Torque
Warner Bros. Pictures | Release Date: January 16, 2004 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
41
METASCORE
Mixed or average reviews based on 29 Critic Reviews
Positive:
8
Mixed:
9
Negative:
12
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
80
Los Angeles TimesKevin Thomas
A terrific action picture, fast-moving, studded with great stunts and smart enough not to take itself too seriously. Amid a plethora of high-minded, big-deal, year-end Oscar contenders, it offers a welcome contrast (and respite). Read full review
75
Entertainment WeeklyLisa Schwarzbaum
The movie is a guzzle of yahoo-Mountain Dew empty-calorie satisfaction: A quick blood-sugar high, an eyeful of bikes and bosoms, and you're out of the theater in 80 minutes. And on a bleak winter's day, that can be meal enough. Read full review
75
Christian Science MonitorDavid Sterritt
The movie is as adolescent as it sounds, but Kahn keeps your eyes popping with truly nonstop action and some of the most outlandishly inventive effects you've ever seen. And of course Cube is so supercool it's worth the price of admission just to watch him. Read full review
70
L.A. WeeklyChuck Wilson
Zippy, stylish fun. Read full review
67
Portland OregonianMarc Mohan
The movie is simple fun. Read full review
63
Chicago Sun-TimesRoger Ebert
The first three minutes convince us we're are looking at a commercial before the feature begins. Then we realize the whole movie will look like this. Read full review
63
The Globe and Mail (Toronto)Stephen Cole
A good stupid movie: an energetic send-up of a discredited genre that does for motorcycle movies, say, what Jonathan Demme's debut, the 1974 drive-in classic, "Caged Heat," did for chicks-in-prison flicks. Read full review
63
Boston GlobeWesley Morris
Invites you not simply to identify with its low IQ but to cheer it on. This is a movie that knows you know it's dumb, and that's enough to make the whole thing worth tolerating. Read full review
60
VarietyJoe Leydon
A spectacularly trashy and aggressively flashy motorcycle melodrama in which computer-enhanced action scenes, unbound by gravity or logic, are choreographed, photographed and edited to resemble video-game stratagems. Read full review
60
Film ThreatKevin Carr
The plot, characters, story and dialogue were all secondary -– or lower. With this in mind, Torque really wasn't that bad. In fact, with this in mind, Torque was actually pretty good. Read full review
50
ReelViewsJames Berardinelli
The film occasionally pokes fun at itself, although not nearly as often as it should. I don't recommend it for anything more significant than a bottom-of-the-barrel rental or a desperation cable choice, but it delivers what it advertises, and I suppose that could be considered a virtue. Read full review
50
USA TodayMike Clark
The cycle thrills here are everything: flips, collisions, a chase across the top of a fast-moving train and even a zoom down the aisle of one of the train's cars as the passengers take it in stride. Read full review
50
Seattle Post-IntelligencerEllen A. Kim
Purely an easy-to-digest testosterone flick anyway, with standard bikini babes, roaring engines and bikers who circle each other slowly in the dust before they rumble. Read full review
50
New York Daily NewsElizabeth Weitzman
Despite all the bike chases and bullet-dodging, the real sport here is Xtreme posing. Read full review
50
Village VoiceNat Johnson
Thankfully, Torque knows what it wants to be (which is more than you can say about other recent biker-boy flicks) and flashes a jocular self-awareness about its genre affiliation. Read full review
50
Dallas ObserverGregory Weinkauf
Although the press notes liken the movie to "Easy Rider" (why not "Lawrence of Arabia" while you're at it?), the obvious comparison is to the "Fast and Furious" franchise, which shares the same producer. Actually, the closest spiritual cousin may be "Pee-wee's Big Adventure." Read full review
40
Austin ChronicleMarc Savlov
Torque knows it’s one big joke, dusty chaps, heaving bosoms, and all, which makes it all that much easier to swallow. And forget. Read full review
38
Chicago TribuneMichael Wilmington
It may entertain you if you don't mind senseless stories and screaming soundtracks. Read full review
38
New York PostMegan Lehmann
It's a simple-minded celebration of speed that pretends to be nothing else, even throwing in the occasional wink to acknowledge its own silliness. Read full review
38
Baltimore SunChris Kaltenbach
Torque isn't a movie, it's an 81-minute soda commercial. Read full review
30
Washington PostMichael O'Sullivan
With the exception of a few dazzling special effects and a digitally enhanced camera move or two... it's also a towering bore. Read full review
30
The Hollywood ReporterMichael Rechtshaffen
With the exception of a decent train-top chase, Torque is all vroom and no action. Read full review
30
Chicago ReaderJ.R. Jones
Delivers state-of-the-art freeway thrills tenuously held together by an absurd plot, cheap but pretty leads (Martin Henderson, Monet Mazur), diner and gas station locations that look like they've been preserved in amber since the 1950s, and plenty of engine porn. Read full review
30
SalonStephanie Zacharek
For a movie that's supposed to be about speed and movement, Torque is a peculiarly slow kind of torture. Nobody expects the Spanish Inquisition -- especially not in an action movie. Read full review
30
The New York TimesA.O. Scott
By Monday, Torque will look like a period piece with its expiration date, January 2004, prominently displayed. The inevitable movie-inspired video game will appear more realistic. Read full review
30
Washington PostAnn Hornaday
The loudest, trashiest, stupidest, cheesiest celebration of ritualized male aggression of 2004. Read full review
25
San Francisco ChroniclePeter Hartlaub
It's only January, but already we have a strong candidate for the most thunderingly stupid movie of the year. Read full review
20
TV Guide MagazineMaitland McDonagh
The final irony is that it's tailored for a PG-13 audience: The violence is bloodless, the sex is all come-on and the surreally reckless stunts cater to viewers too young to drive. Read full review
20
The A.V. ClubKeith Phipps
Torque has a sense of humor about itself, but the laughs stick in the throat. Read full review
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