Movie Reviews #61 - 2 Fast 2 Furious (2003)

Plot: Former undercover cop Brian O’Connor (Paul Walker) is brought back in by customs to catch an international drug dealer in Miami.

Review: Two years after the first film, Paul Walker came back for the terribly named 2 Fast 2 Furious, he was basically the only cast member from the first film to return. You can’t really blame them; this movie was weak and forgettable. The plot felt like they were trying to copy the first one but without any of the charm of that original film. It also had a somehow even weaker villain Carter Verone played by Cole Hauser. It’s strange as Hauser is generally a good actor, but it really felt like here he was just sleepwalking. He was supposed to be a threat and I didn't quite understand if he was meant to be a South American drug dealer, and it didn’t matter to the story anyway.

            Our hero Brian had the whole movie to himself without a strong co-lead like Vin Diesel as he did in the original. This time he has enlisted Roman Pearce played by Tyrese Gibson to help him out. Tyrese is of course completely different from Diesel, their characters are completely different, and when he was in badass mode he was a good addition to the film. However, when he started getting into 'gangsta' mode and be funny, he just did not work. His comedic antics did improve in the franchise's future sequels, but at this point he hadn’t perfected it. Eva Mendes plays a fellow undercover agent Monica Fuentes and potential love interest for Walker, unfortunately she was just there though. It felt like they needed a love interest, and that felt like that was the only reason for her to exist.

            This movie had to also shoehorn in some street racing, isn't that meant to be the point originally of The Fast And The Furious films? It didn’t make all that much sense to be honest, but at least we got Ludicrous and his crew added to the movie, they were a decent comedic addition and made the cast feel larger and more complete. At one point near the end they help orchestrate this distraction that feels like it came from a kid’s movie, with stupid cops who just aren’t cool enough to catch these smooth criminals.

            Ultimately, this movie will be forgotten not long after watching it. There were some half decent action scenes but nothing that was as good as in the first one. They tried to go bigger and crazier with some of the action but it did not have the impact that the first did and felt silly for the most part. Of course the series becomes even more insane as time goes on but they totally own it with those films, whereas here they are sheepishly trying to repeat the formula as the first one was such a big hit.

Score: 4.5/10

TV Reviews #15 - Smallville Season 1 (2001-2002)

Review: Smallville was a show that was a big deal back in the day when it first started. There hadn’t really been anything like it before, and it brought the superhero TV show back to audiences. As is customary for me, I hadn’t seen the show until recently, which is 15 years after it premiered. Did the show live up to all the hype?

            There’s no denying that Smallville was a cheesy show, it was basically Dawson’s Creek mixed with X-Files. Most of the story for this first season was based around teenage problems and the villains/monsters of the week. They seemed to be more of a distraction for Clark to deal with, rather than anything else. Many episodes begin with someone gaining or using their powers to do something bad, usually brought on by the kryptonite that landed in Smallville with Clark's arrival. The rest of the episode would be people trying to convince others that these super powered people really did have these abilities, which was essentially what almost every X-Files episode was about. The villain would somehow find out about Clark`s secret (his own abilities, which he learns throughout the season) and by the end of the episode they would accidentally get themselves killed, get amnesia or something else to keep the status quo.

Interspersed would be teen problems of Clark wanting to tell Lana how he feels, or Chloe wanting to tell Clark how she feels, or the usual teenage dramas. In that respect, I never understood what Clark saw in Lana, she’s pretty but other than that she didn’t have much personality or much else to actually offer. She also constantly questioned Clark and made a big deal about the smallest thing he would do or not do. Clark should have chosen Chloe; she was better than Lana in every way described above, they are complete opposites.

Lana is the worst

            The most interesting character of the show by far was Lex Luthor, where you know that at some point he will turn evil, but at this juncture in the series he is a good friend of Clark’s. However, you know there is a dark side to him, his relationship with his father is layered with distrust and deceit but it was also a challenge for him to rise up and better himself. Some old school Shakespearean things are absolutely at play with their dynamic as father and son.

What Lex lacks in hair he makes up in being interesting

            Finally, we have Martha and Jonathan Kent, the adoptive parents to Clark. They were the definition of the wholesome mid western American family, who prided themselves on values and hard work. Except that Jonathan would constantly lose his temper and get mad at people, most of the time it would be at Lex Luthor, for things he should not have or when people were being nice to him. Martha was the concerned mother who always worried, but of course by the end of every episode everything would ultimately turn out fine.

            The show had an innumerable amount of unintentionally hilarious moments, whether or not these moments were that way when first aired or whether it has just become that way when viewing it now. However, that was of course part of the fun of watching it for me. If you don't take it too seriously, it is actually an enjoyable experience. I’m looking forward to the future adventures in the town of Smallville and seeing where the show goes with this interpretation of Clark Kent the man who would become Superman.

Score: 7/10