2 Fast 2 Furious (2003)

2 FAST 2 FURIOUS
RATING: 6/10
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PLOT: This sequel finds former undercover cop Brian O'Connor racing cars for money down in Miami until he gets picked up one day and asked to, once again, go undercover in an investigation of a local baddie. O'Connor agrees, but only if he can bring his childhood bud along for the rowdy ride. The cops consent and the next thing you know...lots of flashy colors, cars and chicks abound. Damn, they be fast and furious, yo!

CRITIQUE: If you're going into 2 FAST 2 FURIOUS expecting to see a tight action flick with developed characters, deep dialogue and unbelievable twists and turns, you are barking up the wrong popcorn tree because this follow-up to the original is all about cool cars, a monster opening race sequence, plenty of hot chicks, a decent story-line, almost no twists or turns and a couple of charismatic characters played by Tyrese and Cole Hauser, both of whom grab the screen and have a blast with it. I've found myself saying this a lot of late, but I enjoyed this movie for "what it was" (it's a summer flick, after all) and even though its final act was quite a letdown, other than its closing kick-ass boo-yah stunt, most of it was quick-paced, easy on the eyes and nothing more or less than a bunch of slick automobiles and street dialogue mixed into a basic screenplay about friends working together and girls showing off their asses (nothing wrong with that!) This is the kind of movie in which even the undercover cop chick is sexily draped in most of her scenes-hilarious! I actually would have liked to have seen greater development in the case of the one hot Asian racer girlie-girl...but alas, she had little more to do but to look good and to drop a few words into the game every now and then. Damn. Loved that schoolgirl outfit though! The music in the film is another aspect that worked, and even though I'm not particularly a fan of the hip-hop vibe...it clicked within the context of this environment and made the whole feel more authentic. Mind you, the film isn't exactly high on believability with every single cop acting the bumbling fool and not a one, having their shit together. If even a single one of them had any sense of competency...the film might actually have developed some real tension.

One particular scene in front of a warehouse surrounded by cops (I stress the word...surrounded!), is the most ridiculous of all as every single one of the flatfeet stand around, dicks in hand, as the mayhem overtakes them. That scene made absolutely zero sense, but I guess it "looked cool"...so there it was. I'm glad to say that there wasn't all that much of that though, and even without the car stuff, the camaraderie between Walker and Tyrese worked like a charm (why isn't this guy in more movies...he's one charismatic mofo!), the overacting cheese of Cole Hauser as the "bad guy" was the bomb and the length was just perfect, at what felt like...an even 90 minutes or so. But if there's one scene that everyone and their aunt will be talking about after this movie, it will be its opening 10 minutes (and that includes the cool trick they perform on the Universal logo). If you intend on seeing this flick, make sure that you don't walk in late, because that sequence alone prepared me for what was to come. The race is shot in an ultra-cool way in that everything is seen blurry in the background, the quick cuts are plentiful, the cars are a rockin' and even the friggin' movie screen feels/looks like it's shaking as the cars fly by. Very cool shit. Granted, it also didn't hurt that Mr. Singleton filled every single possible inch of the screen with half-naked chicks whenever he could and that shirtless shot of Tyrese sans top was...well, priceless. All that to say that despite the Diesel-less factor and despite some pretty shoddy dialogue, a so-so story and a disappointing third act, this film does pretty much what the first one did and that is to provide for some "rock solid cheesy fun" (as per my original review).

Where's JoBlo coming from? Baby Boy (8/10) - Driven (5/10) - The Fast and the Furious (7/10) - Gone in Sixty Seconds (6/10) - The Italian Job (6/10) - Narc (8/10) - Rat Race (5/10) - Ronin (8/10) - Shaft (7/10) - Undercover Brother (7/10)

Review Date: June 4, 2003
Director: John Singleton
Writers: Michael Brandt, Derek Haas 
Producer: Neal H. Moritz 
Actors: Paul Walker as Brian
Tyrese as Roman
Eva Mendes as Monica
Genre: Action
Year of Release: 2003
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X-RT-RatingText: 6/10