2 Fast 2 Furious Review
by Susan Granger (ssg722 AT aol DOT com)June 10th, 2003
Susan Granger's review of "2 Fast 2 Furious" (Universal Pictures)
Exactly how much do you love the va-va-vroom of a car's engine? That kind of soul-searching is pivotal to choosing whether this is your kind of movie. While "The Fast and the Furious" was a big hit back in 2001, its dynamic star, Vin Diesel, has left the franchise in the dust for epics like "XXX" and "A Man Apart." Now it's model/rapper Tyrese Gibson who's revving up for street-racing with Paul Walker, who once again plays the disgraced LAPD cop. Written by Michael Brandt, Derek Haas & Gary Scott Thompson and directed by John Singleton, this story finds the ex-cop Walker looking for redemption by going undercover in Miami for the FBI with restless, ex-con Gibson as his thrill-seeking partner. Their mission is to break up a money-laundering cartel run as an import/export business by sadistic Cole Hauser.
Unlike the original film, however, there's a curious, even disconcerting undercurrent of homoerotic tension as the buff protagonists grip the phallic stickshift and writhe in the dirt with their legs entwined. In fact, the camera lingers just as long on Gibson's well-defined muscles and as it does on the cleavage of curvaceous Eva Mendes, who plays an undercover customs agent whose hot pink attire matches her convertible. Which gets to the turbo-charged crux of the film: the cool candy-colored cars, including a Nissan Skyline GTR, Mitsubishi EVO 7, 1970 Hemi Dodge Challenger, 1969 Yenko Camaro, 1998 BMW M3, 2003 Dodge Viper, Chevy Corvette, 1994 Toyota Supra, 1994 Mazda RX7, 2001 Honda S2000 and 1993 Acura NSX. On the Granger Movie Gauge of 1 to 10, "2 Fast 2 Furious" peels out with a high-octane, low-IQ 4. It's a wild ride recommended only for chrome-plated adrenaline-junkies.
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