2 Fast 2 Furious
Year: 2003
Director: John Singleton
Starring: Tyrese Gibson, Eva Mendes & Paul Walker
Runtime: 108 mins
BBFC: 15
Published: 07/01/22
Director: John Singleton
Starring: Tyrese Gibson, Eva Mendes & Paul Walker
Runtime: 108 mins
BBFC: 15
Published: 07/01/22
2001’s The Fast and the Furious was a peculiarity in that it explored a niche subject area, that of street racing and car tuning, and managed to turn it into an action movie that was entertaining, somewhat heartfelt, and also reasonably successful at the box office. It’s only expected that a sequel would be greenlit, but before the film got off the ground one half of the leading duo who made the first film so enjoyable, Vin Diesel, turned down reprising his role. So, the script was re-worked and what audiences got was 2 Fast 2 Furious, something that presents itself as a sequel to the original film but hardly resembles it in the slightest.
Former LAPD officer Brian O’Conner (Paul Walker) has relocated to Miami following the events of the first film and participates in illegal street races to earn a living. Following one such street race, Brian is arrested and offered to work undercover to bust a crime lord, Carter Verone (Cole Hauser), or he will be sent to prison. Brian accepts the conditions and tracks down an old friend of his, Roman Pearce (Tyrese Gibson), to help him out and promises that his record will be cleared of all prior offences if he agrees to do it.
But the two quickly realise they’re in over their head as they infiltrate Verone’s crime syndicate and must drive for their very lives.
2 Fast 2 Furious feels like it was a draft script for an episode of some generic Miami police procedural that got rejected because it was too dull. The film is just a collection of cop drama tropes all bundled up into one film albeit with some flashy cars on display. I’ve only just finished watching the thing and I can barely remember what actually happened because, well, nothing really happened.
Former LAPD officer Brian O’Conner (Paul Walker) has relocated to Miami following the events of the first film and participates in illegal street races to earn a living. Following one such street race, Brian is arrested and offered to work undercover to bust a crime lord, Carter Verone (Cole Hauser), or he will be sent to prison. Brian accepts the conditions and tracks down an old friend of his, Roman Pearce (Tyrese Gibson), to help him out and promises that his record will be cleared of all prior offences if he agrees to do it.
But the two quickly realise they’re in over their head as they infiltrate Verone’s crime syndicate and must drive for their very lives.
2 Fast 2 Furious feels like it was a draft script for an episode of some generic Miami police procedural that got rejected because it was too dull. The film is just a collection of cop drama tropes all bundled up into one film albeit with some flashy cars on display. I’ve only just finished watching the thing and I can barely remember what actually happened because, well, nothing really happened.
I praised the original film for the chemistry between Walker and Diesel, which gave the film a good heart and emotional anchoring despite the film not having a particularly impressive story or script. Unfortunately, now that Diesel is out of the picture, there’s nothing there. Walker and Gibson have almost zero chemistry together, this mixed with the awkward dialogue, forced lingo (that Walker especially looks and sounds uncomfortable saying), and previous mentioned boring story all add up to something that rarely kept my attention and had me wishing it was all going to be over soon.
2 Fast 2 Furious even lacks the racing elements which made the first film’s action sequences so enjoyable. It starts strong with a full-blown street race that tops the drag race sequences from the first film, but after that the cars and racing take a back seat for the rest of the film. Sure, Walker and Gibson get flashy cars to drive throughout, but there’s no racing or high-octane stunts, or at least nothing outside of a simple police chase. There’s no excitement, and for a film about fast cars going fast, there’s not a lot of it.
This is a stupidly short review, but I have nothing else to say about 2 Fast 2 Furious. It’s a boring film that has no redeeming qualities to it. It’s like Universal just had this Miami Vice-esque script sitting around and decided that it would be good enough for a Fast & Furious sequel if they put some flashy cars in it. It lacks all the soul and originality that the first film had (not that there was a whole lot of it, but it was enough to carry it sufficiently) and is nothing more than a massive waste of time. Avoid at all costs, and I feel sorry for you if you enjoy this film.
2 Fast 2 Furious even lacks the racing elements which made the first film’s action sequences so enjoyable. It starts strong with a full-blown street race that tops the drag race sequences from the first film, but after that the cars and racing take a back seat for the rest of the film. Sure, Walker and Gibson get flashy cars to drive throughout, but there’s no racing or high-octane stunts, or at least nothing outside of a simple police chase. There’s no excitement, and for a film about fast cars going fast, there’s not a lot of it.
This is a stupidly short review, but I have nothing else to say about 2 Fast 2 Furious. It’s a boring film that has no redeeming qualities to it. It’s like Universal just had this Miami Vice-esque script sitting around and decided that it would be good enough for a Fast & Furious sequel if they put some flashy cars in it. It lacks all the soul and originality that the first film had (not that there was a whole lot of it, but it was enough to carry it sufficiently) and is nothing more than a massive waste of time. Avoid at all costs, and I feel sorry for you if you enjoy this film.