Hey, everyone. "Moriarty" here with some Rumblings From The Lab.
Well, I guess this means they’re testing the movie now. There’s a lot of films that are testing right now that I’m hoping we get reviews for. The summer’s films (the ones that are finished, anyway) are trying for some last minute fine tuning, and there’s even a few early fall pictures that are being shown to audiences for the first time.
I’m not exactly dying to see this film, but there’s one thing that pretty much guarantees I’ll see it at some point: Eva Mendes. I am totally head over heels smitten with this Latina lovely, ever since seeing her in ALL ABOUT THE BENJAMINS. Let’s see what “Erik” thinks of the rest of the film:
Hey Harry - let me begin this review with one statement: I am not a fan of Paul Walker’s nor am I a “street racer.”
However, street racing is a culture which is ever evolving; from the “chicken-run” scene in “Rebel Without a Cause” to the first “Fast and the Furious,” street racing will always be. That understood, Paul Walker, for some stroke of luck, has landed himself in a cool role surrounded by cool people and above all really cool cars. In this second installment of the “Fast and the Furious”, it’s underrated actor Cole Hauser, musician Tyrese, hip-hop artist Ludacris and director John Singleton. And of course, much like the first, there are the cars – the real stars of both films. What made the first film such a success was that it focused on a certain group of people - the street racers and import car enthusiasts - the same group that packed the theater in Sac-town tonight at the what appeared to be the first public screening of the “2 Fast 2 Furious.” Their cars were parked surrounding the theater; $4500 Honda Civics with about $20K worth of modifications; Toyota Supras supped up to surpass the speed of sound; Mitsubishi Eclipses with enough nitrous to power a 747. This was what made the first film a box office success. This is also what will make “2 Fast 2 Furious” a success.
The basic storyline has Paul Walker’s character, Brian O’Conner, in Miami Beach after having his badge yanked (for letting his “mark” go in LA), where he’s hiding out at a local import racing garage owned by a smooth talking, money flailing Taj (Ludacris). After getting busted for street racing, he finds himself with one last chance to make good – infiltrate a dirty import/export trading ring ran by Scarface-wannabe, Carter Verone (Cole Hauser) for the Customs Department and his record will be expunged. With the help of his childhood friend and fellow driver, Roman Pearce (Tyrese), as well as a beautiful undercover Customs agent (played by incredibly sexy Eva Mendes), they become made men and are hired to do one last “drive” for Verone.
That’s it... that’s the story. A typical, undercover-cop-infiltrates-bad-guy-type film - yet what makes this film entertaining is once again the cars. And what they can do. The race scenes and incredible driving skills are shown off to the hilt. Singleton does not hold back in showing us what these cars can do with the best drivers and modifications. It’s almost like an orchestrated ballet. One “performance” (shot from a helicopter) has Brian and Roman racing down a Miami freeway, dancing between big rigs, almost pirouetting through traffic. No special effects – just pure stunt driving. Another scene (again from a helicopter), shows over a hundred cars racing out of a storage yard. It was like watching an anthill gone crazy – somehow, in all of the chaos, they don’t hit each other and the dance floor clears out. The import cars aren’t the only automobile stars in this film; it’s a couple of classic American steel muscle cars (“you gotta hemi in thar?”) that save their asses in the end. Shoptalk is plenty. In some scenes the average joe could get lost trying to understand what thingamajig operates what cog, but it’s at a minimal and is made up for through several CG animation of what it takes to make these cars what they are.
I don’t want to go to deep into the characters, as the acting ain’t gonna sell tickets, but I do have to comment on the natural energy between Paul and Tyrese. There are a few times where you can see Paul trying a bit too hard, but Tyrese plays off of him like they truly are old pals. Cole Hauser is just fucking incredible. Why this guy hasn’t broken through yet to a leading role, beats the hell out of me. Ever since I saw him in “Pitch Black,” I liked him. He takes this Carter Verone role and runs with it – has fun with it. Ludacris. Ludacris is Ludacris. Not over the top, yet a role that allows him to be the cat that he is. Its not a huge role, but every screen time with him had the audience reacting. In fact, Tyrese and Ludacris had the most audience reaction, especially from the ladies during the gratuitous Tyrese shirt removal scene.
And for the guys there’s Eva Mendes. Whew. She’s just fuckin hot. ‘Nuff said.
As I stated before, this film is entertaining. I had a good time. The people who sat around me had a good time. The soundtrack adds to the energy and gets the audience moving. No, it’s not gonna bring home any awards, but it will bring home the bacon. With tonight’s audience reactions as a premonition, “The Fast and the Furious” will once again take it to the bank.
Final score: Sacramento 105, Washington 99...
Erik.
Had to slip in a plug for the home team, eh, Erik? I’ll let you get away with it to say thanks for writing in, and for actually being able to construct a sentence. I appreciate it more than you can imagine.
"Moriarty" out.
