Series Review 1.2: 2 Fast 2 Furious

Series Review 1.2

'Series Review' is Movie Freak 77's new type of Post where a Review of a series's films will be done. Each couple of months films of a certain series will reviewed . 

The first series to be reviewed will be 'Fast and Furious' series. Movie Freak 77 has already reviewed 'The Fast and the Furious(2001)' and 'Fast and Furious 6'(click on them to check them out). Expect Reviews of the sequel movies to come soon.

Review: 2 Fast and Furious(2003):
Do NOT forget to rate this post when you finish.

'2 Fast 2 Furious' Poster.

      The second installment of the 'Fast and Furious' franchise does fall back a bit from the first one, but the entertainment and fun time surely remains.

"Paul Walker".

"Tyrese Gibson".

      After the events of 'The Fast and the Furious', 'Brian O'Connor'(Paul Walker) finds himself on the run from LAPD and the FBI and leaves Los Angeles to start a new life, where he is starting to race in Miami to earn money. After winning a race, 'Brian' is caught by U.S Customs Service agent 'Markham'(James Remar) and his former boss FBI agent 'Bilkins'(Thom Barry) who makes him a deal to wipe clean al his charges. In return, he must help them catch Argentinean drug lord 'Carter Verone'(Cole Hauser). He accepts the deal but only if he is allowed to choose his associate, childhood friend and ex-convict 'Roman Pearce'(Tyrese Gibson), who basically hates 'Brian'. Together they must go undercover to earn the trust of 'Verone' and trying to cover up their backs from the U.S. Custom Service and the FBI. Other characters include U.S. Customs Service agent working undercover as 'Verone''s aid 'Monica Fuentes'(Eva Mendes), ex-street racer and race host 'Tej Parker'(Ludacris), 'Brian''s friend 'Suki'(Devon Aoki), mechanic who works for 'Tej' 'Jimmy'(Jin Au-Yeung) and street racers 'Orange Julius'(Amaury Nolasco) and 'Slap Jack'(Michael Early).

"Eva Mendes" and "Cole Hauser".

"Devon Aoki" and "Ludacris".

      With the director of 'The Fast and the Furious' and star "Vin Diesel" busy with shooting 'xXx' movie, they didn't return for the sequel. Therefore, the writers and producers had to find a new story yet still keep it interesting and relevant in order to retain the audiences that enjoyed the first one. In general, bring "Paul Walker" more to the front and giving time to produce his character with its own movie was a good one. The elements that made the first one successful still existed; however, the execution wasn't as good as the first one, still good enough to continue on the franchise. The problem that many clichés were used, plus the culture created was over used to hide certain flaws the movie had.

"Paul Walker", "Tyrese Gibson"
and "Eva Mendes".

"Paul Walker" and "Cole Hauser".

       "John Singleton" was brought on to replace director of the first movie "Rob Cohen". "John" is known at the time for directing the Academy Award Nominee 'Boyz n the Hood' a movie that had similar themes and cultural references. Looking at the picture, the director successfully continued the universe that the first movie provided, with a brighter image and a colorful one. "Gary Scott Thompson"(creator of the 'Fast and Furious' characters) teamed up with "Derek Haas" and "Michael Brandt", whose work on this movie basically allowed their career launch. The story was good, but still felt short of creativity and ingenuity that the first movie brought to the table. Still the story had its shining moments. Composed "David Arnold"(‘Godzilla (1998)' and 'Die Another Day') did a perfect job with the score and this movie launched the franchise habit of creating an anthem song for each franchise installment (which in this movie was 'Pump It Up' by "Joe Budden").

"Ludacris".

"Tyrese Gibson", "Paul Walker" and
"Devon Aoki".

      The beginning was a perfect way to let us up-to-date with what going to occur during the course of the movie. The movie's main story was a very traditional one, which did not include any surprises. The drag races and the showing of cars continued and evolved in this one to match the colorful vision that the director had in mind. There were many stand out moments during the movie such as the drag race that 'Brian' won and the whole mission and diversion that occurred in the final act of the movie, which was one of the pleasant surprised of the movie. My favorite part of the movie was the race that 'Brian' and 'Roman' put against two other guys to win new cars, which were later utilized. The finale sequence was an acceptable one yet predictable. The highlight of the movie was the bromance between "Walker" and "Gibson"'s character, which included many entertaining interactions.

"Paul Walker" and "Eva Mendes".

"Tyrese Gibson" and "Paul Walker".

      What makes the 'Fast and Furious' franchise excel is their cast. '2 Fast 2 Furious' certainly had a solid cast, with many breakout performances. "Paul Walker" proved his ability to handle the pressure of holding a movie on his shoulder and his importance to the franchise, which will make it difficult for writers to find a suitable 'end' for his character in 'Fast and Furious 7' set to be released in April 2015. "Tyrese Gibson" was a great addition to the franchise, with a fantastic portrayal of one of the pivotal comedic yet serious characters of the series. "Eva Mendes" provided a good love interest for "Walker"'s character, and it’s a shame that her characters wasn't used more in future franchise apart from a small cameo appearance in the fifth movie. "Ludacris"'s character provided the comedic relief for the movie, and for the rest of the franchise. "Cole Hauser" gave a commendable villainous performance. The remaining supporting characters did their job well supporting the main cast, that included interesting small roles.

      Although '2 Fast 2 Furious' isn't the best installment of the franchise, it was pivotal for the introduction of new character for future installments. 'The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift' review will soon be posted.

'2 Fast 2 Furious' Poster.

-'2 Fast 2 Furious' Info:
-Release Date: June 6, 2003.
-Starring: Paul Walker, Tyrese Gibson, Eva Mendes, Cole Hauser, Ludacris, Thom Barry, James Remar, Devon Aoki, Jin Au-Yeung, Amaury Nolasco, Michael Early.
-Studio(s): Original Film and Universal Studios.
-Directed by: John Singleton.
-Written by: Gary Scott Thompson, Derek Haas and Michael Brandt.
-Music by: David Arnold.
-Running Time: 107 minutes.
-Budget: $ 76,000,000.
-Box Office: -Domestic(US): $ 127,154,901.
                   -Foreign: $ 109,195,760.
-Ratings: -IMdb: 5.6/10.
               -Rotten Tomatoes: 36%.
               -Metacritic: 38%.

               -PERSONAL RATING: 7.3/10.

-'2 Fast 2 Furious' Trailer: