Ex-cop Brian O'Connor (Paul Walker) is now in Florida, making money as a street racer.
His old life is behind him - until US authorities drag him back in to go undercover as a driver for a local drug lord.
To assist him in his mission, Brian enlists childhood friend and fellow driver Roman Pearce (Tyrese Gibson). Will the ex-cop and the ex-con work out their differences to take down the bad guys?
I have never seen this movie before. I was aware of its reputation and no one wanted to see it with me. I remember the year it came out because 2003 was the last year where big budget action movies based around shootouts and car chases were a thing: The Matrix Reloaded and Bad Boys II came out that summer and I can recall several different rankings of the three film’s car chases. While it was a big hit at the time, it seemed like the franchise was kind of done. When the franchise rebooted in the 2010s, 2 Fast 2 Furious was always mentioned as the series’ nadir. That collective disregard made me way more interested to see this movie and get my own take on it.
Putting aside the movie, it also introduced two characters who would go on to become important parts of the current ‘family’: Chris ‘Ludacris’ Bridges’ Tej Parker and Tyrese Gibson’s Roman Pearce.
In building this film around Brian O’Connor sans Dom, 2 Fast 2 Furious revises his backstory a bit to make him a former young hellion who reformed only slightly when he became a police officer. An attempt to give O’Connor more edge, it does not really add anything. Walker is pretty likeable in the movie but there is not much going on with the character.
Watching this movie a week after the original, I felt the absence of Vin Diesel. Whatever magic chemistry he had with Walker is absent, and all you are left with is a pretty rote action drama.
The screenwriters have tried to replicate Brian’s uneasy relationship with Dom with Roman. I cannot get over the feeling that Roman’s role was intended for Dom. Roman and Brian’s relationship is based on distrust because of Brian’s job as a police officer - it is the literal extension of where we left our heroes at the end of the first movie: Brian is on the outs with Dom/Roman for being a cop.
I am not a fan of franchise continuity and the F&F’s approach has always appealed to me. They do not plan their movies ahead, and treat each installment as its own beast, with characters taking on and losing traits as the story (or stars) demand. Roman’s characterisation is the perfect example of this approach.
In 2 Fast, Roman is fresh out of prison and distrustful of everyone, especially Brian.
In an echo of Justin Lin’s enlisting of Sung Kang from his feature Better Luck Tomorrow, Tyrese previously worked with director John Singleton on his movie Baby Boy, and Roman feels like an extension of that character.
Watching this movie reminded me of how Gibson has grown as a performer. In his early roles, I found Gibson to be a limited performer in terms of his emotional range. He has good chemistry with Walker, but he seems a little tense on camera. It is interesting to contrast his performance here with how he has relaxed into the ensemble in the recent instalments.
As for Ludacris, In this movie, Tej is a minor fixer in the street racing world - Bridges is fine although he does not get much to do. Tej does have a relationship with a fellow racer, Suki, played by model Devon Aoki. It is interesting how the diversity established in the first movie has not been dropped in this installment. It is one of the franchise’s key strengths.
As for the other major characters in the movie, Eva Mendes is easily the most memorable. As the undercover Customs agent Monica Fuentes, she is teased as a new love interest for Brian - any potential in that relationship is hamstrung by the weak script, which presents her as arm candy and does not give her a lot of agency. If Mendes was not playing this part, the character would probably play as more of a generic love interest. It is a testament to Mendes that the character feels enigmatic and interesting in spite of the bland plot turns of the story.
Considering how much Roman and Tej have become established parts of the ensemble, it is a pity that aside from a cameo in Five Mendez has not been brought back in a significant role. One of the advantages of Tej and Roman is that their characters do not get elaborate backstories and characters arcs, which allowed them to be fleshed out in later movies. Hopefully, Vin finds a way to bring Fuentes back into the fold, and the character can be rehabilitated as another member of the family.
In the villain corner, Cole Hauser has a good line in simmering menace, but he does not do that much - there is some nasty business involving a rat, a bucket and a blowtorch, but he does not kill anyone and his big plan is to flee the country. He also survives at the end, which undermines the ending.
The action is odd - while there are real cars and stunts, the filmmakers overdo the virtual camera moves and indulge in a hyperspeed-style motion-blurring when drivers engage the Noz that makes the action harder to follow.
Viewed on its own terms, 2 Fast, 2 Furious lacks a strong sense of identity. The first movie at least had the distinction of being ‘Point Break with cars’. This movie does not feel big enough for the big screen - there are a couple of fun stunts but if you took those out you would be left with an episode of Hawaii 5-0.
The plot is straightforward but the stakes never get that high. I also felt like the movie was missing a second act. The movie feels like all set up and then we are into the climactic car chase. This is one of the rare movies where I could have used a slightly longer runtime.
One minor pleasure is the score, which I recognised as the work of former James Bond composer David Arnold - he adds some contemporary textures, but he adds much-needed tension and pathos to the movie.
I am not a fan of the first movie but this movie is far more inconsequential - only in hindsight does it gain import. In 2003, when I was looking forward to the Matrix movies and X-Men 2, 2 Fast, 2 Furious did not seem that exciting - and sadly that still holds true post-viewing.
I am glad I watched it for the context, but I cannot see myself watching it again.
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