Movie Review – 2 Fast 2 Furious (2003)

In 2001, The Fast and the Furious caught the audiences by surprise.

The movie had fast cars, great racing scenes, a rocking soundtrack, and a good cast of actors.  It was a fun movie, and you knew that Hollywood was going to capitalize on its formula and make additional sequels.

Released in 2003 was 2 Fast 2 Furious, the first sequel to The Fast and the Furious.  2 Fast 2 Furious follows along as Brian O’Conner is pressured into helping the FBI and U.S. Customs Service catch a notorious drug smuggler in Miami, Florida.  Brian brings along Roman Pearce, his old friend from childhood, and the two of them go undercover to help catch the drug smuggler.  Of course, this film also features its share of muscle cars, great racing scenes, and plenty of eye candy along the way.

Directed by John Singleton, 2 Fast 2 Furious stars Paul Walker as Brian O’Conner, a former LAPD detective who is now a street racer living in Miami.  Co-starring in the film is Tyrese Gibson as Roman Pearce, a fellow street racer and Brian’s old friend from childhood.

Supporting them in the film are Eva Mendes as Monica Fuentes, a U.S. Customs Service agent, Cole Hauser as Carter Verone, a drug lord, Ludacris as Tej Parker, an ex-racer who organizes races, and Devon Aoki as Suki, a racer and friend of Brian and Tej.  Also in the film is Thom Barry reprising his role as FBI Special Agent Bilkins.

2 Fast 2 Furious begins with a street race in Miami, Florida.

Tej Parker (Ludacris) is organizing a race when he notices that one of the drivers was unable to make the race.  Not wanting to run a race with only three drivers, Tej makes a phone call and gets a fourth driver, Brian O’Conner (Paul Walker), into the race.  He makes it there in time and the drivers get ready to race.  To make things more interesting, Brian increases the ante to $35,000.

The drivers for the race are:

• Brian O’Conner driving a Nissan Skyline GT-R R34
• Suki (Devon Aoki) driving a pink Honda S2000
• Orange Julius (Amaury Nolasco) driving a red-orange Mazda RX-7
• Slap Jack (Michael Ealy) driving a bronze Toyota Supra 2JZ

Instead of being a quarter-mile drag like in the first movie, this race is a lap around part of the city.  Roads have been blocked to clear a path for the drivers.

The race begins and the drivers jockey back and forth for position.  What they don’t know is that Tej has a surprise planned for the ending of the race.  When Slap Jack and Brian reach the final straightaway, they see that a drawbridge has been partially raised, creating a jump.  Both drivers hit their nitrous buttons, and Brian passes Slap Jack while in mid-air.  Brian lands smoothly and wins the race.  Slap Jack has a rough landing and crashes his car.  Suki also makes the jump and damages her car on the landing, but she still finishes the race.  Orange Julius, on the other hand, slams on the brakes and doesn’t even attempt the jump.

Suddenly the police crash the victory party.  Brian tries to make a getaway, but his car is disabled when it’s hit by a grappling hook-like ESD (Electronic Disruption Device).  He’s swiftly arrested and taken into custody.  While in custody, FBI Special Agent Bilkins (Thom Barry) and U.S. Customs Service Agent Markham (James Remar) make a deal with him.  If Brian helps them take down drug lord Carter Verone (Cole Hauser), then the charges against Brian (going back to California when Brian helped Dominic Toretto flee) will be dropped, and his record will be wiped clean.

When Markham tries to pair a Customs Service agent to go undercover with Brian, Brian proves that the agent doesn’t know anything about street racing.  Nobody is going to believe him.  He’ll blow their cover.  If Brian helps the Customs Service, then he’s going to want to bring along a partner of his choice.  For that, Brian goes back to his roots in California.

Brian and Bilkins go to Barstow, California, where they meet Roman Pearce (Tyrese Gibson).  Roman is currently wearing an ankle bracelet and not allowed to go more than 100 yards from his house.  In this case, Roman lives in a motor home and he parks it next to a small racetrack where he drives in a demolition derby.

When Roman sees Brian, he tries to fight him.  The two of them wrestle on the ground until Brian subdues and calms him.  It turns out that Brian had just become a police officer when Roman’s garage was busted for having stolen rims.  Roman was sent to jail for three years, and since that point he has held a grudge against police officers.  Even though Brian didn’t know about the raid and wasn’t part of it, since he was a cop, Roman blames him for being part of the team that sent him to prison.  The bottom line is that Roman was knowingly dealing with stolen car parts, and he has yet to accept responsibility for his own actions, and not the actions of the police department.

After the minor fight, Brian convinces Roman to help him stop the drug lord.  In exchange, Roman’s ankle bracelet will be removed, and his criminal record will be cleaned.  Roman accepts and he travels to Miami with Brian and Bilkins.

Back in Miami, they meet with Markham along with U.S. Customs Service Agent Monica Fuentes (Eva Mendes).  Monica was the woman that Brian saw admiring him during the street race the other night.  It turns out that she has been working undercover, and she had infiltrated Verone’s drug network.  She knows that Verone is looking to recruit street racers to be drivers in his organization.  He’s going to have the potential drivers meet at his house for an audition.

To help Brian and Roman win the audition, the U.S. Customs Service gives them two new cars.  Brian takes the Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution VII while Roman takes the Mitsubishi Spyder GTS, which also happens to be a convertible.  Monica rides with Brian, and the two drivers show off while driving to Verone’s house.  It’s clear that Monica and Brian have an attraction to each other.

The drivers meet at Verone’s mansion.  The audition is actually a race to retrieve an item.  Verone tells them to go to an impound lot and to retrieve an item that’s located inside of a red Ferrari.  The drivers run back to their cars and then haul ass on the interstate, dodging around traffic and trying to be the first one to reach the impound.  One of the more memorable moments is when a Ford Mustang gets caught underneath a semi-truck, and the truck’s rear wheels smash the Mustang.  This causes a chain reaction crash with another driver.

Brian and Roman are the first drivers to reach the impound lot.  They crash through the gate and locate the Ferrari.  What they don’t know is that their Mitsubishi cars have tracking beacons.  When they raced away on the assignment, the Customs Service agents thought that Brian and Roman were trying to flee.  A pair of agents tracked them to the impound lot, and they tried to apprehend them.  Roman pulls out a gun and fires a few shots at the agents, and then everybody flees and drives away.

Sure enough, Brian and Roman win the audition.  The item that they raced to retrieve turned out to be a package with a cigar, cigar cutter, and a lighter.  Roman feels cheated with risking so much to retrieve a “worthless” item, but Verone explains that they were racing for the job, and not the package.  Verone tells them that their driving service will be needed soon.  The guys then leave, but Roman is caught trying to steal Verone’s cigar cutter.

After leaving Verone’s home, Brian and Roman take their cars to Tej’s garage.  Mechanic friend Jimmy (Jin Auyeung) examines the cars and notices all of the GPS tracking gear.  There’s no way to remove all of it and make their cars untraceable to the Customs Service.  If Brian and Roman are supposed to survive working for Verone, and keep the Customs Service from blowing their cover, then they’re going to need some new muscle cars.

That problem is solved by Tej.

Tej sets up a pink slip race between Brian and Roman and Darden (Eric Etebari) and Korpi (John Cenatiempo), two drivers they competed against for the job with Verone.  Darden and Korpi drive a 1970 Dodge Challenger R/T and a 1969 Chevrolet Camaro Yenko S/C, American muscle cars.

The race is simple.  Each driver has to go down a street, circle around some barrels, and then race across a line.  Once one driver crosses the line, then his partner can go.  The winners receive their opponents’ cars.

Brian and Roman know that the American muscle cars will win on the straightaways.  If they are to win the race, then they’re going to have to come up with a plan.  Brian has Roman race first to give him more time to think of a plan.

The race starts and Darden has a lead when rounding the barrels.  Roman has to use nitrous to catch up with him.  When Roman is about to pass him, Darden knocks a sign into Roman’s path, causing him to swerve and nearly lose control of his car.  This gives Darden a huge lead.  He crosses the line and Korpi takes off in his Camaro.  Brian then starts, but he’s so far behind that Korpi has already turned around and is heading to the finish.

To stop him, Brian swerves into Korpi’s lane and plays a game of chicken.  Korpi swerves away at the last second, and he spins out.  This gives Brian time to reach the barrels and make his turn.  Korpi restarts his car and continues the race, but it’s a neck-and-neck race to the finish.  Brian wins the race, beating Korpi by a matter of inches.  Darden and Korpi are forced to give up their cars.

Later that evening, Brian and Roman meet Carter Verone at a nightclub.  In a private room, they witness Verone torture Whitworth (Mark Boone, Jr.), a crooked cop, with a frightened rat.  It’s a warning message to everybody, including Monica, Verone’s girlfriend.

The next morning, Monica sneaks off to see Brian and warn him that after he and Roman make their delivery run for Verone, he’s planning on killing both of them.  She tells him that their drop-off point will be at an airstrip near the Florida Keys.  Brian and Roman relay this information to Markham and Bilkins.  Markham assures them that the Customs Service will protect them, but Brian and Roman have their doubts, along with Bilkins.

They know that they’ll have to create a new plan if they’re to deliver the money for Venture, ultimately stop him in the end, and survive the mission without any interference from the Customs Service.  That’s where the Dodge Challenger and Chevy Camaro come into play.  They have Tej’s garage modify the cars to prepare them for tomorrow’s driving mission.

The mission begins with Brian and Roman driving their Mitsubishi cars and meeting Enrique (Mo Gallini) and Roberto (Roberto Sanchez), two of Verone’s henchmen.  Enrique and Roberto enter a house and then break into a wall to retrieve a large stash of money.  The local police department had been watching, and they jump into action to arrest everybody.  Enrique and Roberto ride along with Brian and Roman, and the two drivers take off and try to escape from the police.

The chase goes onto the interstate where a police helicopter is waiting.  Officers on the helicopter fire ESD weapons at Brian and Roman.  One of the ESDs misses, but the other one partially lodges into the side of Brian’s car.  He has to lean out the window and remove it from the car before it causes the car to be shut down and disabled.  Brian succeeds, and he throws the ESD onto a pursuing police car, causing it to stop and create a minor traffic jam.

Brian and Roman race through the streets and drive into a large warehouse.  The police then surround the warehouse and think that they have the drivers cornered.  Of course, that’s not going to happen.  The garage doors open and out roll large pick-up trucks.  The trucks have battering rams, and they push the police cars out of the way.  After that follow about a hundred street racers.  They flow out of the warehouse and create a huge, confusing mess for the police.  Orange Julius and Slap Jack are two of the drivers who help create the mess.

The confusion allows for Brian and Roman to slip away.  The GPS is used to track the two Mitsubishi cars, and the police focus on them.  When the cars are finally cornered and stop, out pop Tej and Suki as the drivers, and not Brian and Roman.  It turns out that Brian and Roman are now driving the Dodge Challenger and Chevy Camaro, and they easily escape from the police.

When they approach the Keys, Brian learns that the drop point is really an exit off the interstate, and not the airstrip.

Brian and Roman’s plan was to use the alternate cars to ditch the cops and basically steal all of the money that Verone wanted them to transport.  Both of their cars had ejection seats installed by Jimmy.  They knew that the Customs Service would raid the airfield, arrest Verone, and then everything would be fine.  The two of them could just slip away with the cash.

Roman succeeded in ditching his passenger, and he split from Brian and headed to their arranged meeting point.  Brian is about to do the same when he’s told to go to the exit, and not the airstrip.  He then realizes that the raid is going to fail, and without the GPS tracking and the Customs Service, he was going to be on his own when facing Verone.

Brian follows the instructions and arrives at Verone’s meeting place.  He tells him that Roman is on his way with the rest of the money.  Verone then tells him that he knows Monica is a traitor and really a cop, as she was the only person that he told about the airstrip.  Therefore she was the leak.  Verone sends Monica into his yacht so that he can kill her later.  He then orders his henchmen to kill Brian.  They’re about to kill him when Roman arrives and saves Brian.

Meanwhile, Verone’s yacht is sailing away with Monica being held captive.  Brian and Roman use the Chevy Camero and they race it down a street to catch the yacht.  Brian floors it and they hit a ramp, jump over the water, and land on top of the yacht.  Both of them are hurt from the crash.  When Verone approaches with a shotgun, Brian pulls out a pistol and shoots him in the shoulder, disabling him.  Monica then approaches and holds Verone at gunpoint.

The yacht is recovered by the Customs Service, and Carter Verone is placed under arrest.  Roman has fun insulting him, but Brian remind Roman that Verone is going to come after him when after he’s released from jail.  Both Brian and Roman are told that the mission is complete and both of their records are clean.

2 Fast 2 Furious ends with Brian and Ramon walking away and talking about opening a garage there in Miami.  Each of them cheerfully informs the other that they stole some of the money from Verone’s bags.

FINAL THOUGHTS

So is 2 Fast 2 Furious a good movie?

If you enjoyed The Fast and the Furious, then you’ll probably enjoy 2 Fast 2 Furious as well.  While this movie isn’t as good of a movie as the first one, 2 Fast 2 Furious has plenty of fast cars, smooth characters, and tons of action along the way.  It’s definitely a fun movie, just not a great one.

Perhaps the biggest fault for 2 Fast 2 Furious is its simplistic plot.  The plot is easy, it’s straightforward, and there’s no guessing as to what’s going to happen next.  The best way to enjoy this movie is by shutting off your brain and watching the fast cars race around the screen.  It makes it easier to ignore the incredible cheesiness of the Camaro jumping onto the yacht at the end of the movie.

Of course, just sitting back and watching the driving may inspire you to fire up the PS4 or XBOX One and play a racing game.

2 Fast 2 Furious (2003) – movie trailer

In the end, 2 Fast 2 Furious is a decent sequel to The Fast and the Furious.  It just would have been nice if the story did a better job connecting it to the events in the first film.

Roman Pearce – “Don’t even think about takin’ the convertible. It might loosen your mousse.”
Brian O’Connor – “No, that’s cool. That’s too much chrome for me anyways.”

————————–

Roman – “He did the stare and drive on you, didn’t he? He got that from me.”

————————–

Brian O’Connor – “You ready for this?”
Roman Pearce – “Come on, man. Guns, murderers and crooked cops? I was made for this, bro.”

————————-

[Carter is being arrested]
Roman – “Bye, Carter. Don’t drop the soap!”
Brian O’Connor – “You realize that when he gets out, he’s gonna kill your ass.”
Roman – “Yeah, he’s not getting out.”
[Brian laughs]
Roman – [nervously] “He’s not getting out, right?”