After “The Furious and the Furious” earned money at the box office, Universal immediately green-lit a sequel titled, “2 Fast 2 Furious” with the late Paul Walker reprising his role as Brian O’Conner. Vin Diesel turned down a $25 million offer to come back as Dominic “Dom” Toretto. He hated the script claiming it was inferior to the first movie. He went as far comparing 2 Fast 2 Furious to sequels in the ’80s and ’90s that have zero connection to the original. Rather than taking a faithful follow-up like “The Godfather Part II.” Vin went on to reprise his role as Riddick in “The Chronicles of Riddick.” Tyrese Gibson took over Mr. Diesel’s role as an original character named, Roman Pierce. An estranged friend of Brian who later becomes a prominent character in “The Fast Saga.”
Released in 2003, (same year Linkin Park’s Meteora came out) it received negative reviews from critics and movie goers alike. Despite bad reception, the sequel made enough revenue at the box office. As I mentioned on my previous review of the first entry, The Fast Saga is one of my guilty pleasures. As a fan of the series growing up, I’m reviewing every single chapter before I see “Fast X.”
I don’t care if SPOILERS are listed. We’ve seen The Fast Saga films countless times. Particularly the word “family” forever a meme. Make sure you watch the short film, “The Turbo-Charged Prelude” leading up to Brian’s arrival in Miami. Think of it as a pre-opening.
Fast & Slow Qualities
Fast: Paul Walker reprises his role as Brian O’Conner. He did an excellent job for his performance.
Tyrese Gibson & Ludacris make their first appearances as Roman Pearce & Tej Parker. They both did a decent job for their respective performances. Roman’s my favorite character.
Eva Mendes appears as U.S. Customs Agent, Monica Fuentes. She later made a cameo in Fast Five’s Post-Credits Scene.
John Singleton (may he Rest in Peace) did a solid job directing. He was a fan of the series.
Neal H. Moritz produced the second installment.
Writing duo Michael Brandt & Derek Haas wrote the script. They also wrote the script for “3:10 to Yuma” and created the “Chicago Fire” series. After Vin turned down the sequel, the pair took their time to introduce Roman & Tej.
Action Sequences contains fast cars that make your blood pumping. My favorite scene is the countless racers emerging from a warehouse.
Cinematography captures high speed cars making you feel like you’re in the passenger seat.
John stated “Top Gun” as a primary influence of the action.
The Universal logo turns into a hubcap. What you’re about to see, indicates you’re gonna enjoy a fun ride.
Suki calls Brian, “Bullit.” A reference to Steve McQueen’s movie.
Mark Boone Junior A.K.A. “Where were the other drugs going” guy from “Batman Begins” has a role as a crooked detective interrogated by Carter. It all makes sense, Christopher Nolan casted Mr. Junior in Batman Begins. Because he’s a fan of The Fast Saga.
Agent Dunn says, “Um, 24?” A possible SpongeBob reference. One Year Later, “The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie opened worldwide. By the way, “Battle for Bikini Bottom” came out the exact same year as 2 Fast 2 Furious.
At one point, Brian shout, “How do you like them apples?!” A famous line from “Good Will Hunting.”
2 Fast 2 Furious takes place in Miami. Another sequel “Bad Boys II” also takes place in Miami.
Fun Fact: Carter’s mansion actually belongs to Slyvester Stallone. I guess Sly allowed the Cast and Crew to film at his home while he was busy working on “Shade” and “Spy Kids 3-D: Game Over.”
Ludacris’ song “Act a Fool” is played during the End Credits.
In the Climax when Brian builds up speed to land on Carter’s yacht, Roman compares Brian’s stunt to “The Dukes of Hazzard.” The pair successfully land. One Year Later, Starsky and Hutch (the movie with Ben Stiller & Owen Wilson) “subverted the perfect landing.
Slow: Fake Green Screen of interior shots of Brian & Roman’s cars racing at night.
Unlike later sequels, Roman acts serious. Although he has an occasional comedic moments, Roman’s just a carbon copy of Dom. Most notably, the chemistry’s obviously similar to the first movieThankfully, Tyrese wanted Roman to have an opposite personality to Vin’s stoic attitude. Provide comic relief as a sign of Character Development he got over his estranged friendship with Brain.
Product Placement is all over the place. Pepsi, Sparco, Mitsubishi, Puma, Panasonic, Mountain Dew, Gooden Corral, Oreos, Ferrari, Dodge, Corona & Hooters.
The Final Verdict: B-
Although a lot of people hated 2 Fast 2 Furious, I thought it was average. It’s not horrendously bad like “The Cat in the Hat,” the second movie has some good elements. If you wanna refresh your memory, watch all The Fast Saga movies.
Nickthemoviecritic.com 