2 Fast 2 Furious (2003) Movie Information:

2 Fast 2 Furious (2003) Directed by: John Singleton 2 Fast 2 Furious (2003) Written by: Michael Brandt, Derek Haas, Gary Thompson 2 Fast 2 Furious (2003) Cast: Paul Walker, Tyrese Gibson, Eva Mendes, Cole Hauser, Thom Barry, James Remar, Devon Aoki, Amaury Nolasco, Michael Ealy

2 Fast 2 Furious (2003) U.S. Distributor: Universal Pictures 2 Fast 2 Furious (2003) U.K. Distributor: UIP

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2 Fast 2 Furious (2003) Synopsis:

Speed--it's easy to get and it's as close as the nearest set of high-performance wheels. Brian O'Connor, now a disgraced cop, fell victim to it--and now he's paying the price. As far as his bosses and the FBI brass are concerned, the hothead undercover officer threw one of their largest investigations ever. After losing his badge and any chance of redemption along with it, O'Connor is given one last chance when the feds in Miami need his help to collar Carter Verone, a flashy businessman whose using his import/export business as a cover for an international money-laundering cartel. Customs has had Verone under intense surveillance for over a year with nothing more to show for it than the kingpin's link to illegal street racing. With their backs against the wall and time running out, officials put out a call for O'Connor to do what he does best--talk the talk and push the metal. But the rule-breaking loner has his own demands before taking on the job. He insists on recruiting his childhood friend and ex-con Roman Pearce as his partner. The Feds and Agent Markham offer Pearce, an accomplished criminal with an aptitude for barrier-shattering speed, a deal--work with O'Connor and his impressive rap sheet will disappear. Now, it's last chance for both, ex-con and ex-cop, and their ticket out of disgrace is bringing down Verone. But the lines become blurred once again for O'Connor with the appearance of undercover agent Monica Fuentes, the key to entering Verone's world who may herself be in bed with the shady entrepreneur.

2 Fast 2 Furious (2003) Movie Review:

In 2001, The Fast and the Furious was the sleeper blockbuster of the summer. The action film about underground street racing boasted Vin Diesel into a potential action star and quickly led the producers to spawning out a sequel.

2 Fast 2 Furious has the first film's director Rob Cohen replaced by the more talented John Singleton and Vin Diesel opted out of being involved as well. So the sequel relies on Paul Walker, who plays the ex-cop, now street racer Brian O'Connor.

After letting his mark in an undercover operation go in the first film, O'Connor is no longer a cop, just a street racer. The film shifts settings from Los Angeles to Miami, where O'Connor is still one of the best drivers of the flashy street racing. He is approached out of blue once again by the FBI to go undercover as a driver for a money laundering businessman named Carter Verone (Tears of the Sun's Cole Hauser). In return for the arrest of Verone and his services, his criminal record will be swiped clean. Needing a driving partner, and with Miami police officers knowing nothing about car gadgets, O'Connor recruits his childhood racing buddy and ex-con Roman Pearce (Baby Boy's Tyrese). Pierce is a fast talking and cocky individual that has built up anger inside, but he does know cars and also needs his record cleaned too. The two join forces with already undercover agent Monica Fuentes (Training Day's Eva Mendes), who is a young beauty that is undercover as Verone's lover. The film then turns up its adrenaline into a big budgeted flash fest.

2 Fast 2 Furious is better than its predecessor, but that is not saying very much. Fans of the first film will be entertained with this sequel, but it seems like I was one of the few that thought The Fast and the Furious was a terrible film. 2 Fast 2 Furious is terrible too, it is mindless eye-candy entertainment, which is what many moviegoers want out of a summer blockbuster. The cars are flamboyant, which include a Nissan Skyline R-34 (a car not available in the United States) and a Mitsubishi Evolution 7 (a car that will actually be available later this year).

The addition of John Singleton as director is a plus for the franchise. Singleton is best at telling compelling stories like Boyz N the Hood (1991), Higher Learning (1995), and Rosewood (1997). Though 2 Fast 2 Furious does not have much of a story, Singleton's visuals are stronger than Rob Cohen's in the first film. Singleton spins the camera upside down to right side up in transitions and seems to have fun with some of the film's impossible over the top action scenes.

The screenplay by Michael Brandt & Derek Haas is the real disaster of 2 Fast 2 Furious. It seemed that the writers' dialogue, plot points, characters, and whole premise were in need of a new transmission. The characters are fragile, the plot is dumb-witted, and the dialogue is embarrassing. When actors spit out lines like, "There catching up with us man!" and replies like "Shut up man!" the script really needs a few polishings.

The actors delivering the lines do not fare much better. Cole Hauser, who plays the villainous Carter Verone, has the most appeal and fun. In my book, Paul Walker does not have an on-screen presence or the acting ability to hold a film. Vin Diesel stole every moment from him in the first film, and Walker does nothing different in this one. Walker just does not have any tactics or balance in his deliveries or charisma. Throughout the film, Walker seems to be speaking his memorized lines with the same tone. Tyrese, with his muscles and huge pearly white smile has some flair, but not much range as Roman Pearce. Beautiful Eva Mendes also does not have much to work with as the installed undercover female lead in the film.

2 Fast 2 Furious is a loud and pointless summer blockbuster. Fans of the predecessor should like this film, even though there are hardly any actual street races in it. The film turns into a buddy action picture between Walker and Tyrese instead of maintaining the structure that is presented in the film's opening scene. I can see this film being a guilty pleasure for some moviegoers; I am just not one of them.

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2 Fast 2 Furious (2003) review written by: Bailey Henderson