Stars Paul Walker, Tyrese Gibson, Cole Hauser, Eva Mendes, Chris ‘Ludacris’ Bridges, Devon Aoki, James Remar and Thom Barry Directed by John Singleton The inevitable sequel sees the return of Paul Walker’s character, Brian O’Conner, now a fugitive from justice given how things ended in the previous instalment. Despite his current status, he hasn’t wandered too far from the street racing culture even if he’s in a whole other city. Plot-wise, it’s more of the same as O’Conner has to go undercover again even if he’s not quite a cop anymore. At least there is a clear cut reprehensible bad guy here, played with relish by Cole Hauser. One thing director John Singleton does here is to highlight the practical stunts, relying less on the CG effects, although the opening race here again relies on CG to retain the visual aesthetic that Rob Cohen established in the first movie; putting the audience into the energy of the race itself. It ends with one heck of a stunt that might seem impossible (and incredibly dangerous) to be done as a practical stunt. A majority of the car chases and actions that follow do appear to be of the practical nature, which does give this lacklustre movie some verve. Plot-wise, it’s a decent action flick that you’d probably notice while channel surfing, and then stick with it to the end. As a whole, it’s not any different from the numerous cookie-cutter cop thrillers where the undercover hero goes after some drug-dealer or the like. So, the usual tropes are there, but jacked-up with the vehicular mayhem. Walker does appear to be having fun, especially with the driving. The only returning cast member from the first movie is Thom Barry, a customs agent from the first movie, now intermediary between O’Conner and the DEA (represented by James Remar) he has to work with in this movie. The movie also brings in three new major characters. Roman Pierce (Tyrese Gibson) who is a childhood friend of O'Conner’s, tied to his past as a juvenile delinquent. Then there’s Tej (Chris Bridges) a piston-head with a garage where O’Conner gets his car fixed. Then there is the undercover DEA agent, Monica Fuentes (Eva Mendes) who O’Conner has to decide if she’s flipped or not. These three do pop up again later in the series. Along with Walker, they do seem to enjoy themselves in making the movie, which does give the movie an air of breeziness, aided by the atmosphere of Miami. The likelihood of a follow-up from here did seem unlikely without treading the same ground again. So, it was interesting that they managed to find a different tack for the next instalment. Rating: **1/2 (add 1/2 if you like vehicular stunts and action)
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