2 Fast 2 Furious: 2 Film Critics NSFW Opinions

First Impressions - Passenger Princess vs Moonlight Mango

PP: Previously, I only saw the first 3 minutes of 2 Fast 2 Furious many years ago. This week, I finally got to watch it from start to finish. 2 Fast 2 Furious basically picks up where the last movie left off with Brian on the run after letting Dom escape. At the beginning, we see Brian has now found a place in the Miami street racing scene & showcases his racing skills against the other drivers. After Brian wins the race, it appears to be cops showing up at the scene, causing everyone to flee. But it turns out to be federal agents who successfully apprehend Brian and take him in. Special Agent Bilkins, whom Brian was supposed to help take down Toretto, offers Brian a deal where if he helps the US Customs take down drug lord  Carter Verone, they’ll wipe his record clean of the charges he racked up as a result of letting Dom flee. This second film in the franchise was definitely an improvement from the first. I wasn’t expecting Dom, Letty and Mia to be excluded from this film. Because of these main characters’ absence, 2 Fast 2 Furious felt more like a spin off than a sequel. Nonetheless, I was still able to enjoy the comedy, action and thrill, leading me to giving it an 8/10 rating. 

MM: 2 Fast 2 Furious (2003) was the sequel that saved the franchise from sinking into car movie obscurity. Also it was directed by John Singleton, which gave the film a different flavor than all of the others in the franchise. Yes, this was the peak of Ludacris’ rap career. Yes, the jokes were very polished yet slightly coded for gear heads. And the chase scenes through South Florida were as hilarious as they were eye catching. Yes, Eva Mendez stole our hearts and minds. And the villain wasn’t even that terrible. But for another undercover cop movie… 2F2F did something we never expected. It was fun.

Photo by Eli Reed - © 2003 - Universal Pictures - All Rights Reserved

What We Loved: The Thrill of Street Racing Returns!

PP: The first thing I loved about this movie was the opening scene before the race began. The street race looked to be a bigger event in Miami than the one in L.A. from the last film. You see more flashy cars and twice the amount of spectators. And cars are not the only things that are being showcased. You also see people popping wheelies on motorcycles, breakdancing and doing photoshoots with the cars. It was pretty cool how the first three racers wore outfits that matched the color of their vehicles, except for Brian (Unless you think a white shirt still matches a silver car). The car that stood out to me was Suki’s 2000 Honda S2000. I love that beautiful, hot pink finish with the animated girl decal on the side of the door. In a behind-the-scenes interview clip, Devon Aoki (Suki) said “Don’t let the paint job fool you because it is a very powerful car”. I guess other people assume this type of car lacks great power due to its color, but for me, I’d assume the opposite. According to this film’s technical advisor, the S2000 was supercharged with 240 hp. Devon Aoki explained how the appearance of this car was to make a statement that sums up to never judging a book by its cover. Or in this case, don’t judge a car by its pretty pink paint job. 

MM: We can get into the nitty gritty details on why some sequels never match the energy or originality of the first film. 2F2F does something different. It’s like a reset. There are parts in the original Fast and Furious that felt forced, specifically Ja Rule’s character as a street racer with any aptitude for victory. Honestly that might been a bit of foreshadowing but let us not focus on him. The focused theme of 2F2F is redemption all around. Vin Diesel had stepped out of the spotlight on the franchise for other projects. Casting multiple artists such as Tyrese, Luda and Jin gave fans a true feel of authenticity. Cause deep down, modern street racing culture had WAYYYYY more swag in the early 2000s than the first movie had shown. The jokes were on point and never over the top. Paul Walker being a cop / not a cop, but still shouting like a cop when guns are drawn was accidentally hilarious. And the quotables? Chef’s kiss. How could you not love “Ejecto seato cuz”?

Photo by Eli Reed - © 2003 - Universal Pictures - All Rights Reserved

PP: Another thing I loved about this movie is that the stakes have been raised in regards to the criminal activity. Brian going after a dangerous drug lord this time around makes Dom & his crew’s hijacking of semi trucks look like petty theft. While Brian and his friend Roman were working undercover for Verone, they knew there was a chance that Verone would kill them after they delivered the package to the Keys. There was a scene included where he tortured a detective by placing a rat on the detective’s chest and trapping it inside of a bucket. If the detective didn’t agree to steer the local cops away from surveilling Verone’s properties so Brian and Roman could get away with delivering the package, then Verone would use a blowtorch to make the bucket hot, forcing the rat to claw his way out through the cop’s chest. This scene had me feeling very suspenseful. I had no idea how graphic it was going to get. I believe Verone was already bothered by the fact that Brian had eyes for Monica and didn’t like how Roman lit his henchmen’s car on fire. So I think that’s why he made Brian and Roman watch the detective get tortured. He wanted to teach them a lesson and put them in their place. By the end of the movie, you realize that the intimidation tactic didn’t work on those two. While the suspense was able to draw me in, I also enjoyed seeing Brian and Roman’s bravery. No matter what happened, they were determined to succeed in this mission and get a clean slate. 

The Final Verdict

PP: 2 Fast 2 Furious didn’t have as many near-death experiences as the last film, but there were still some stunts that might make you laugh at how incredibly unrealistic they were. However you do get more reasons to laugh in this film, thanks to Tyrese Gibson’s portrayal of Roman Pearce. From fighting and joking with Brian to mocking Verone’s henchmen, he definitely carried the comedy in this film. Even Paul Walker (Brian) had some out-of-character lines like “Forget it about it, cuz”, where I’d giggle and ask, “Who wrote that line for him?” So I like how this movie caught me off guard with the added suspense and comedy, but was able to stay true to the franchise with the thrill of high speed chases and car-crashing fun. It has the potential to be one of my favorites, but I’ll know for sure once I finish watching the rest of The Fast and The Furious franchise.

MM: 2F2F wasn’t without flaw. As stated earlier, the stunts and chase seems were funny, but often, I couldn’t take them serious. Maybe because the first movie set up in my mind I’m going to see some ridiculous shit, but it’s gonna turn out ok so I never felt the heroes faced major consequences. No one lost a limb or even got shot. And I’M GRATEFUL. But I did want to see a bit more rawness, however that came as the franchise developed, so box checked. Another place the film fell short was how Suki was underutilized. Her car finishing the opening scene race was bad ass. But aside from that and a couple of “car girl” one liners, she didn’t get much attention. I also understand, this film felt experimental compared to the first. More than likely, it was because of the unbelievable success of the first film. The studio hurried to make this flick, and it worked in its own right. The soundtrack might be the most relevant of any Fast and Furious franchise film. From the opening Universal Pictures title screen through the end, after 20 years we can still sing along to each of those tunes, due to true popularity within car culture. We weren’t solely focused on nitrous boosts and ten second cars. We were comparing speaker boxes, taking risks and making sure we made things right with the homies. Even the goons for a couple scenes bonded with the audience based on the stunts they demonstrated during the helicopter chase. That’s enjoyable cinema.