Cheap 2 Fast 2 Furious (Widescreen Edition) (DVD) (Paul Walker, Tyrese, Cole Hauser) (John Singleton) Price

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Customer Reviews of 2 Fast 2 Furious (Widescreen Edition)

Brian O'Connor (Paul Walker) is no longer with the LAPD, stripped of his badge after the events of the first film. Now in Miami, he makes his earnings through illegal street racing, something that proves to be an easy task for him. But after one particular (and superbly exhilarating) race where he comes out the big winner, he's caught by federal agents and forced to work undercover to nab a powerful drug lord named Carter Verone (Cole Hauser).

They've already got an agent undercover, Monica Fuentes (Eva Mendes), but have yet to pin Verone on anything serious. To infiltrate Verone's empire, O'Connor teams up with old friend and ex-con Roman Pearce (Tyrese Gibson); together, they make for a wild and dangerous driving duo, performing transportation tasks for Verone, including one final assignment that could prove particularly dangerous for O'Connor and Pearce.

2F2F, as with most big-budget blockbuster sequels, ups the ante on its predecessor; it's bigger, louder, much faster, and in this case, a whole lot more fun. The race/chase sequences are far more elaborate (unlike the original, when these guys race they actually turn curves and drive pretty long distances, rather than a mere mile-long straight line as in the original) and they're in greater abundance here, a smart move since we're clearly here to watch hardcore automotive stunts, not plot.

The story is every bit as dumb as you'd expect from such a lame title, but at least it gives the characters goals and genuine obstacles to overcome (unlike the original, which basically had its "heroes" trying to steal dvd players from trucks in broad daylight). The twists and turns are all easily forseeable (what are the chances Verone won't find out these guys are working undercover?), but the story rarely gets in the way of the action.

2F2F boasts three major action setpieces, each of them successively more impressive than the setpiece it follows. The opening race is a doozy and by itself, more exciting than the whole of the first movie. Another race early in the movie puts our heroes (and multiple "tryouts") in a test to retrive a package in an auto pound 20 miles away, with Walker even driving backwards on the highway at one point. It's the climax that clinched the movie for me, a twenty-minute sequence with cop cars and choppers chasing O'Connor and Pearce, the whole thing concluding with an outrageous but exhilarating stunt between a car and a boat.

Even as a B-movie, 2F2F isn't perfect. At a restrictive PG-13, the opportunity for profanity, edgy violence, and nudity is gone. The latter, in particular, is rather irksome. The leading ladies, Eva Mendes and Devon Aoki, are almost as good a reason as all the car stunts to watch the movie. Aoki probably boasts the best-looking body I've seen all year long (a lot of people have criticized her face, but I find it quite uniquely pretty), nice eye candy enhanced by some tight outfights. More screen time for her would have been appreciated.

The movie probably could have benefited from the presence of Vin Diesel, but I also have a hard time seeing him fitting into the proceedings. Besides, Walker and Tyrese make an acceptable pairing, the latter of whom delivers an enthusiastically energetic performance. Walker has the straight man role, which is just fine for his rather limited acting skills (though some bad acting on his part is apparent from scene to scene). Cole Hauser makes for a solid villain, and Eva Mendes is strictly eye candy as Walker's love interest (whether or not she's got any talent remains to be seen).

2F2F delivers what's expected of it, it may be one of the summer's dumber offerings, but it's undeniably also one of the more thrilling ones, too. If another sequel is ever made (and judging from the box office results, I'd say that's a safe bet), let's hope profanity, edgy violence, and nudity will be thrown into the mix.

More like a Model T
2 Fast 2 Furious is a stupefying glance into Hollywood. It seems to represent a new kind of filmmaking where the bare minimum will do, revealing a real contempt for even the popcorn movie audience.

The film shouldn't be expected to do much to begin with. If you ever saw the preview, you'd think it was supposed to be stupid, summer fun. There's nothing wrong with that, everyone grew up with popcorn summer movies in their lives, whether it was the 70s, 80s, 90s, whatever. But this is a new chapter, I think. The line between good video games and movies like this has been completely blurred. I found the film so inept in even the intended aims, that I sat open-mouthed, speechless, watching the film unfold in what seemed like three times its actual length.

I don't know where to begin. The first film was what it was, a summer popcorn movie with fast, silly street machines racing, Vin Diesel inventing a career, and that was about it. A sequel was almost a no-brainer, indeed.

First off, I'm in disbelief that this was directed by John Singleton. A promising young black director back when Boyz in the Hood appeared, he has now been completely neutralized by Hollywood. After all, why should white directors have a monopoly on crap? I can only hope Singleton was paid well for his troubles, as I believe his does have some talent.

The film takes place in Miami, where the 'hero' of the original, no longer a copy, is now living a subsistence life street-racing. He gets involved with some Cuban drug barons and an old friend who wound up in jail, etc, etc. It doesn't matter. The story and plotting are so ludicrous, it doesn't matter. There isn't even an attempt at credibility, so I guess some credit is deserved. In fact, the only way to really watch a movie like this and even try to enjoy it is to completely disregard any story or plot, and just trust that the dots somehow connect, at least on paper. Speaking of Ludacris, he appears as some kind of heavily-connected gangsta thug who promotes these street races in neighborhoods the cops don't even bother patrolling.

But the main draw of the film is the car chases, and the cars. And I have to say, even in this, they've pretty much failed to deliver. Yes, there are some wild street machines. And there are plenty of chases. But only a couple of stunts impress at all. There appeared to be so much trickery involving the scenes, it was disappointing and lame. The opener says it all. I don't know how they've done it, but the shots of the drivers in their cars look very fake and processed. Sure, I know the actors aren't driving, but you can tell digital fakery was involved, and if you look closely, there is a dearth of scenery from real, actual, impressive stunt driving. It looks boring, and that's the real crime.

The acting is appalling on all fronts. The only person of any note or credibility is James Remar, character actor extraordinaire, always with a menacing face. He has a side role. The two main stars are so bad, the film at times resembles a reading for the film, as opposed to the film. They both look like male models saying lines, and indeed, at least one of them is.

If you like video games, go and play Midnight Club Street Racing 2, or Burnout and its sequels, because they are the equivalent of watching this film. No, they're better, because you can control them, and end them when you wish. That it can't even deliver on the very simple, guilty-pleasure front it looks to be on is the real crime of 2 Fast.

Not recommended, except if you're a car addict, and at least the film has a lot of extras.

Mediocre sequel, although final 20 minutes aren't too bad
The original FAST AND THE FURIOUS was brainless but reasonably entertaining, with a charismatic performance by Vin Diesel, a fairly interesting plot, and some very well-done action scenes. This inevitable sequel, starring Paul Walker (who played second fiddle to Diesel's character in the original) and Tyrese (as Diesel's "replacement"), hardly approaches the highs of the first film at all until the last 20 minutes or so, when 2 FAST 2 FURIOUS truly comes alive with a fun-to-watch car chase scene, some ingenuity, and some momentum. Until then, it's pretty mediocre, with a cookie-cutter plot, some wince-inducing dialogue (which tries way too hard to be "cool"), and bland car racing scenes. Thanks to Tyrese, who brings considerable energy and charisma to a badly underwritten but important role, it's still fairly watchable overall, but at least with THE FAST AND THE FURIOUS I wasn't annoyed with the dialogue and bored with the plot. Action fans can easily skip this one.