2 Fast 2 Furious (Commonly known as 2F2F, and known as Wild Speed X2 in Japan) is a 2003 film that is the second installment of The Fast and the Furious film series, following 2001's The Fast and the Furious. It stars Paul Walker, Tyrese Gibson, Eva Mendes, Devon Aoki and Chris 'Ludacris' Bridges; and was directed by John Singleton. The soundtrack was composed by David Arnold.
Paul Walker returns as former cop Brian O'Connor who teams up with his ex-con pal Roman Pearce (Tyrese). The duo transport a shipment of dirty money for shady Miami-based import-export dealer Carter Verone (Cole Hauser), while working with undercover agent Monica Fuentes (Mendes) to bring Verone down.
The total production budget of the film was approximately US$76 million, with estimated marketing costs of US$40 million. The total running time is 101 minutes, with an MPAA rating of PG-13.
Plot
Brian O'Connor (Paul Walker), the disgraced cop from the first film, is on the run because he let Dominic Toretto (played by Vin Diesel) escape. He comes to Miami to start a new life. Here he makes new friends Tej Parker (Chris 'Ludacris' Bridges) an ex-street racer and well-known car tuner Jimmy (Jin) as well as Suki (Devon Aoki) - also a street racer. O'Connor is now known by his street name "The Bullet", and competes with fellow street racers in high stakes races to win money utilizing the skills he learned as a member of Toretto's now disbanded team.
One night after winning a race, he is caught by US Customs agents after his car is disabled by the fictional harpoon-like ESD (Electronic Disruption Device) that is deployed by US Customs Agent Markham (James Remar). He is arrested and his former boss FBI Agent Bilkins makes a deal with him saying that if he accepts to take part in a mission, his criminal record will be wiped clean.
O'Connor and Bilkins then travel to Barstow, California where O'Connor proposes the deal to his childhood friend and ex-con Roman Pearce (Tyrese). Together their mission involves working undercover as street racers for a South American (Argentine) drug lord - Carter Verone (Cole Hauser), with help from Monica Fuentes (Eva Mendes) an undercover U.S. Customs agent who becomes Carter's love interest. They win a highly charged "audition" race and strike a deal with Verone, who stated, "Drive the package to the Keys and I'll personally hand over 100Gs($100,000) at the finish line". Roman Pearce requests that the prize be $100,000 for both himself and O'Connor.
This leads to several scuffs and car sequences throughout the movie, along with some spectacular car races. During the course of the movie O'Connor and Pearce begin to realize the major trouble they are in and ask Tej to arrange a race for "pink slips" with two of the racers from the audition race earlier in the movie; O'Connor and Pearce win Korpi's 1969 Yenko Camaro and Darden's 1970 Challenger R/T.
Later on that night O'Connor and Pearce arrive at Verone's nightclub so Verone can "persuade" a police detective named Whitworth into keeping the local police away from O'Connor and Pearce so they may transport the money (which involves using a champagne bucket to cover a huge rat on Whitworth's chest and using a blow torch to have the rat scratch and bite Whitworth). The next morning they embark on the mission in their Mitsubishis with Verone's money in the trunks and two of his henchmen riding along. During the transportation of Verone's money the corrupt Detective Whitworth calls in the army of police units he has waiting nearby. During the chase they lead the police to a warehouse complex. The police surround the front of the garage area so O'Connor's and Pearce's street racer friends create a "scramble" diversion allowing O'Connor and Pearce to sneak away in the Camaro and Challenger continuing their mission. First to be driven out from the garage were 4 new Dodge Rams to ram the police cars, then hundreds of cars, including O'Connor and Pearce. As the drama unfolds, Verone tries to escape aboard his yacht after informing Monica that he knew she was an undercover U.S. Customs agent. While aboard the yacht he scolds her on her slip-up for informing U.S. Customs agents about Verone's intention to flee the country via a secluded airfield. The finale occurs with O'Connor's Camaro jumping off of a nearby ramp and landing on the top of the yacht to save Monica. At the end Verone is arrested and the duffle bags carrying his drug money are recovered, save for an undisclosed amount having been secretly stolen by both O'Connor and Pearce.
Cast
- Paul Walker - Brian O'Connor
- Tyrese Gibson - Roman Pearce
- Eva Mendes - Monica Fuentes
- Cole Hauser - Carter Verone
- James Remar - Markham
- Ludacris - Tej Parker
- Devon Aoki - Suki
Featured cars
Featured cars in 2 Fast, 2 Furious include:
| Car | Color | Year | Driven by | Condition/Fate in Film |
| Mitsubishi GTO | Red | 1995 | Brian O'Connor | Appears only in the "Turbo-charged Prelude" short film; Brian uses it to escape from L.A. and head east, winning several races on the way. It was spotted by police parked outside a motel and is most likely impounded. Brian replaces this with the Skyline. |
| Skyline GT-R (GT-BNR34) | Seafoam Metallic | 2002 | Brian O'Connor | Appears in original color in the "Turbo-charged Prelude" short film; Brian purchases it after losing the Mitsubishi GTO to it being seized by local police. Races it once then repaints it in House of Kolor Platinum Pearl, then drives it the rest of the way to Miami. |
| Toyota Supra Mark IV RZ JZA80 | Bronze Metallic | 1995 | Slap Jack | Crashed through Pepsi billboard after bridge jump; Cosmetic, suspension/tire & gearbox damage; Apparently fixed and repaired in time for warehouse scramble scene |
| Honda S2000 | Pink with Asian graphics | 2003 | Suki | Jumped; Cosmetic damage and smashed radiator. Apparently fixed and driven by two of Suki's friends in warehouse scramble scene. |
| Mazda RX-7 FD3S | Red | 1993 | Orange Julius | Still in one piece by the time of the warehouse scramble. |
| Skyline GT-R (GT-BNR34) | House of Kolors Platinum Pearl with Blue Graphics | 2002 | Brian O'Connor | Heavy Cosmetic, Cooling and Electronic Damage. Disabled by a fictional police electronic distruption device; Impounded |
| Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution VII | Lime Gold | 2003 | Brian O'Connor | Front air dam damage by boat yard gate post and ESD damage on left rear door; used by Tej to mislead police after warehouse scramble scene. |
| Mitsubishi Eclipse Spyder | Metallic Purple | 2003 | Roman Pearce | Still in one piece; used by Suki to mislead police after warehouse scramble scene. |
| Dodge Viper SRT-10 | Yellow | 2003 | Unknown thug #1 | Drove away after police showed up at boat yard. |
| Chevrolet Corvette Convertible | Dark Grey | 2002 | Unknown thug #2 | Wrecked and Flipped on Interstate after colliding with red Saleen S281 Mustang (see below). |
| Saleen S281-E Mustang | Red | 2003 | Unknown thug #3 | Flattened by semi-trailer's rear wheels after attempting to follow Brian and Roman between two Semi-Rigs and then hit by C5 Chevrolet Corvette Convertible afterward. |
| BMW 3-Series 318is Widebody Coupe | Black | 1995 | Unknown thug #4 | Unsuccessful merge attempt on offramp resulting in collision with water barrels with probable light to moderate cosmetic damage. |
| Ferrari 360 Modena | Red | 1999 | Carter | Minor Damage -- Driver-side window smashed by Roman. |
| Dodge Ram | Light Brown w/ custom Louis Vuitton pattern | 2003 | Tej | Appears at Tej's Garage and the street race between Brian, Roman, Korpi, and Darden |
| Acura NSX | Light Brown w/ custom Louis Vuitton pattern | 2000 | Tej | Still in one piece at Tej's Garage |
| Chevrolet-Yenko Camaro | Lemans Blue | 1969 | Korpi then Brian O'Connor at the end of the movie | Jumped onto Boat by Brian -- Wrecked |
| Dodge Hemi Challenger R/T | Go Mango Orange | 1970 | Darden then Roman Pearce at end of movie | Rammed into SUV by Roman -- Wrecked |
| Toyota MR2 Spyder | Various | 2001 | Unknown Drivers | Unknown |
Critical reception
2 Fast 2 Furious was mixed, scoring a "Rotten" 38% on Rotten Tomatoes. A.O. Scott of the New York Times called it "among the most lethargic action movies I have ever seen", while Richard Roeper said "Director John Singleton [goes] through the paces with a story that was old by the second season of Miami Vice.
Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun-Times, however, gave the movie a positive review, remarking: "It doesn't have a brain in its head, but it's made with skill and style and, boy, is it fast and furious."
