“It’s not the same without Vin Diesel.”
These are words I thought I would never say in my life. But today I find myself saying them. Just yesterday I talked about how most of the movies I blog about this month will have positive reviews – mainly because they’re movies I chose to see.
Most. Not all.
Today’s FNE Movie Month feature is 2003′ 2 Fast 2 Furious, starring Paul Walker and Tyrese Gibson – and directed by John Singleton.
Look, if I’m going to watch any of these new Fast and Furious movies, I’m going to start at the beginning and watch then all. Eight days I ago I enjoyed the original “The Fast and the Furious” more than I thought I would. My brother told me that I can skip 2 and 3, but that’s just not going to happen. If I’m going to watch the later ones, I’m going to watch the early ones.
I’m not going to say I hated this movie, I didn’t. There were some things to like about it – but it’s just not a good movie. What happened to John Singleton? In 1991 he came onto the scene huge with the classic Boyz n the Hood. Since then, he’s made some okay movies (I think, I’ve never seen any of them), but he never did anything that reached what he did with his first film. And now he’s directing a sequel to a movie about car racing where 95% of the original cast isn’t even back for. Looking back now, he’s directed a film in what has become a huge franchise – but back in 2003, I don’t think many had high hopes for a Fast/Furious franchise.
I’m going to assume that the third installment of this series is the worst of them all, but this one wasn’t much to watch. There were some good chase scenes and good racing action, but there were some moments that just looked like sloppy (going through the motions) film making. And not a lot of good acting either.
It’s funny, Paul Walker kind’ve had a wooden delivery, but it almost worked for him. Not a great actor, but he comes off as likable and someone you want to root for. Tyrese Gibson was someone I actually liked more than I thought I would. Ludacris too. Both these guys are in future installments of the series – so hey, we can thank this movie for introducing us them.
The worst actress was Devon Aoki, as Suki. She only had a bit part, but she was part of an opening race scene that had my eyes rolling. And actually Eva Mendes was only a little bit better.
And who’s goddamn bright idea was it to take Cole Hauser, a red head (left in Dazed in Confused), dye his hair black and make him a a ruthless Argentine drug – who grew up mostly in Miami so which conveniently removes any need for an accent??? Terrible idea.
A few things to note:
- John Singleton must really like Tyrese, as he’s used him in a bunch of other movies – that you’ll probably never see.
- There are just too many scenes of either Paul Walker or Tyrese Gibson close up just yelling or cheering while one or the other is driving.
- The final action moment of this movie was dumb as shit and I blame John Singleton. Compared to the last one that felt like it was really happening, this was dumb. Totally a “Bo and Luke Duke” moment.
- And did I miss a scene explaining why Paul Walker and Eva Medes’s characters were all of a sudden kissing on that house boat?
I’ve already written more about this then I wanted to. So I am going to stop now. I can’t imagine what I’ll say about the next one…
9 down. 21 to go.
