2 Fast 2 Furious: Flashy and fun, but not much under the hood

When The Fast and the Furious was released two years ago, it burst into American pop culture like a turbocharged muscle car, attracting car connoisseurs and automobile amateurs alike. Perfectly epitomizing the average teenage mentality, the testosterone-pumped racing flick sported lots of stylish action but failed miserably at its attempts at character development and plot depth. The awkwardly named sequel continues this tradition but drops all pretenses of more meaningful subplots. And frankly, the franchise is much improved as a result.

Pretty-boy Paul Walker (The Skulls) returns as undercover cop and part-time street racer Brian O'Connor, who, since the first film, has lost his badge and drifted to the Miami speed scene. After a thrilling initial race between Brian and three new drivers, he is enlisted by the police to become a wheelman for suspected drug lord Carter Verone, played by Cole Hauser (White Oleander), an assignment that leads him to spectacular highway chases, outrageous stunts and more than a few dangerous encounters with old-fashioned slimy gangsters.

With the first film's only interesting character, the racing idol played by Vin Diesel, gone this time around, Brian is left to fill in the role of the resident king of the streets. While in the first film Brian was a naïve Anakin Skywalker at the wheel, in 2F2F he has transitioned to a seasoned Obi-Wan Kenobi, with the mere mention of his name instilling fear into his fellow racers (a pretty unconvincing reputation seeing as how Paul Walker looks more like he should be modeling Abercrombie shirts than the new Skyline GT-R). To complete his daring exploits, he finds a new partner in his wise-cracking and mildly psychotic old friend Roman Pearce, played by singer Tyrese.

Despite some over-done "street" dialogue between the two, Brian and Roman actually share some pretty interesting on-screen chemistry. Their initial hostility over some previous argument, which I didn't bother to follow, and their later competitive relationship allow for some fun teamwork and cute jokes, such as when Brian steals one of Roman's moves to use on the sexy undercover agent Monica, played by Eva Mendes (Training Day).

The other racers don't fare nearly as well. Rapper Ludacris and model Devon Aoki play street racing bookie Tej and ultra-feminine racer Suki, respectively, with all the flare and uniqueness of hilariously idiotic racial and gender stereotypes. Suki is not so much a developed supporting character, but a highly promiscuous Malibu Barbie in a hot pink Honda S2000. All in all, it seems like the writers tried so hard to make each character unique and hip that they forgot to make them believable or worth caring about in the first place.

But enough about the actors, the real stars in this movie are irrefutably the cars. Tricked out with the most elaborate engine modifications and performance enhancements outside of NASA, as well as super-flashy paint jobs covering all the colors of the rainbow, the film's cars exude at least as much personality and individual style as the characters do. Although hardcore gearheads will probably scoff at these unrealistic gas-guzzling toys (one character even quips that Brian and Roman got their cars out of a cereal box), they still look darn fun to play with.

And director John Singleton provides plenty of opportunity for these cars to play. Plotline after disposable plotline is belted out with the obviously singular purpose of getting the main characters back into their cars and into the open (and not so open) road. In fact, after the third or so undercover assignment requiring Brian and Roman to get somewhere really fast, the movie begins to seem almost videogame-esque in its mission-based functionality.

With the cars hogging so much screen time, it's a good thing that the racing scenes are worth the price of admission alone. Dramatic, jumpy camerawork creates a powerful, although nauseating, Sense of speed and controlled chaos as the expert drivers careen wildly over open drawbridges, between big rigs trucks and into billboards. However, there is only so much interesting footage you can show of people racing; close-ups on drivers with gritted teeth and a million and one shots of them shifting gears get old pretty quickly.

The racing scenes are significantly longer and more elaborate than the original's quarter-mile straightaway affairs. The cars weave around and between each other through winding courses and thick commuter traffic in exciting fashion, often dodging dozens of cop cars at a time. These types of scenes, much like the entire movie, are best enjoyed with your inner critic at home and your inner child in the front seat of the theatre. For all of you commuter car-driving, speed limit-obeying model citizens, 2 Fast 2 Furious is a fantastic thrill ride that packs a great visceral punch, although not a thoughtful one.