2 Fast 2 Furious (2003) Review

 

Director: John Singleton

Cast: Paul Walker, Tyrese Gibson, Cole Hauser, Eva Mendes, Chris "Ludacris" Bridges, James Remar, Thom Barry, Devon Aoki, Michael Ealy, Amuary Nolasco, Jin Au-Yueng

What made the first "The Fast and the Furious" movie attracted fans besides the bad ass cars and competition on the streets was Vin Diesel's appearance as Dominic Toretto, a hotshot race driver who makes his money racing others in the streets; he was a rising star on the fame after doing such flicks such as "Saving Private Ryan", "The Iron Giant" and later doing "XXX".

At the end of the first movie, Dom flees away to Mexico where he wouldn't be in this sequel.
No matter, the series continues on.
"2 Fast 2 Furious" has Paul Walker reprising his role as Brian O'Conner, the one time agent who betrayed the enforcement agency by letting Dominic get away, is now a fugitive and being in race competitions every night to make money. After being captured by the police, Brian is given a choice in either going to jail or helped the people he once work for in taking down a drug cartel dealer (Cole Hauser). Brian agrees under one condition that he gets his childhood friend Roman Pearce (Tyrese Gibson) involved since he's into cars and knows his ways around tough people. They're also given an ally, the sexy Monica Fuentes (Eva Mendes) who's not only an undercover agent but also posing as the enemy's mistress. Time will tell when all will be revealed.

Walker plays his cards well with this one,  the chemistry between Walker and Tyrese makes the movie. They bicker and argue constantly, exactly like childhood friends forced apart by misunderstandings and bad situations would do. Yet you never doubt their connection, their shared history. And that's simply good writing, as well as acting. I enjoyed Cole Hauser as the villain Verone, liked him better than Johnny Tran in the first movie. This was also a nice introduction to Tej played by Chris “Ludacris” Bridges who would go on and play a larger role in the series later on. Eva Mendes as Fuentes was fun to watch in this as well and I enjoyed her banter both Brian and Roman, wished they used her more later on the series. Then there’s James Remar as Customs Agent Markham, who could have been written better and would have been written better as a villain. In the original script he was originally going to be revealed as a traitor working with Verone, and I think this would have worked better.

"2 Fast 2 Furious" is directed by the late John Singleton (R.I.P.) of Boyz in the Hood fame where he manages to bring the same energy and high expectations of the first movie. There's more cars, more chase sequences, more babes and more cameos this time around with a high octane pace.

Overall, it's good awl ridiculous fun.

Rating: 7.5/10