| ON: Content is age-appropriate for kids this age. | |
| PAUSE: Know your child; some content may not be right for some kids. | |
| OFF: Not age-appropriate for kids this age. | |
| NOT FOR KIDS: Not appropriate for kids any age. |
Parents need to know that this movie has a lot of violence for a PG-13, including many crashes and explosions, shooting, punching, kicking, and strangulation. Characters are killed. Characters drink, smoke, and use strong language, including the n-word and other epithets. One character gives another the finger. Characters ride in reckless and extremely dangerous ways, often without helmets. The plot centers on drug dealing. There are some sexual references but nothing very explicit. The soft drink product placement is particularly intrusive.
TORQUE centers on Ford (Martin Henderson), who comes back to town with a score to settle and a woman to win back, just like a cowboy in an old western. Only in this movie, instead of horses, there are motorcycles, very fast ones.
This movie is one percent dumb plot, 74 percent stunts, and 25 percent attitude, or, rather Hollywood's idea of what passes for attitude. So, Ford is the kind of guy who wears a Ramones t-shirt and a leather jacket that proclaims "Carpe Diem" (seize the day). He must be the movie's hero because he and his pals are so photogenically ethnically diverse that they look like they just stepped out of a Benetton ad.
The action sequences are silly fun, especially a chase scene that has one motorcycle racing on top of a fast-moving train while another rides through the train cars in between the passengers and a chick fight on motorcycles between Shane and a multi-pierced Jaime Pressly. Ice Cube's appearance is more presence than performance, and Henderson is all about the dimples. But Fredro Starr makes an impression as Ice Cube's, well, Fredro equivalent, and Faison Love as a gang member and Adam Scott and Justina Machado as FBI agents hold our interest.
Families can talk about why Cary ran away and why he came back.
| Studio: | Warner Bros. |
| Director: | Joseph Kahn |
| Cast: | Ice Cube |
| Genre: | Action/Adventure |
| Run time: | 81 minutes |
| Theatrical release date: | January 16, 2004 |
| DVD release date: | May 18, 2004 |
| MPAA rating: | PG-13 |
| MPAA explanation: | violence, sexuality, language and drug references |