2 Fast 2 Furious

After the success of The Fast and the Furious, particularly on DVD, there was bound to be a sequel. 2 Fast 2 Furious is that sequel and, continuing in the same vein, it blatantly targets the rev head in all of us. What are the ingredients for making a decent sequel? Retaining the main stars is important, in this case Paul Walker shows up again, but sadly Vin Diesel does not return. Apparently there were two scripts written, the second catering for Vin Diesel’s refusal to return.

In an attempt to try and better the first film, a lot more money has been spent. There are more explosions, more cars, more half dressed women and more action. Director John Singleton (Boyz 'n' the Hood) was recruited and, apart from Paul Walker, none of the original cast’s services were required. Newcomer Tyrese was brought in to be the partner of our main character and all I can say is buckle up for another fun ride.

Someone stabbed me with a comb and my hair exploded!

The story picks up a short time after the original ended. This DVD release even offers a prelude type short film to fill in the gaps (more about that in the extras section). Not to give too much away, but our hero has been a fugitive and is finally picked up by the customs department. They are desperately trying to arrest drug baron Carter Verone (Cole Hauser), but have so far been unable to place him in the same place as his money. They have managed to put an undercover cop in with the bad guy, the voluptuous Monica Fuentes (Eva Mendes). Verone needs two drivers to transport his money so the customs agency offer Walker the chance of a clean sheet if he cooperates. Of course he agrees, but insists his childhood friend Roman Pearce (Tyrese), currently under house arrest, is also offered the same clean sheet deal.

"Loser walks home."

After a test of ability, both are recruited to be drivers for Verone. To cut a long story short and to not give away any of the “plot�, a series of car chases, explosions and scantily clad women follows, building up to the ultimate finale. Yes it may be a predictable formula, but it's what the punter expects.

Of course this is standard clothing for late night drag racing!

If you are expecting a great script, quality acting and an in-depth plot then you've come to the wrong place. Like its predecessor, this is a no brain required action film. There are more police cars wrecked than in all the Smokey and the Bandit films combined, plot holes are massive and the acting is merely adequate. This is all fine though for this genre, the important thing is are there plenty of action sequences? And the answer to that is an emphatic yes! Action takes up the majority of this film's running time and this action is very impressive. Special effects are well produced to deliver some edge of the seat sequences, even though they may seem a little ridiculous.

The loss of Vin Diesel is a major downside to this film, however the inclusion of Tyrese as the humorous sidekick is a welcome one. He steals the show from his counterpart and although only a rookie actor, he does what he is supposed to do and that is to be the cool black guy with the attitude. There are a few annoyances in the film, the main one for this reviewer was the use of the word “bro�. It seemed to be thrown on the end of every line at one point. There are even different pronunciations of the word, even spelt differently on the subtitles, “breh� being an example. I’m sure this won’t annoy everyone, but it did me. Plot holes are another annoyance, you can’t help but think that if the bad guy used one of his goons to transport his money, he would never be at risk of being caught. All in all, though, the plot is not that important here.

and they're off!

There are another couple of positives from the film, well for this reviewer anyway. The big disappointment in The Fast and the Furious was the exclusion of muscle cars, except for the one that Vin Diesel drove at the end. Thankfully, this time a couple of American muscle cars get a starring role. The Japanese import cars are the stars, but it is pleasing to see a bit of real muscle there this time around. It seems the producers really know their market and have done all they can to satisfy them. There are more women than you can poke a stick at (one of the main characters looks like a real life anime character), the number of cars on show is tenfold that of the first film and the action sequences take up the majority of the film. This all equates to a winning formula, so as long as you don’t expect any depth of plot, character development or an intriguing script, then this film is just the ticket. So, enjoy it for what it is, a fun action film.

Presented in an aspect ratio of 2.35:1 and 16:9 enhanced, this transfer looks very nice, close to reference quality in fact. Picture is generally very sharp with only a couple of minor instances of grain. Colours are superb with excellent depth of blacks. Shadow detail is also terrific and film artefacts are absent. There are no signs of aliasing and only the occasional edge enhancement to contend with.

Vin making a cameo? Sadly no.

There are a ton of subtitles available and the English ones sampled were reasonably accurate. The layer change occurs at 70:13 and is extremely intrusive, coming mid-dialogue. It was obviously very important to the producers that this film looks good and thankfully, this transfer does it justice.

Audio is available in a choice of English and Hungarian Dolby Digital 5.1 surround, with the English one sampled being close to reference quality. Dialogue is clear throughout and the pumping musical soundtrack is well balanced, never drowning out any action or dialogue. Directional effects are pumped through all speakers, giving a feel of really being in the action. The subwoofer gets a solid workout throughout and on occasion virtually bounces across the floor. This is an action packed film and although the video quality must be good to project this, the sound needs to back it up and this track does that wonderfully.

Quite a few extras accompany this release, all of decent quality. From the main menu, the viewer has the option of selecting from either Brian’s, Roman’s or Suki’s car. Each of these will lead to the main feature, language options and bonus material, but each also offers extras specific to that particular character - more about those later.

Turbo Charged Prelude
This feature is a short film that shows the events between the end of the first film and the beginning of this one. It runs for 6:13 and is a great inclusion to quickly get the viewer up to speed.

Inside 2 Fast 2 Furious
Running for 10:03, this featurette is basically a promotional piece showing highlights of the film with interviews from some of the cast and crew.

Feature Commentary with Director John Singleton
This is a reasonably interesting commentary from the director describing what he was aiming for with this film. It is a scene specific commentary so can become a little tiresome, but generally offers some interesting points about the film.

Deleted Scenes
With a running time of 6:07, these deleted scenes are introduced by the editors who give reasons as to why they were removed from the final feature. There's nothing too mind blowing here, but they are reasonably interesting.

Outtakes
Running for a brief 2:44, this collection of bloopers features the cast goofing around and messing up lines.

Tricking Out a Hot Import Car
This unusual extra shows how by spending a mere US$50,000 after purchasing your car, it too can be tricked up to be like the cars featured in the film. It’s not just about making the car fast, either, it includes making the car look good. Not to mention the ear bleed-inducing sound gear that is added as well. This featurette runs for 3:22.

Supercharged Stunts
This is a detailed look at a major stunt from the film, showing every detail of how this was achieved. It runs for 5:29 and offers some good behind the scenes information, should you ever want to try this at home.

Making Music With Ludicris
This featurette looks at the making of the music video featured in the film from hip-hop and film debutant Ludicris. It runs for 5:00 and although the actual finished video clip is not included in the extras, the majority of the clip can be seen here.

Animated Anecdotes
This is a trivia track which when selected will display interesting trivia throughout the main feature.

DVD-ROM Features
Is it just me or does anyone else have trouble with these DVD-ROM extras placed on discs these days? All I seem to be able to do is install the player and actually watch the feature. Once you click on the DVD-ROM features button, it simply tells you that you need a DVD-ROM to access them – duh! Even using Windows Explorer to look at the contents of the disc failed to show me what was on there.

As stated earlier, dependent upon which character's car you selected, there are character specific extras available and these are as follows...

Spotlight on Paul Walker
This is a brief look at the starring actor. It runs for 2:18 and pretty much tells the viewer how wonderful he is.

The Ride
Referring, of course, to the car of our hero, this featurette looks at the Mitsubishi Lancer Evo VII and how it was enlisted for the film and modified to suit the character. It runs for 4:13 and rev heads will be drooling.

Driving School
Each character has this feature as an extra. It basically looks at their time at driving school in preparation for their roles. This one runs for 2:46 and shows how much of a car lover the actor really is.

Spotlight on Tyrese
This is a brief look at the actor in his first starring role. It runs for 2:17 and much like its predecessor for Paul Walker, it tells the viewer how wonderful Tyrese is.

The Ride
This featurette looks at the sporty Mitsubishi Eclipse Spyder Convertible and how it was enlisted for the film and modified to suit the character. It runs for 2:38 and, again, rev heads will be drooling.

Driving School
It is Tyrese’s turn at driving school and he shows his “skill� in this area. This one runs for 2:46 and offers some humour.

Spotlight on Devon Anki
This is a brief look at the actor in her first major role. It runs for 2:25 and shows how she was selected for this role, mainly due to her anime likeness.

The Ride
This featurette looks at the shocking pink Honda S2000 driven by the character and how it was selected for the film and modified to suit. It runs for 2:26 and will please the female rev heads out there.

Driving School
For someone who had never driven prior to winning this role, the actress shows how she achieved the perception in the film that she is a veteran driver. This one runs for a brief 1:48.

I cannot emphasise this enough, this is a fun, action packed sequel that follows the same formula as its predecessor. It lacks the presence of Vin Diesel, but he is not really missed as the cars are the stars here. The video and audio are superb and there are a ton of extras. So buckle up, put the brain into neutral and enjoy the ride!