2 Fast 2 Furious ( 2003)
Short Review : If the first movie was a lemon, the sequel is a lesson in turning lemons into ultra-sour lemon candy. Like the high-octane vehicles on display, everything that fell flat in "The Fast and the Furious" has been revved up, tricked out, and colorfully saturated to ridiculously excessive proportions in John Singleton's follow-up. As a result, the film succeeds in being fast-paced entertainment not because it is good, but because it is so very, very deliciously bad.
Paul Walker returns as Brian O'Conner, now a full-time street racer in Miami since quitting the police force after the events of the previous film. On the run from the police, he is finally caught by sexy undercover officer Monica Fuentes (Eva Mendes). He is called in to resume undercover duty as a street racer in a plot to bring down drug lord supreme Carter Verone (Cole Hauser), the greasiest Latino this side of a Spaghetti Western, who uses street racers to do his bidding. By completing this mission, Brian's offenses will be cleared. He is allowed to choose one fellow racer to help him on this mission, and so he chooses estranged friend and newly released prisoner Roman Pearce (Tyrese) in order to make amends for having stood by while Roman was arrested three years earlier.
This so-called story, like its predecessor, is little more than an excuse to showcase tanned bodies driving candy-colored rides at incredible speeds. Apparently realizing how ludicrous the whole thing is, screenwriters Michael Brandt and Derek Haas seem to have decided that if you can't beat 'em, join 'em, turning what is essentially rehashed drive-in fare into delirious camp. The half-baked buddy-flick dynamic between Walker and Vin Diesel from the previous film is reduced even further here to an endless repetition of Walker and Tyrese calling each other "bruh" and "cuz." Cementing the film as a live-action anime, we have Devon Aoki as a cute, Japanese shôjo in place of Michelle Rodriguez's über feminist. And the racing is taken to heights of absurdity that make "The Dukes of Hazzard" look comparatively static.
The movie has nothing going for it in the way of real quality. The acting is uniformly underwhelming, even by veteran James Remar as a pissy U.S. customs agent with a vendetta against Brian. Paul Walker exhibits more of the same boneheaded affability he displayed in the first movie, which makes him somewhat appealing but totally unconvincing as a police officer. While Vin Diesel was no master thespian, Tyrese is a pale comparison for screen presence. Singleton's direction is undistinguished, serving only the necessary function of showcasing the action.
What it has going for it is Brandt and Haas' screenplay, which makes it pretty clear that they do not take this franchise half as seriously as everybody else seems to. The movie glides along from one tacky set piece to another, including one of the most stupefyingly ridiculous torture scenes I have encountered in quite a while. The movie could almost work as absurdist comedy if everyone else was as astutely aware of how awful it is, but as it stands, it is the best film in the trilogy simply because it provides the guiltiest pleasure. The philosophy here is when you can't make high art, make high trash.
Paul Walker returns as Brian O'Conner, now a full-time street racer in Miami since quitting the police force after the events of the previous film. On the run from the police, he is finally caught by sexy undercover officer Monica Fuentes (Eva Mendes). He is called in to resume undercover duty as a street racer in a plot to bring down drug lord supreme Carter Verone (Cole Hauser), the greasiest Latino this side of a Spaghetti Western, who uses street racers to do his bidding. By completing this mission, Brian's offenses will be cleared. He is allowed to choose one fellow racer to help him on this mission, and so he chooses estranged friend and newly released prisoner Roman Pearce (Tyrese) in order to make amends for having stood by while Roman was arrested three years earlier.
This so-called story, like its predecessor, is little more than an excuse to showcase tanned bodies driving candy-colored rides at incredible speeds. Apparently realizing how ludicrous the whole thing is, screenwriters Michael Brandt and Derek Haas seem to have decided that if you can't beat 'em, join 'em, turning what is essentially rehashed drive-in fare into delirious camp. The half-baked buddy-flick dynamic between Walker and Vin Diesel from the previous film is reduced even further here to an endless repetition of Walker and Tyrese calling each other "bruh" and "cuz." Cementing the film as a live-action anime, we have Devon Aoki as a cute, Japanese shôjo in place of Michelle Rodriguez's über feminist. And the racing is taken to heights of absurdity that make "The Dukes of Hazzard" look comparatively static.
The movie has nothing going for it in the way of real quality. The acting is uniformly underwhelming, even by veteran James Remar as a pissy U.S. customs agent with a vendetta against Brian. Paul Walker exhibits more of the same boneheaded affability he displayed in the first movie, which makes him somewhat appealing but totally unconvincing as a police officer. While Vin Diesel was no master thespian, Tyrese is a pale comparison for screen presence. Singleton's direction is undistinguished, serving only the necessary function of showcasing the action.
What it has going for it is Brandt and Haas' screenplay, which makes it pretty clear that they do not take this franchise half as seriously as everybody else seems to. The movie glides along from one tacky set piece to another, including one of the most stupefyingly ridiculous torture scenes I have encountered in quite a while. The movie could almost work as absurdist comedy if everyone else was as astutely aware of how awful it is, but as it stands, it is the best film in the trilogy simply because it provides the guiltiest pleasure. The philosophy here is when you can't make high art, make high trash.
Directed by: John Singleton
Written by: Michael Brandt
Derek Haas
Derek Haas
Genre(s): Suspense/Thriller
Release Date:Theatrical: June 6, 2003
DVD: September 30, 2003
DVD: September 30, 2003
Running Time: 100 minutes, Color
Origin: USA
