Movie Review

2 Fast 2 Furious

Director John Singleton has taken a purely uninspired script and has attempted to give it oomph on the screen via flashy wardrobes, shiny and fast cars, and rather attractive settings; unfortunately, that only takes 2 Fast 2 Furious so far.

Coming from someone who did not admire the original Fast and the Furious, I was skeptical toward how this sequel would turn out. These movies are not meant to spark intellectual conversations afterwards regarding their scripted material, or necessarily discuss anything period outside of "Man, that car was tight!" However, with any one of these popcorn rides I still (usually) ask for more than just a layer of fun, and Fast and the Furious didn?t even give me that, let alone anything else.
Forty-five minutes into this sequel I was ready to brand it as a guilty pleasure C+. It was a Wednesday afternoon when a few friends and I had nothing better to do other than see ?any? movie (except Dumb & Dumberer), as I didn?t ask for much but did ask for at least some entertainment demands to be met. The screen was big, the sound was loud, and it was about all I could ask for in terms of a theater experience with a fast-paced movie. But that thinking mode sort of faded as 2 Fast transitioned into its second half.

Once the story really kicks into gear, allowing the actors to take charge in performance, the flick went downhill. There are some nifty and semi-cool car chase sequences thrown in (during the first act), but that is all a memory once the film starts riding on a formula that is all too familiar, with stars who can?t act to save their life.

Paul Walker returns as Brian O?Conner, but to any fan of the original, who really cares about him anyway? The real stars are the vehicles themselves and the gadgets that come with. But supporting Walker this time around is not Vin Diesel, but Tyrese, who plays Roman Pearce. After being stranded by police after a failed car chase, Brian?s badge is deprived (he just so happens to be an officer), and to re-obtain it he must crack into a racing circuit. In doing so, Brian and Roman must transport a shipment of fake money to Carter Verone in an attempt to bring him down.

In the process we?re handed a story structure that is no different than any other good-guy, bad-guy tale. If you know the formula to basic money-exchange flicks or films where the protagonists need to track down the villains, you?ve probably seen 2 Fast 2 Furious many, many times before. That?s not to say this film is a very pointless effort, but after a while it?s exhausting, and not in a good sense.

Most of us are well aware of where this route is heading, and while some of the stretch of road is surely nice eye-candy, the product as a whole is lacking enough originality (let alone brains) to push it to a solid popcorn level. There are moments of fun, but most of them are in the beginning stretches of the ride; the problem is that for a good distance Singleton and clan promise a diverting experience, even if we won?t remember it in two weeks time.

But after a certain point, the screenwriters feel as if a story needs to be dealt with, as being a film, a plot must be mentioned of course. The only dilemma with this thinking is that if you?re aiming to intertwine an actual premise, or rely on your actors (filling the shoes) to actually sustain an on-screen presence, the material written for them needs to be functioning. And not only does it need to be functioning, but we need to feel the need for the dialogue and the substance being exerted.

Most of 2 Fast 2 Furious revolves around useless lines where characters note the obvious while spurting out (random) excited exclaims while driving; there?s going to be an audience that doesn?t mind all this, and matter of fact, enjoys it, but I?m not in that group. After the halfway mark I spent a good amount of time here and there groaning at some of the dialogues spewed, and sometimes even laughing at it and not with it.

Being cast in a movie as such is probably tough given the huge product this franchise has become, but with the cast they have acting is not a priority ? the screen presence is. These movies are meant for the faces to be seen, as well as their bodies, and for the audience to go, "ooooo" and "aaaaaah." I?d like to say that could be a positive aspect, but being a movie I look at more than just the eye candy element of the film, and once I do that I see very little. And that?s the problem with 2 Fast 2 Furious, as it is all flash and glare and nothing else.

I can take a film that doesn?t require intelligence, as I sometimes love the no-brainer flicks. But when efforts like 2 Fast aim low, I?m not sure what can be said other than it didn?t work; it certainly wasn?t any more than it tried to be, but even with that starting point goal it doesn?t achieve greatness. There are movies to be commended for taking pride in their stupidity and films for taking pride in their sophistication. 2 Fast 2 Furious, on the other end of the spectrum, takes pride in something far less admirable, and that is simply being average.

Lee's Grade: C

A	0.4%
B	30.0%
C	61.7%
D	8.0%
F	0.0%