2 Fast 2 Furious

"Weak"

2 Fast 2 Furious Review


When even a skillful writer-director with soul to spare like John Singleton ("Boyz 'N' the Hood," "Shaft") can't lend a street-racing movie an ounce of personality, it becomes abundantly clear that the trendy genre never had anything worthwhile to offer in the first place.

Stepping behind the camera for the carbon-copy sequel "2 Fast 2 Furious," Singleton frontloads the film with one scene of enjoyable B-movie flair -- a midnight drag race punctuated by car-wake camera shakes, colorful background-blur effects, and cheesy close-ups of revving tachometers, needle-buried speedometers and bad actors squinting with determined concentration as they grip the wheel.

But as soon as the movie is sideswiped by its imbecilic plot, Singleton loses his ironic sense of style and the flick crashes and burns.

Nondescript Wonder Bread pretty boy Paul Walker (who can't even call someone "bro" without sounding as if he just got off the bus from Wichita) reprises his role from 2001's "The Fast and the Furious," as a now-disgraced cop who has been street racing in South Florida to make ends meet since going underground after helping charming criminal Vin Diesel (who opted out of this sequel) get away at the end of the first movie.

Offered an expunged criminal record by the Feds if he'll help them bust a drug smuggler, Walker recruits a demolition-derby-driving childhood pal (model and hip-hop star Tyrese Gibson, from Singleton's "Baby Boy") who would also like to get out from under a couple grand-theft-auto convictions. Together they get in the good graces of a cartel tycoon (played with uncreative, greasy-tan menace by Cole Hauser, "Tears of the Sun") who hires them to deliver a huge sum of narcotics booty.

Why would he trust millions of dollars in cash to two strangers when he has a cadre of henchmen? Why does he need the delivery made at 120 mph, drawing the attention of literally scores of state patrol cars? If you're likely to ask such questions, you're way too smart for this movie. The plot is nothing more than a simple-minded excuse to keep our heroes (or rather their stunt-drivers) charging down the road in low-riding imports that are painted like cheap bimbos -- and even have cheap bimbos draped across their hoods when they're standing still.

A slight improvement on its dim-witted predecessor, "2 Fast" nonetheless has little new or exciting to offer after that first adrenaline-pumping race scene, the highlight of which is one car using its nitrous oxide fuel-boost to pass over the top of another in a last-lap jump from a drawbridge.

The rest of the picture's driving scenes grow tiresome as Singleton's visual tricks (the blurred backgrounds passing by, a tunnel-vision technique also used in January's motorcycle-racing flick "Biker Boyz") only draw attention to the fact that the actors are on blue-screen soundstages and not really driving their cars.

If Singleton had stuck with the aura of his opening scene and let "2 Fast" play out like low-budget trash from the 1970s, "2 Fast" might have earned some guilty pleasure points. But the end product seems too sincerely interested in appealing to 13-year-old boys to have any appeal at all for anyone with higher standards.



2 Fast 2 Furious

Facts and Figures

Run time: 107 mins

In Theaters: Friday 6th June 2003

Box Office USA: $127.1M

Box Office Worldwide: $236M

Budget: $76M

Distributed by: Universal Pictures Distributio

Production compaines: Universal Pictures, Original Film, Mikona Productions GmbH & Co. KG

Reviews

Contactmusic.com: 2 / 5

Rotten Tomatoes: 36%
Fresh: 56 Rotten: 101

IMDB: 5.7 / 10

Cast & Crew

Director:

Starring: as Brian O'Conner, as Roman Pearce, as Monica Fuentes, as Carter Verone, as Tej, Thom Barry as Agent Bilkins, as Agent Markham, as Suki, as Orange Julius, as Slap Jack, Jin Auyeung as Jimmy, Edward Finlay as Agent Dunn, as Detective Whitworth, Mo Gallini as Enrique, as Darden

Also starring:

Contactmusic


Links


New Movies

Star Wars: The Last Jedi Movie Review

Star Wars: The Last Jedi Movie Review

After the thunderous reception for J.J. Abrams' Episode VII: The Force Awakens two years ago,...

Daddy's Home 2 Movie Review

Daddy's Home 2 Movie Review

Like the 2015 original, this comedy plays merrily with cliches to tell a silly story...

The Man Who Invented Christmas Movie Review

The Man Who Invented Christmas Movie Review

There's a somewhat contrived jauntiness to this blending of fact and fiction that may leave...

Ferdinand Movie Review

Ferdinand Movie Review

This animated comedy adventure is based on the beloved children's book, which was published in...

Brigsby Bear Movie Review

Brigsby Bear Movie Review

Director Dave McCary makes a superb feature debut with this offbeat black comedy, which explores...

Battle of the Sexes Movie Review

Battle of the Sexes Movie Review

A dramatisation of the real-life clash between tennis icons Billie Jean King and Bobby Riggs,...

Shot Caller Movie Review

Shot Caller Movie Review

There isn't much subtlety to this prison thriller, but it's edgy enough to hold the...

Advertisement
The Disaster Artist Movie Review

The Disaster Artist Movie Review

A hilariously outrageous story based on real events, this film recounts the making of the...

Stronger Movie Review

Stronger Movie Review

Based on a true story about the 2013 Boston Marathon bombing, this looks like one...

Only the Brave Movie Review

Only the Brave Movie Review

Based on a genuinely moving true story, this film undercuts the realism by pushing its...

Wonder Movie Review

Wonder Movie Review

This film may be based on RJ Palacio's fictional bestseller, but it approaches its story...

Happy End  Movie Review

Happy End Movie Review

Austrian auteur Michael Haneke isn't known for his light touch, but rather for hard-hitting, award-winning...

Patti Cake$ Movie Review

Patti Cake$ Movie Review

Seemingly from out of nowhere, this film generates perhaps the biggest smile of any movie...

The Limehouse Golem Movie Review

The Limehouse Golem Movie Review

A Victorian thriller with rather heavy echoes of Jack the Ripper, this film struggles to...

Advertisement
Artists
Actors
    Filmmakers
      Artists
      Bands
        Musicians
          Artists
          Celebrities
             
              Artists
              Interviews