2 Fast 2 Furious Movie Review:


If you liked The Fast and the Furious you are probably going to enjoy the sequel called 2 Fast 2 Furious.The typical souped-up mostly Japanese cars, sexy ladies and almost non-stop action come back to tickle your adrenaline.

Paul Walker returns as Brian O'Conner but this time he is no longer a cop but a street racer that's just been caught. He is offered a deal by the police he can't refuse otherwise he goes to jail.The same opportunity to clear is record and avoid the penitentiary is offered to Roman Pearce (Tyrese) who used to be Brian's good friend.

It seems that Roman blames Brian for getting arrested and spending three years in jail. After they spend some quality heart-to-heart time together, their old friendship comes back.Now they must work together in a covert mission to take down this terrible Miami drug boss Carter Verone (Cole Hauser).

They end up posing as drivers for him who must deliver a very important package that will test their racing skills to the limit.Also there is the luscious Monica Clemente (Eva Mendes) who is an undercover cop pretending to be Carter's girlfriend that might have gone bad.

Now the story is not that important in this film. The thin plot basically serves to connect loosely a bunch of somewhat repetitive car chases.Director John Singleton focuses on giving you a few exciting car stunts while neglecting to create any depth to the shallow and dated storyline.

This movie is all about one-dimensional characters, attitude, action and style. It's made for the MTV generation where a quick fix of exhilaration is the goal.It screeches, it roars, it screams in your face like a video game that you can't play but only watch from a distance.If you expect fast cars, lots of noise, pretty babes, light comedy, overacting and sleek camera work than you won't be disappointed.

2 Fast 2 Furious might in fact give you a short thrill ride of escapist entertainment that feels like a delicious serving of junk food.

Gil Benzeevi

In 2001, a little film nobody had heard of blasted into multiplexes and made car-enthusiasts cheer. The film popped the hood on the whole underground world of street-racing and rocketed bouncer-turned-actor Vin Diesel into the stratosphere. The film was “The Fast & the Furious” and a lot of the movies success had to do with the keen direction of director Rob Cohen and the charisma of the muscle-bound Diesel. When the sequel to the film was green-lit, the key ingredients fell off the well-oiled machine and left co-star Paul Walker to steer the sequel.

Now in 2003, the sequel minus Diesel and Cohen scurries into theatres. Paul Walker returns as his cop-with-a-conscience Brian O’Connor who this time teams with his childhood friend Roman Pierce (Tyrese) to clear their cluttered pasts and takedown a vicious druglord, Carter Verone (Cole Hauser).

“2 Fast 2 Furious” had a brilliant beginning and a fresh-start in which to build something new and insane at the same time. It could have be a great action film if they would have remembered some of the things that made the original work. Basically all the screenwriters would have had to do was find a new angle in which to explore the world of “street racing”. Instead the screenwriters seem to have watched endless re-runs of “Miami Vice” and “Knight Rider”.

The film’s opening does bring the audience back to original film and you once more feel the adrenaline rush as O’Connor squares off on the line. But when the opening sequence ends, it is almost like that’s where the whole franchise stops. There is very little street-racing in this film and that is one of the major problems. That is what the audience was sold on in the first film.

The second mistake is the film collides into a sort of “cop-buddy” formula that is formed between Tyrese and Walker. Are we making a “48 Hours” or “Lethal Weapon” sequel here or a “Fast & the Furious” one? One of the great things about the original film was the tension and dynamic between Diesel and Walker. Sure they respected each other but they were never really close until probably the end.

Don’t get me wrong, there are some things to like in this film. Tyrese is hilarious and great to watch in this film. I really liked the chemistry between Tyrese and Walker but felt a huge kick of déjà vu. I also liked Paul Walker in the leading man role; it is just too bad that the film doesn’t support his ability. Walker has great potential to be a great action star but he needs to find a project that will jettison him into the Hollywood stratosphere.

I was also boggled by how much Cole Hauser reminded me so much of his father, actor Wings Hauser. His look and voice brought forth so many memories. I remember his father from so many of the B-movies I watched when I was in college. Like his son in this film, Wings was a great villain in those films.

I can’t say I was bowled over or overly thrilled with “2 Fast 2 Furious” but I was entertained for most of the film. The thing that made me most shake my head at the film was the film’s conclusion. What an utter-lack-luster finish! I so felt the audience deserved something more action-filled. I do have one question; did anyone die in this action movie?

Keeping those two points in mind, you do have to wonder if we were watching the pilot to a proposed TV series of a hit filmor a sequel to one of the most original action films in recent years.

(2.5 out of 5)

So Says The Soothsayer.

Dean Kish

In 2001, The Fast and the Furious was the sleeper blockbuster of the summer. The action film about underground street racing boasted Vin Diesel into a potential action star and quickly led the producers to spawning out a sequel.

2 Fast 2 Furious has the first film's director Rob Cohen replaced by the more talented John Singleton and Vin Diesel opted out of being involved as well. So the sequel relies on Paul Walker, who plays the ex-cop, now street racer Brian O'Connor.

After letting his mark in an undercover operation go in the first film, O'Connor is no longer a cop, just a street racer. The film shifts settings from Los Angeles to Miami, where O'Connor is still one of the best drivers of the flashy street racing. He is approached out of blue once again by the FBI to go undercover as a driver for a money laundering businessman named Carter Verone (Tears of the Sun's Cole Hauser). In return for the arrest of Verone and his services, his criminal record will be swiped clean. Needing a driving partner, and with Miami police officers knowing nothing about car gadgets, O'Connor recruits his childhood racing buddy and ex-con Roman Pearce (Baby Boy's Tyrese). Pierce is a fast talking and cocky individual that has built up anger inside, but he does know cars and also needs his record cleaned too. The two join forces with already undercover agent Monica Fuentes (Training Day's Eva Mendes), who is a young beauty that is undercover as Verone's lover. The film then turns up its adrenaline into a big budgeted flash fest.

2 Fast 2 Furious is better than its predecessor, but that is not saying very much. Fans of the first film will be entertained with this sequel, but it seems like I was one of the few that thought The Fast and the Furious was a terrible film. 2 Fast 2 Furious is terrible too, it is mindless eye-candy entertainment, which is what many moviegoers want out of a summer blockbuster. The cars are flamboyant, which include a Nissan Skyline R-34 (a car not available in the United States) and a Mitsubishi Evolution 7 (a car that will actually be available later this year).

The addition of John Singleton as director is a plus for the franchise. Singleton is best at telling compelling stories like Boyz N the Hood (1991), Higher Learning (1995), and Rosewood (1997). Though 2 Fast 2 Furious does not have much of a story, Singleton's visuals are stronger than Rob Cohen's in the first film. Singleton spins the camera upside down to right side up in transitions and seems to have fun with some of the film's impossible over the top action scenes.

The screenplay by Michael Brandt & Derek Haas is the real disaster of 2 Fast 2 Furious. It seemed that the writers' dialogue, plot points, characters, and whole premise were in need of a new transmission. The characters are fragile, the plot is dumb-witted, and the dialogue is embarrassing. When actors spit out lines like, "There catching up with us man!" and replies like "Shut up man!" the script really needs a few polishings.

The actors delivering the lines do not fare much better. Cole Hauser, who plays the villainous Carter Verone, has the most appeal and fun. In my book, Paul Walker does not have an on-screen presence or the acting ability to hold a film. Vin Diesel stole every moment from him in the first film, and Walker does nothing different in this one. Walker just does not have any tactics or balance in his deliveries or charisma. Throughout the film, Walker seems to be speaking his memorized lines with the same tone. Tyrese, with his muscles and huge pearly white smile has some flair, but not much range as Roman Pearce. Beautiful Eva Mendes also does not have much to work with as the installed undercover female lead in the film.

2 Fast 2 Furious is a loud and pointless summer blockbuster. Fans of the predecessor should like this film, even though there are hardly any actual street races in it. The film turns into a buddy action picture between Walker and Tyrese instead of maintaining the structure that is presented in the film's opening scene. I can see this film being a guilty pleasure for some moviegoers; I am just not one of them.

Grade: D+

Joseph Tucker

Seven months after he let Dominic Toretto go, Brian O’Connor (Walker) has been booted out of the police force and now lives in Miami, making his money as a street racer. When the US customs authority and the FBI ask him to assist them in an investigation into Miami crime lord Carter Verone’s activities, O’Connor reluctantly agrees but on one condition, he gets to choose this partner. Enter childhood friend Roman Pearce (Tyrese), one of the best drivers in California in need of a deal to wipe this criminal record clean. All the pair has to do now is impress Verone with their driving so they can break into his inner circle.

Fast cars and furious action return to the big screen with an added injection of nitro.

The Fast and the Furious was an unexpected success in 2001, propelling star Vin Diesel into the major leagues and re-igniting director Rob Cohen career but when the two of them refused to return for the inevitable sequel expectations weren’t the most optimistic. 2 Fast 2 Furious however, is basically more of the same and should appeal to everyone who loved the original or anyone who reads Max Power magazine.

Paul Walker returns to his role of Brian O’Connor and brings a more streetwise attitude to the character. Tyrese make the move from rap star to actor with ease, as many of them do, bringing attitude and brashness to his first big starring role. The two make an affable screen pairing and they look like they are genuinely having fun. They are supported well by fellow rapper Ludacris and Devon Aoki as Suki and Cole Hauser makes a decent villain. Eva Mendes is very underused however, having to do nothing more than look beautiful and turn the leading man’s head.

Director John Singleton does a decent job with the action and creates some extremely frenetic car chases. While he captures the look and style of the original he adds some of his own touches with some excellent use of the camera that portrays the element of speed superbly.

The real thing that lets the movie do is the very slight script. The story only serves as filler between the next chase seen and the dialogue never really taxes any of the actors. But what you have to remember is that this is a no-brainer, popcorn movie that is never really going to win awards for scriptwriting.

The real stars of the movie are the cars and they get most of the screen. Petrol-heads can rejoice at the sight of Skylines, Evo’s and American muscle cars all custom fitted and bursting with nitro.

2 Fast 2 Furious delivers to the market it caters for. If you loved the original you will get a lot out of this. The car chases are superb and Walker and Tyrese make a good rebellious pair. For the rest of us, switch you brain off at the door and enjoy the mindless action, the cool cars and the good-looking people.

Star Rating = * * *

Jamie Kelwick

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