2. 2 Fast 2 Furious

Release Date: June 6, 2003
Starring: Paul Walker, Tyrese Gibson, Eva Mendes, Ludcaris, Cole Hauser, Michael Ealy, Mark Boone Jr., Devon Aoki, James Remar
Director: John Singelton (Boyz N the Hood)

Putting this movie so high on this list might be a surprise, but hear me out. 2 Fast 2 Furious is the prototype of what the franchise eventually became: characters we love working together to pull off an insane heist. The only difference here is that the team is missing its leader, Dom, because this was when Vin Diesel thought he might still have a serious acting career.

The dynamic between Roman and Brian is essentially the same as Dom and Brian’s from the first movie, but this time they’re surrounded by a cast of distinct personalities and beautiful scenery. It’s a testament to the success of this film that so many of its characters became part of the core team later on. Roman is far more serious and pig-headed than his character eventually became, but it’s hard to imagine the fifth or sixth films without his comic energy. The same goes for Ludacris’s Tej. He’s exactly the kind of chill, jaded smart aleck the franchise needed. Even Eva Mendes–who has far better chemistry with Walker than Brewster–made an appearance later.

What keeps the movie from being great, though, is that it makes the same mistake as Fast Five. After the opening race, the color-coded minor characters played by Devon Aoki, Michael Ealy and Amaury Nolasco disappear until the amazing scene where all the street racers flood out of garages like a swarm of bees to throw off the cops. The focus was still just too narrow at this point, but the seeds were there—especially in those final stunts. Brian and Roman literally launch a car off a normal dock and land it on top of a yacht in order to save Mendes from Cole Hauser’s drug kingpin character. It’s as impossible and silly as that chase through Rio, but the difference here is that they actually get hurt when they land. It’s almost refreshing considering the characters are essentially invincible superheroes later.

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