2 Fast 2 Furious
Directed by John Singleton
By Noel Dix

No one expected The Fast and the Furious to turn a profit, let alone become a blockbuster. So you can imagine the hustle in the executive’s scramble to churn out a sequel while there still was a shred of interest left in the original. What we were rewarded with was 2 Fast 2 Furious, a feature-length rap video with loads of eye-candy and many explosions to keep the average teenage boy salivating. Gone is Vin Diesel, making way for the brutal acting capabilities of Paul Walker, who does little more than embarrassingly display his street lingo such as “cos” and “bro.” Walker returns as bad boy Brian O’Connor, who, now hooked-up with some new friends on the force, has to help the police department capture a stereotypical drug lord and race as many cars as possible in order to do so. The script is a complete load of rubbish but at least 2 Fast 2 Furious acknowledges the fact that it serves no purpose but to show tricked-out cars screaming in digital audio with a little Ludacris thrown in as a side dish. It’s just a shame that John Singleton takes a massive cut in credibility in order to helm a sequel no one was asking for, but at least he’s still able to drop in some cinematic flare. Much like the personality-graced rides in this flick, the DVD was custom-made for adolescent males. Documentaries hosted by Playboy models on how to soup up your wheels, as well as video game previews and music videos, are really only going to excite the targeted audience that would actually spend money towards owning this film. The deleted scenes are forgettable, though there’s a rooftop moment where Brian reflects more on his choice to team up with the coppers that possibly should have been left in to give even a fraction more depth to his character. Some watchable material includes individual featurettes on stars Waker and Tyrese, as well as Devon Aoki, who didn’t even know how to drive before having to be taught to convincingly race. Another case of a full offering of extras for a film that doesn’t deserve the attention, but if you love the no-plot/big explosions type of cinema, then the breakdown of how they pulled off the final boat-hopping stunt is right up your alley. Plus: director commentary, making-of Ludacris music video, animated anecdotes, and outtakes. (Universal)

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