of walking out of a brutal fight, escaping an exploding car, or crashing through plate glass windows and road barricades without injury are fantasy at best. Skimpily clad women at a rally and sexual innuendo are packed in along with a briefly implied sex scene.

Restoring your good name may seem like a good idea, but the excessive amount of violence used to wrench up the action in this film leaves Torque in need of some heavy duty retooling.

About author

Kerry Bennett

Kerry Bennett is interested in media from both a journalist and parent perspective. Along with authoring articles for several family-oriented publications, she has written for Parent Previews for over 15 years. As a parent herself, she believes parents play a powerful role in teaching media literacy in their homes.