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Another Furious Ride
Next week will mark my 4th anniversary writing a movie column. I have a little something special planned for the celebration. You'll have to check back here on Friday, October 4th. I saw The Tuxedo on Monday night. I had to be kicked and dragged to the film. I had no intention of catching it. I only attended because my best friend kept babbling about Jennifer Love-Hewitt. The screenplay had landed in my hands a few months ago. After reading the first 15 pages, I sent it flying across the room never to be seen again. I had no expectations for this film. None, whatsoever. I was pleasantly surprised. I actually liked the film and laughed my ass off. Still, please don't spend $8 on it, make sure to catch it at the $2 theatre or on video. You won't regret it.
The Fast and The Furious 2 Script Review
I'm not going to hide anything, I loved The Fast and The Furious. It was #10 on my list of top ten films of 2001. I saw it twice in theatres and bought the DVD the day it came out. The film was mainly a showcase for Vin Diesel. Even though he wasn't the lead actor, he stole the spotlight. It turned him into an action star. Universal Pictures began thinking about making a franchise of that movie. They commissioned two scripts, one with Diesel's character in, the other without. When he asked for $20 million, the studio balked and greenlighted the Diesel-less version, written by Michael Brandt & Derek Haas, under the direction of John Singleton (Shaft). Shooting began earlier this month in Florida.
Our story begins in Miami, South Florida. The charismatic TEJ (Ludacris) is the kingpin of the street racing underground.
TEJ
Are you kidding? When I put out word that you wanted to race tag-team for pink slips, I might as well've said Kobe and Shaq were down here handing out the loochie. Everyone and their mama came out to see it.
One evening, after discovering he's missing one participant in his weekly race, he asks the other racers if he can replace it with just about anyone. They agree and he calls his man... Here's his intro:
Then a ROAR erupts amongst the growing crowd.
The ECLIPSE parts the crowd like Moses, and we see the reactions of the three other drivers: 'Oh Shit.'
It rolls into position, stopping perfectly at the starting line.
The CAMERA THEN RISES, revealing the driver: Brian O'Connor. Also different from before, now he oozes calm and cool. Tej walks up and they bump fists.
TEJ
What's up, Bullitt?
A kick ass entrance for Brian O'Connor (Paul Walker). He's been trying to make a name for himself in Florida after spending a year in jail and losing his badge over letting Diesel flee the scene. I won't spoil any surprise by revealing that he wins the race. There's a nice surprise little run at the end of the track. A drawbridge. It's sure to be one heck of a race... After the celebration, the feds crash the party. They're after Brian. The man behind his arrest is Agent Bilkins (Thom Barry). Remember him? He was the fed officer in the first movie that was always pissed at Brian. He offers Brian a deal: Help us bring down the biggest drug lord in Dade County and we'll give you a federal badge and wipe your slate clean. They tagged him along with Agent Pearce (Tyrese). He was demoted because of unproven claims that he might have been taking bribes. We meet him in some sort of strange demolition derby.
PEARCE
Now you gonna look at me and tell me the first chance I get, I'm gonna throw fourteen years of dreams down the drain? For some measly jack? I don't care about the money. I never have.
Their mission is simple: drug trafficker Carter Verone (Cole Hauser) is looking for two drivers for one big final drug run. The feds' contact inside is Monica Clemente (Eva Mendes) whose cover is banging Verone.
CLEMENTE
As soon as this is over I'm going back to Washington. Most people want to retire to a beach; I'll be happy if I never see a grain of sand again in my life.
She's been undercover for so long she has trouble remembering her old life, something Brian can understand. But arresting Verone won't be so easy. The trio has their work cut out for them. Oh yeah, add some spectacular chase scenes, some big-ass action and a shitload of ultra-cool cars.
Everything in this screenplay is BIGGER. The first two action scenes are larger-scale then the entire first movie. It's insane! The cars, the chases, the stunts etc... No wonder the movie is going to cost twice the original. The opening is enough to hook-up the Gen-Y audience again. On paper, it looks fantastic. John Singleton has enough visual flair to turn this puppy into one wild and crazy ride. In terms of character evolution, it's non-existing. Extremely weak. Paul Walker could probably sleepwalk during his scenes and we wouldn't even notice. His character arc in the first movie was interesting. By-the-book kid becomes part of a family, criminal no-less, and finally chooses loyalty over his principles. In this one Brian does not change at all. He remains the same 'cool' guy from beginning to end. Is he remorseful for what he did in the first film? No mention of that in the script. Concerning his past he only says:'All that's behind me. All of it'. He doesn't say anything else. Brandt & Haas basically gave the hero no motives and instead said: 'Screw whatever happened to him in the first picture, let's blow some more SHIT up'. Okay, it's going to woo the audience with the visuals but inside it's empty. Very bad move. The new characters are great but none rival Vin Diesel's Dominic. None of them really steal the spotlight. Beside the action sequences, there's not much to chew on. It reminds me of another sequel to a big summer action blockbuster. Like this project, the main star didn't make the reunion. That sequel also had a ridiculous budget and visionary bigger action-packed scenes. Wanna know which film I'm talking about? Speed 2...
Bottom line, it's going to do Furious business next summer. Unlike the first movie, this ride might run out of Diesel a little too fast.
Stay tuned...
That's all folks...
Jean-François Allaire (aka DeadPool)
Questions, comments, praise etc. Email me at deadpool@tnmc.org
Jean-François Allaire is TNMC's first columnist. At only 24 years old he has become a respected entertainment journalist, with his columns appearing in Corona's Coming Attractions and Scr(i)pt magazine. He also writes a monthly column in Screenwriters Monthly entitled 'The Last Word.' Hailing from Montreal this young writer is determined to dig up all the details on the movies before they hit your local theater. If you're part of a movie production then you really need to be talking to him.
