Can you believe it -- Vin
Diesel declined the chance to reprise his role from the
first film because he feels that sequels are inferior to
the originals. Could it be? Does he have
some brain power after all? I thought so until I
discovered he was shooting the sequel to "XXX",
a film which was a bit dumber than the first "The
Fast and the Furious" picture. Nevertheless,
his logic skills seem to be improving, and that is
always a plus. James Bond himself, Pierce Brosnan,
summed up Vin Diesel the best when he was recently asked
if he was worried about being replaced by Diesel.
Brosnan replied, "What the hell is a Vin
Diesel?" Oh, maybe I should stop ranting
about Vin Diesel and get into my review of "2 Fast
2 Furious". Here goes...
Paul Walker reprises his role as former detective Brian
O'Conner. He was stripped of his badge after the
first film and, in this film, has teamed up with former
compadre Roman Pearce (Tyrese) to transport some shady
cargo for all around bad guy Carter Verone (Cole
Hauser). The catch is -- both O'Conner and Pearce
are secretly working with Agent Monica Clemente (Eva
Mendes) to bring Verone down. And, it just so
happens that Verone dabbles in exotic, high performance
automobiles. Ain't that nifty?
This film was directed by John Singleton, the visionary
filmmaker who brought us epics like "Boyz N the
Hood", "Rosewood", and "Higher
Learning". However, he also brought us crap
like "Poetic Justice" and "Shaft".
I do not know why he would want to direct "2 Fast 2
Furious", but it is a good thing he did, because
Singleton is the only thing that could have possibly
made this film as entertaining as it was. Yes --
can you believe it -- I liked this film.
Replacing Vin Diesel with Tyrese was a smart move for
two reasons: (1) Tyrese is actually a better actor
than Diesel and has more on screen charisma than Diesel
could ever steal from sixty Jack Nicholsons; and, (2)
Tyrese and Paul Walker have better chemistry together.
Watching the first film was like watching Diesel and
Walker during their first read thru; it was embarassing.
In this film, Paul Walker seems excited, vibrant, and
completely engaging (not to mention he is not too shabby
to look at on screen; but, that is my personal opinion).
This film is alive with excited performers performing
unbelievable stunts.
Also, I must put in a good word for Cole Hauser.
This guy has been in some quality films, and just hasn't
received the credit and attention he deserves. If
it takes playing the bad guy in this film, so be it, but
he deserves some recognition. Who can forget his
memorable performances in "Dazed and
Confused", "Higher Learning", :"Tigerland",
and "Good Will Hunting"?
Alas, if you are looking for anything other than
mindless action, hot male leads, and cool looking
racers, this film will probably disappoint you.
This is the kind of film you go to when you want to be
entertained, with little substance behind it. The
first film would not even scrape up enough zest to do
any of that. It is rare when a sequel out performs
the original, but "2 Fast 2 Furious"
accomplishes that feat by leaps and bounds. I am
not saying this film is perfect, but hell if it isn't
watch worthy.
