Movie_Muse_Reviews "The Fast and the Furious" was only a decent movie with Vin Diesel. Then Universal opted to move forward on a quick-turnaround sequel without one half of the duo that kept that movie engaging. Surprisingly, this doesn't completely doom "2 Fast 2 Furious," which struggles more with identity than it does trying to replace Diesel with Tyrese."2 Fast" moves the action to South Florida and opens with a neon-bedazzled street race that re-evokes the campy MTV Spring Break aesthetic of the last movie. O'Conner (Paul Walker) has been evading the law since he "flipped," but he can't help get in the game when Tej (Ludicrous) calls him up. Unsurprisingly, the cops bust the party and it lands O'Conner in federal custody. Agents Markham (James Remar) and Bilkins (Thom Barry, from the first film) then give O'Conner an ultimatum: Help their undercover agent (Eva Mendes) take down Miami drug lord Carter Verone (Cole Hauser) or prison. When they say he needs a partner, he enlists the help of childhood buddy Roman Pierce (Tyrese) with whom he left things on bad terms.Understanding that being without Dominic Toretto would be a big blow, writers Michael Brandt and Derek Haas wisely attempt to substitute a co-star that could provide a similar dynamic. Roman "Rome" Pierce fills the hole of having O'Conner be at odds in a brotherly way with someone else. Tyrese steps up admirably, but the rest of the movie ends up painting them as more of a typical buddy-cop duo, with shades of comedy even. Brandt and Haas attempt to go full-scale Hollywood with "2 Fast 2 Furious" and while the inventiveness takes a healthy step forward, it comes at the cost of what made the first film a little more alternative to the typical blockbuster. "The Fast and the Furious" felt a little gritty and down to earth at times, whereas "2 Fast" is thinking about how to be bigger and bolder.Those risks pay off in positive ways when it comes to the entertainment value. A game of chicken in the middle of relay race infuses some energy into what would've been just another race sequence; the warehouse trick has a cool surprise effect; and the final stunt of the film needs no explanation. It's fun and director John Singleton ("Boyz in the Hood") doesn't shy away from fun, even when it crosses the line to silly on many occasions.Yet the net effect of bigger stunts and sequences is not an improvement from the first film because of the way it sells out to a more traditional action movie formula. By the final act, it devolves into a spy movie with street-racing cars, which kind of reveals the entire film to be an attempt to make a "James Bond" movie with a "street" vibe. Even the villain is this rich guy who likes to torture people in gimmicky ways. Mendes is the Bond girl chained to said villain, but of course she's hopelessly attracted to O'Conner. Add all the "bros" and "braes" that O'Conner and Rome ceaselessly spew out, respectively, and it's not hard to see how Universal has taken a classic movie formula and dressed it up to reach an audience that would enjoy seeing Tyrese and Ludicrous in acting roles — or at least pay to see it. The first song used in the soundtrack actually has the phrase "2 Fast 2 Furious" in it. And you can't have rappers and R&B stars without surrounding them with busty women in bikinis to ogle.The digs come easy at "2 Fast 2 Furious" (the title, for one … ), but it manages to be creative and entertaining enough to counter its formulaic approach and desire to appeal to the basest of movie-watchers' instincts. It definitely understands what it is and how to maximize its appeal, even if we're wise to its ways.~Steven CThanks for reading! Check out Movie Muse Reviews for more

Tkbn3812 2 Fast 2 Furious, the sequel to The Fast and The Furious, is disappointing in many regards. Personally it did not seem as enjoyable as the first film, due to an absence of main characters and a story that has little to do with the first film.The film does not pick up from the end of the previous film, rather following on from Turbo Charged Prelude, a short-film which hastily attempts to explain, in six minutes, how Brian O'Connor (Paul Walker), the main character, has made his way from Los Angeles in the first film, to Miami by the second. The film itself features Brian and his childhood friend Roman Pearce (Tyrese Gibson), who have been given the special task of going undercover to bring down a crime organisation. This film shares very little in common with the first film, other than Brian himself, the name of the film, and sparse references to Dominic and his fleeing in the prior film. Perhaps it was the very absence of Dominic that had quite a bit to be considered; the first film leaves Brian and Dominic's relationship very much on a cliff-hanger, and those expecting to see expansion on their relationship in this film will be disappointed, as I was. Building up on the absence of Dominic is the very absence of just about every character from the first film. Generally, a sequel should continue the events of the first, however this does not happen in any regard in this film. However, when you push this aside, and ignore the fact that this is a sequel rather than a stand-alone, there are many positives. The clichéd troubled-relationship between Brian and Roman is refreshing, which allows for some classic bad-boy antics. A new host of characters also make their way into this film, including Eva Mendes as Agent Monica Fuentes, Ludicrous as Tej Parker and Devon Aoki as Suki.Coal Hauser does a stunning job at playing the eccentric Carter Verone, a typical filthy-rich villain who is unpredictable, a man best to not mess with. However, James Remar does what I believe to be a poor job at playing Markham, the agent in charge of the operation to bring down Verone. Rather than be a man who is strict but doing what is right by his organisation, he instead comes across as an outright idiot. His lines are not only clearly scripted, but also poorly spoken, coming across as rash and downright rude. Whether or not this was intentional is not certain, but it certainly wasn't favourable. Stunts in the film are quite good (the boat scene, anyone?) however many seem to be randomly placed. Sure, a race at the start to introduce us to the movie is clever, but it only introduces supporting roles, unlike the first film in which its debut scene has Dominic and Brian racing. Not long into the film is a very mismatched scene which sees Roman and Brian going against two of Verone's men; these are two men that have hardly been characterised. However, I cannot say this scene was a failure; it really does have you on the edge of your seat into even the last seconds. There is a romance in this film, however it hardly lives up to that of the first film. The relationship between Monica and Brian remains at nothing but flirting. To be honest, I think the film would have been best without a romance; it's either a good romance, or none at all. Having not watched any of the other sequels yet, it seems quite a miracle to me that Universal have created a franchise of to-be 10 films. The 1st was good enough for a sequel (although just one, not the eventual nine), yet the 2nd fails to meet this criteria, and it is remarkable that eight sequels have now either been made or are in production. Therefore I am under the presumption that the next few films must be quite outstanding. On its own, this is a film that is entertaining enough, with stunts and a decent storyline that will keep audiences happy. However, as a sequel that hardly continues the first film, and does not live up to the reputation of the Fast and Furious series, this film is without a doubt a disappointment.

theminecraftavatar This movie did a good job as a continuation of the story established in "Fast and the Furious." It kept the action one would expect in the story while also trying to make the story fairly interesting. My biggest complaint of this film that it was very repetitive plot-wise of the first film. Brian had to go undercover for the authorities to investigate a criminal through drag racing. Though the plot is still general enough to be able to do multiple stories within said plot. This story takes place in Miami which led to a much different tone than the first one which took place in LA. Tyrese Gibson was a fresh and I feel improved contrast to the sort of best friend role that Vin Diesel had played in the previous film. Overall a good action film that isn't too short and isn't too long.

Spikeopath The second instalment of what will become an on going film franchise, 2 Fast 2 Furious ticks all the boxes of the action junkie fan. Paul Walker is back as Brian O'Conner and joined by Tyrese Gibson and Eva Mendes, who all get involved in an undercover job to bring down Cole Hauser's nefarious bad guy. There's lots of awesome cars, pecs and breasts, noise, carnage, violence and awful dialogue. The story is weak, but are we really looking for some brains over brawn here? We want car porn and we want it now! And so it delivers as per our polite request. John Singleton directs, David Arnold scores the music and Matthew F. Leonetti photographs the sumptuous Florida locations. 6/10