Overcoming silly dialogue with impressive stunt and special effects work, Torque amounts to little more than an interesting diversion as it replaces the souped up cars of The Fast And The Furious with souped up motorcycles.

       Torque's plot varies fairly significantly, revolving around a biker trying to clear his name after he's accused of dealing in crystal meth. To do that, he must take on a pair of rival biker gangs and an FBI agent bent on taking him down. It is standard action-film scripting and offers very little in the way of surprises.

       Director Joseph Kahn keeps the action interesting with clever camera and editing techniques, many of which have been copped from TF&TF and a handful that felt entirely original to me. The visual tricks do become distracting at times, such as in the final chase scene which is played out in a flurried, fast-motion technique that caused me to miss the climactic moment in which the bad guy gets what's coming to him.

       As you might expect, the acting is far from award-caliber but everyone does fine considering the genre. Martin Henderson has a slight edge on charisma over Paul Walker, while Ice Cube delivers every line looking as if he could greatly benefit from a tall glass of Metamucil. The beautiful Monet Mazur shows some range and I'd love to see her take on a role that would really showcase the talent that appears to be under the surface. Jaime Pressly is relegated to a background role here, but she looks hot and plays her bad girl to the hilt.

       I think the thing that makes this film work for me on some level is that it doesn't take itself too seriously. It is what it is and Kahn recognizes that Torque is never destined to be anything more than a 90-minute workshop on the latest CGI/stunt techniques. Even screenwriter Matt Johnson is in on the joke, at one point deliberately poking fun at the film that paved the way for Torque.

       Torque is available now on DVD in 2.35:1 widescreen anamorphic and 5.1 Dolby Digital. I found the bonus features extremely disappointing considering the number of incredible stunt pieces in the film – I expected to see some interesting behind the scenes features. Instead, Torque offers two separate commentary tracks: one by Kahn and another by various members of the technical crew. Neither is particularly engaging. Also included is a pair of stunt sequences in which Kahn compares the animated storyboards to the actual scene – again, not particularly engaging. The package is rounded out with a music video and the theatrical trailer.

       Torque is the epitome of mindless entertainment – which is not necessarily a bad thing if you're in the mood for that sort of film, in which case I'd invite you to pull up a chair and take Torque for a spin.