Let me preface this review by saying that I have never seen Get Shorty in any form, edited or not, so my experiences with Be Cool are holding it up to the light as a stand alone film. Be Cool, from The Italian Job directory F. Gary Gray, is a tricky film to review in its own right. The film, hosting a cast of characters only second to Ocean’s Twelve, can be confusing at times, funny at others, and still rather boring through its runtime. Like a giant wheel, each scene could land on any one of the three, and that’s why you’ll, more than likely be disappointed in the end.

The film reintroduces us to Chili Palmer (John Travolta), the hit man turned movie producer is looking for a new business to get in to. When his friend, Tommy (James Woods), is gunned down by a toupee wearing Russian, Chili steps in to help Tommy’s wife run her record label. Fortunately for us, Tommy’s wife, Edie, is played by the beautiful Uma Thurman. Through the course of the movie we’ll meet an eclectic cast of misfits including Sin (Cedric The Entertainer), Raji (Vince Vaughn), and the scene-stealing Elliot (The Rock).

Be Cool manages to bring together the large cast in inventive ways, although the script doesn’t stretch things too far. Everyone has some part in the record business. Raji, who works for record-mogul Nick Carr (Harvey Keitel) is a white guy who talks like he’s black, although not really. Vaughn’s performance is commendable, he’s just must more likable when he plays characters more like him (see: Dodgeball and the upcoming Wedding Crashers). For the most part each character is playing someone we’ve seen before, Cedric The Entertainer is Cedric The Entertainer, Uma Thurman is Uma Thurman, etc.

The two stand out performances come from The Rock as the flamboyantly gay bodyguard Elliot and Andre Benjamin (one half of the hip-hop group Outkast) as Dabu. Both are given the majority of this limp-movie’s funny lines and/or bits, and make up for about half the ticket price. It’s just too bad the other half isn’t made up somewhere as well. The Rock succeeds in this film simply because he can play the part and has the charisma and class to not only make fun of his character, but make fun of his real-life self in the process. As the list of film’s the ex-wrestler has been in grows, it becomes more and more apparent just how well he can act, and how well liked he is in Hollywood. While it’s hard to say this about any wrestler, The Rock has made the jump to cinema successfully and is posed to take over the action-star reigns.

Yet, I digress…

While I normally hate to see singers cross over to film, as it usually brings laughable results, Andre 3000 does a decent job in the film, while I’m not going to be buying any Outkast CDs, or waiting for his first top-billed movie, the performers first film outing raises the bar a bit for anyone else looking forward to movie work.

Overall Be Cool is a film of missed opportunities. From the very beginning I had high hopes when Chili and Tommy started taking stabs at the film industry as a whole pointing out the clichés and well-known-facts, but after half of the first act had passed, we loose this funny satire to make way for the cliché. The only memorable moments are when Chili manages to stay cool through it all and pull a fast one on everyone else trying to kill him. If you didn’t know, John Travolta has still got it, and is as cool as ever, when he wants to be. One of the biggest missed opportunities is the dance scene between Thurman and Travolta in which everyone was waiting for a small recreation of the infamous dance scene from Pulp Fiction, instead of throwing the audience any morsel of homage, we get nothing. It’s not every year we get to see Uma and John paired up again and to waste this screen time was annoying.

I found it hard to enjoy parts of the film because it seemed to really drag on with very little of a coherent story to follow. While there are some very entertaining parts, many of them mentioned in this review, there just isn’t enough to bring the entire movie out of the range of mediocrity. Fans of Get Shorty many find something to like, but anyone who hasn’t seen the previous installment is better off waiting for the rental.

If I had a time machine and I could go back to 1999, after the release of the original Matrix, and convince the Wachowski Brothers not to make another film as long as they both lived, I would do it. The Matrix Reloaded suffered from an all flash, no substance existence when it was released back in May of this year. Critics, much like myself, saw past all the glitz and glamour of the film’s awesome special effects and found that the story became so convoluted and uninvolved that we simply were paying for a really expensive music video, or so it seemed.

The Matrix Revolutions continues on the downward trend of the series and thoroughly thrashes on the good name of the groundbreaking, original film. Revolutions is more to the point than Reloaded without such filler material as the infamously lame “Rave” scene, and inexplicably complicated vocabulary of The Architect, but in the end we get force fed so many answers the bring up twice as many questions, why even bother watching it in the first place?

Revolutions picks up directly after the events of Reloaded with Neo (Keanu Reeves) in a coma and displaced from his physical body in the real world, and the matrix. Locke (Harry Lennix) prepares for the impending battle with the machines as they breach the walls into Zion, Niobe (Jada Pickett-Smith) and Morpheus (Lawrence Fishburne) think of a way to get back to Zion and aid in the struggle for freedom. Once Neo awakens, Trinity (Carrie-Anne Moss) and he set out for the machine city where he makes a proposal to the Deus Ex Machina about a certain rogue program, Agent Smith (the awesome Hugo Weaving), detailing what will happen to both of their worlds if Smith is left unchecked.

Everything in the film sets up the final battle between Smith and Neo in a rain-drenched action sequence that rivals anything seen in the last two films, although will never compare to the amazingly intense “Lobby Scene.” For the most part Revolutions strays away from the needless battles experienced in Reloaded (the scene with 100 Agent Smiths comes to mind), but in their place the Wachowski’s finally try to bring some meaning to everything and create nothing more than a cliché, albeit mildly entertaining, storyline. The highlight of the entire film is the 20+ minute Battle for Zion with Exo-Squad inspired mechs and sentinels battling it out all while the drillers attempt to break through into the heart of the city. At least the special effects look good.

I think Warner Bros. themselves caused the damnation of the franchise by building it up so much. The original Matrix only lit up the box office with $171 million dollars domestically, a pale number when compared to Spider-Man‘s huge bow in the summer of 2002 and other films superior numbers displayed this year, namely Pirates of the Caribbean and Finding Nemo. Sure, everyone who enjoyed the first film wanted a second, but where other series set out to better themselves and create an experience that rivals that of the original (think Aliens) The Matrix resorted to the least common denominator in delivering more and more of what the people wanted, amazing special effects. The problem with this is a lot has changed in the four years since the original Matrix was released, and any number of films have either spoofed or ripped off the patented slow-motion gunplay of the Wachowski’s opening opus. Now The Matrix looks and feels tired, as though there was only enough story to fill one, maybe two, films, and they are really starting to stretch out what they are capable of doing. George Lucas has done this with Star Wars and created millions of disenchanted fans, The Matrix is no different.

Revolutions‘ biggest problem is this is suppose to be the big movie to end all movies as it wraps up one of the pinnacle trilogies ever filmed, yet when all is said and done you feel as though you have been cheated into waiting for a film you already paid for in May, and you still have nothing to show for it. Leaving The Matrix franchise to the imagination after the original film would have been much better than the images I have in my head after sitting through both Reloaded and Revolutions.

To add insult to injury everything wraps up in a neat-little-rainbow-packed package. If there ever was a Hollywood ending this is it and something that I didn’t expect. I was looking to be wowed, or at least thrown off guard with something that I didn’t expect, but instead we get a sunrise and the feeling as though two needless hours were stolen from us and one of the most prolific sci-fi franchises has been reduced to standard movie-fare with no real sense of ever needing to exist.

If there is anything to say, I am grateful that the trilogy is finally done with, and I don’t have to live with my grandiose expectations of what these films should have been. Hopefully if anyone decided to revisit the series in the future they let the appeal of these films gestate for a while before jumping back in, and if they do, be sure to bring a script rather than a whole bunch of CGI.

Not a lot can be said for sequels this summer. Getting thing started off with the above average X2 gave me hope, but everything after the disappointing Matrix Reloaded I have been wondering if it is really necessary to release 20+ sequel films during a four month period, the culmination of which holds American Wedding and the long anticipated Freddy vs. Jason. Still after the surprise hit of Pirates of the Caribbean two weeks ago I had new found faith in producer Jerry Bruckheimer. No more than 14 days later Bruckheimer’s biggest movie of the summer, a sequel, hits theaters but misses the mark.

Bad Boys II isn’t a bad movie in any sense and if I was expecting a laugh a minute comedy or a cerebral think-fest my head would have imploded several times over the course of the films somewhat bloated 2.5 hour running time. Bad Boys II is nothing more than huge explosions, awesome car chases, funny dialog, body parts flying, and slow motion head shots, and I like them all. Granted the plot is paper thin and the characters, aside from Martin Lawrence’s Marcus Burnett and Will Smith’s Mike Lowrey, are nothing more than 2D.

After September 11 the drug smugglers have found new ways of bringing illicit material into the United States on, or under, the water. Marcus and Mike have been assigned to the Tactical Narcotics Team (TNT) and begin gathering evidence against Johnny Tapia a brutal kingpin who has men hacked to pieces in his mother’s kitchen and runs drugs into the US using coffins and dead bodies as mules. Along with gathering this evidence Burnett and Lowrey participate in a high speed chase which cars crashing off of a semi, blast through a Cuban village in a Hummer, get in numerous gun fights, and kill more people than I can count. The story also opens up to envelop Marcus’ sister, Sydney (Gabrielle Union), who is later captured by Tapia and taken to Cuba. This is where the movie goes from iffy, but fun, to totally absurd. Granted we didn’t come to see an engrossing drama, but to think of a small group of men taking on a drug kingpin’s minions and the Cuban army makes your head hurt.

Other critics have called the movie a bit too excessive with the sheer amount of violence present. The ever popular slow motion head shot is a personal favorite, but just getting your skull blasted open enough, you then need to be disemboweled and disintegrated by mines. The movie doesn’t tip-toe around the effects of gunshots and bodies getting run over by cars and trains. The film is ten times more violent than it’s predecessor, which may turn a few people off.

The special effects and stunt work used in the film is top notch. The freeway chase towards the beginning of the film looks great, real cars or not, you won’t find a better chase sequence this side of Reloaded. Also of note is the Hummer barreling down a hill in Cuba where buildings are destroyed left and right and cleverly placed cameras give the whole chase a very cinematic feel. The cinematography in Bad Boys II is excellent with wide, panning shots, or the Bruckheimer norm, slow-motion tight shots of the main characters.

Smith and Lawrence play off each other’s characters very, very well. The movie provides a wealth of laughs at the expense of a certain white power group and a humorous trip to the boss’ house. I won’t spoil any of the jokes but the funny definitely doesn’t spare on the laughs, and then throws in a few more head shots for good measure.

Bad Boys II does try to be anything more than it is, which is good, but what it ends up being is a brain-cell killing event that gives us plenty of eye candy but very little substance to back it up. Then again the last time Michael Bay gave us substance I had to sit through Pearl Harbor. If you have two and a half hours to kill and don’t mind a bit of blood being spilled Bad Boys II offers a very cinematic, fun experience if you aren’t looking to be intrigued, only wowed.

Forget any misguided preconceptions about this movie based on the fact it came from a ride of the same name at the Disneyland Resort. Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl, aside from having a really long name, stands out as one of the best movies of the summer and showcases some of the best acting performances all year.

You wouldn’t think that a live action Disney movie would be anything more than slapstick comedy intertwined with lame dialog, horrible special effects, and bottom of the barrel storytelling. Pirates is different. This isn’t the crap-fest that The Mighty Ducks turned into, The Curse of the Black Pearl is Disney’s first PG-13 movie released under the Walt Disney Pictures banner (others have been handed off to Touchstone or Hollywood Pictures) and where you would expect a subpar script you get an incredibly fun movie brought further to live with some incredible characters.

The Curse of the Black Pearl starts off with Elizabeth Swann (Keira Knightley) and her father Governor Swann (Jonathan Pryce) sailing for Port Royale. On the way they find a small boy by the name of Will Turner (Orlando Bloom) floating on a board with a gold medallion around his neck. When the wreckage of his boat is seen burning on the water, Elizabeth takes Will’s medal, fearing the crew will take him for a pirate. Of course it only adds to the story that Elizabeth takes a liking to Will, but they are from different castes and, of course, it is never meant to be. Flash forward eight years when pirates come ashore and begin to plunder Port Royale looking for the last piece of the cursed Aztec gold. Since Elizabeth has this final piece they kidnap her Turner enlists the services of the legendary Captain Jack Sparrow (Johnny Depp), imprisoned for a daring attempt to steal a British boat, to find an island that cannot be found and rescue the women he cares for.

Pirates script goes from cliché to inspired throughout the movie. The old world classic storyline of a simple craftsman in love with a Governor’s daughter who has been proposed to by a young member of the Royal Navy stonewalls it’s way into the script. Of course this isn’t allowed because of the nature of the class system, and the fact that everyone wears funny wigs. There is also “treasure” hidden on an “island” that makes you wonder, “Where have I seen this before?” To the screenwriter’s credit the film does offer up some genuinely funny moments, most coming at the hands of Johnny Depp.

This is a Depp movie and it shows in the amazing characterization that he gives Sparrow. From the tiny twitches to the wobbling, drunken walk, Sparrow comes to life onscreen via Depp. While his performance in Edward Scissorhands may rival this one, he is clearly on mark with his better work as seen in Sleepy Hollow. The supporting cast also deserves credit for creating memorable characters in the shadow of the top-billed star. Notable among these is Geoffrey Rush’s Captain Barbossa, the mutinous first mate of Sparrow who took over his ship and left him to die on an island, twice.

Of course the real star of the film is the special effects work by Industrial Light and Magic who do an amazing job bringing the tattered rags and bones of the cursed pirates to life. From the life-like interaction with real actors to the money making scene underwater the CGI pirates leave your mouth hanging open. Like all CG it isn’t perfect, and there are times when it looks as though the computer generated antagonists are a bit too cartoony.

Director Gore Verbinski at times leaves us guessing just what direction he wanted this film to take. One one side it is based on a Disneyland ride enjoyed by all, and on the other it is a pirate movie, and pirates are not known for having you over to enjoy tea and crumpets on Sunday afternoons. It is evident that you are seeing two very different pictures inter-woven into one film. You have the comedy and one-liners on one side, the other houses a few throat slashes and sword thrusts worthy of a Jerry Bruckheimer film.

None of this severely detracts from the film because over the course of a somewhat bloated 143 minutes you have a good time, and isn’t that what movies are suppose to do? Superb performances by Depp, Rush, and Bloom make up for the nearsighted plot that doesn’t stray too far from the beaten path. Pirates of the Caribbean may be the most fun you have in a theater this year, and the nods to the ride only add to a great time.

The theater I went to see Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines in wasn’t too crowded, which was a plus. I really didn’t want a bunch of little kids screwing up the experience like the Hulk. As the credits rolled, and the all too familiar Terminator theme began to play, and I had no idea what to expect.

More than 10 years have passed since the previous Terminator hit the box office, and almost 20 years have passed since we first caught glimpse of the metal menace. This Terminator comes into the spotlight in a very different generation. Many of us who were so psyched never actually got to see the original Terminator in the theaters, and we had to sneak into the theaters thanks to older brothers or friends for the second one. As I went into the theater to sit down, I noticed that a great number of smaller children were sitting talking about the legacy of the Terminator with their parents. I guess this trilogy holds something for everyone.

In this third helping of flesh and metal, we find ourselves in the present time. After sending Arnold back the second time to destroy the T-1000 and avert John Connor’s death, it seems that August 29th, 1997 was just another day in time. There was no nuclear war, the lab containing SkyNet was destroyed, and John (Nick Stahl) lived to tell about it. However, John has now had to break contact with most of the world, becoming a drifter, still fearing the nightmares of Judgment Day. The opening scenes are very reminiscent of the previous two terminators. A big bubble, a lot of lightning, and a naked machine emerges into an unsuspecting public. However, instead of seeing a naked Arnold Schwarzenegger or Robert Patrick, we get the eye candy that is Kristanna Loken. After making her first kill, nabbing a Lexus and using only a cell phone and her voice to access the LA Unified School District database, she sets out on her mission. Our metallic hero has a bit more comedic entrance, as he attempts to find suitable clothing in a bar which is featuring a ladies night complete with male strippers. As the two cyborgs begin their missions, an injured John finds himself at an animal hospital where he is cornered and caged by Kate Brewster (Claire Danes). Miraculously, both terminators end up at the hospital at the same time, where it turns out they are both after John and Kate. Of course, that is the cue to run. Arnold grabs both of them and drives off, trying to outrun the new female T-X.

I admit, I really wasn’t looking for much out of this movie. For me, it had a lot riding against it. It’s hard to make 3 really good action packed movies with a decent story. It’s also hard to wait 10 years in between movies; public interests can change, making it hard to continue a story that had originated so many years before. And with out the direction of James Cameron and the acting talents of Linda Hamilton or Edward Furlong, the movie wouldn’t feel the same. However, many of these fears were squelched in the nearly 2 hours running time of the movie. Nick Stahl made a decent John Connor. I do wish Ed Furlong would have played him again, I kind of miss the whiny John over the dark John. Claire Danes was a good female counterpart, being the whole first-whiny-then-sort-of-badass type of character. She’s got a good set of screaming lungs too, and she proves many times throughout the movie. Kristanna Loken was definitely an eye pleasing terminator, I wouldn’t have minded getting blasted by her plasma cannon. Her facial expressions, or lack thereof, made her all the better character. Whether she was pounding Arnold into walls, or getting crushed by helicopters, or walking down the street naked, the blank effortless look on her face really helped her character. For some reason I was disappointed on how scary of a terminator she was. Robert Patrick’s T-1000 still scares the bejeebus out of me with that look of his, however the Terminatrix just wasn’t as scary. I suppose that was because I am older and that sort of thing isn’t as scary, or maybe it was because I was rarely starting at her face.

The element that absolutely made this movie for me was the visual effects. Never before in these movies was the superhuman strength of the terminators so well portrayed. In the first and second Terminators, Arnold’s strength was portrayed with throwing people through windows and taking bullets in the back. In this one, it’s shown by him being dragged through an entire building while hanging onto a speeding crane truck. It’s shown by him and the TX picking each other up, and violently throwing each other through walls, into toilets, and other breakable objects. The fight scenes between the two terminators were the best I’ve seen, and director Jonathan Mostow’s use of computer graphics was wonderfully executed, and did not interfere with the movie’s realness.

As in many movies, there were a few dislikes I had. The vast majority of them circle around that the movie was too short. Since when was a Terminator movie going to fall short of two hours? I would have gladly have sat in that theater another 40 minutes to get more character development and more action, but I guess I’ll have to wait for the T3 Super Secret Special Edition release of the DVD to get that. A few plot holes got in the way a bit, but nothing major.

All in all, it was probably the best movie of the summer yet. This summer has been somewhat of a letdown with less the than stellar Matrix and Hulk movies. Here, almost halfway through the summer blockbuster season, we come to our first big hitter. While it does have its flaws, as many movies do, it definitely was just about the best movie I’ve gone out to see this summer, although I haven’t seen 28 Days Later yet…

The original Charlie’s Angel blasted on to the scene in November 2000 and popped the box office for $40.1 million dollars. Not a bad sum for a remake of a 1970’s TV show and director McG’s first gig. Now the angels are back in Full Throttle a movie that promised to be bigger, faster, sexier, and better than the original which set the precedents for campy action movies. Unfortunately it doesn’t appear as though the new film is firing on all cylinders.

Charlie’s Angels was a cheesy action movie that featured over the top stunts, post-Matrix slow motion martial arts, and a story that caused a major disassociation from reality, but it had charm. Full Throttle tries to embark on the sequel road by taking everything that work from the first film and building upon it, but some of the stuff that they believe worked didn’t need a 10 minute exposé. McG tries really hard to rekindle the magic felt in the original, but most of the time he goes too far resorting to dance numbers and far too many excuses for the girls to dress up in skimpy clothing and defy the laws of physics.

The story begins in Mongolia where the angels have been entrusted to rescue Ray Carter (Robert Patrick) one of two men holding the keys to the Witness Protection Program. The movie plays out from here as a cheesy knock off of the original Mission Impossible where undercover agents (here, protected witnesses) could be exposed if the keys fell into the wrong hands. When Natalie (Cameron Diaz), Dylan (Drew Barrymore), Alex (Lucy Liu), and Bosley (Bernie Mac) are confronted with a new problem associated with the keys (which happen to be titanium rings) the trail leads them to a man from Dylan’s past, Thin Man (Crispin Glover), and fallen angel Madison (Demi Moore).

Through the thinly laced plot McG does offer some awesome visuals and fight sequences that boggle the mind, while entertain it. Let it be known, Full Throttle isn’t a thinking man’s movie, in fact watching it could actually cause your IQ to diminish, but to see scantily clad females washing cars and dancing around in Pussycat outfits would you give up a few brain cells?

The best part of the film is Bernie Mac’s Bosley which offers up both the comic relief and highest caliber acting, and while I respect Bernie Mac’s talents, that isn’t saying a whole lot. At best the film is a glorified music video, making former vid director McG feel right at home. And while I like slow motion action as much as the next guy, being a devoted fan of McG’s “Fastlane,” some of the stunt work in Full Throttle appears to hamper the progression of the film more than ease it along. The first hour plays out, as the angels try and locate the rings, as nothing more than a series of clips with blaring rock music and shameless cameos from Bruce Willis, the Olsen Twins, and Pink (who is never allowed in a movie again).

The most hyped point of the entire film is the return of Demi Moore, but she is in the film for nearly 15 minutes tops and looks as though the F/X buffs at ILM couldn’t quite get that skin looking natural enough. Hulk jokes aside, her role in the film is minor at best and only seems to serve as a gateway for something to go on her resume this century.

Full Throttle isn’t anywhere near a bad film, but the charm and fun set up by the first are sorely lacking in this cash-cow-beating follow-up which seems to appeal to something other than your brain. I’m all for leading ladies in action roles where they can kick ass but three spontaneous dance numbers, a very limited two minute appearance by Thin Man (one of the shinning parts of both films), and a general lack of anything but a cliché ploy to get women to remove clothes hurts the standing of the film as a campy, yet enjoyable experience. You know you want to see it for certain reasons, and you will love what is in there, but when you stand back and take another look the only thing passing through your mind is where the thing is you use to dig food, and that can’t be good.

For all of you that saw The Fast and the Furious, good for you, you saw a great movie that has nothing to do with it’s stupidly titled sequel, 2 Fast 2 Furious. It seems that every letter of the alphabet included in a movie’s title costs distributors money, maybe there isn’t a premium on numbers, yet. Regardless of the kindergarten title, 2 Fast 2 Furious does excel in many areas that require you to put your brain aside and replace it with a squished orange to get the needed effect created by the chase sequences, shoot-outs, and general disregard for the English language. That response is you drooling over yourself in anticipation of which law of physics the cars will break next. Yet, none of this matters as it doesn’t detract from the fun you will have watching such a harmless movie.

Be warned anyone entering with the expectations of a Fight Club or The Matrix you will be very, very disappointed. Even patrons entered with the expectation 2 Fast is comparable to its predecessor will find themselves somewhat disappointed by the hack-job editing and so-so direction, but you don’t go see a movie like this for drama and award winning performances. You are here to see hot girls on hot cars and you get plenty of both.

2 Fast 2 Furious moves the racing scene from LA to sunny Miami where disgraced cop Brian O’Conner (Paul Walker) is a big man in the scene. Pulling in thousands of dollars a night by showing up other racers with his Skyline (and it is one hot car). When Brian is nabbed by his former employers (that crazy FBI guy from the first movie) he is given the cliché choice. Work for US Customs and the FBI to bring down drug runner Carter Verone (Cole Hauser) or go to jail for his actions in both LA and Miami. Obviously Brian chooses the latter or this would be 2 Fast 2 Jail and not much fun to watch as inmates race around the shower-room power sliding to avoid getting their clutched popped.

Coming along for the ride is model turned singer tuned actor Tyrese playing Roman Pierce, one of Brian’s old buddies from the ‘hood, apparently they have those in surfer towns, and Agent Monica Clemente (Eva Mendes) who may or may not have flipped in the presence of Verone. Also showing up is model turned actress (and I use that term very loosely) Devon Aoki who looks like her face was attacked by a hive of killer bees and swelled up to the size of a bag of potatoes. If you think she looks bad, wait till she talks. A paper bag and a muzzle might come in handy with this one. Through this loosely based chain of events that director John Singleton calls “plot” we find out that Verone needs two drivers to run drug money for him and, surprise, Roman and Brian get the call.

As a film being analyzed by the harshest critic it is absolutely horrible. A movie plagued with quick editing cuts, very bad direction, lack of a real staple character, and the list goes one. Yet, when you look at it from a person who obviously has had a few too many brain cells killed off you find that there is a certain charm to watching $100,000 dollar cars you will never be able to afford race around on screen and defy the laws of physics.

2 Fast, in all actuality, is no where near a bad film, but it is even farther from a good one. If you want to have a good time enjoying yourself and making fun of what is happening on screen this movie will do just that for you. Don’t expect a cerebral action spectacular, but do expect to be fulfilled on the promise of lollypop girls in shiny expensive cars and enough product placement and promotion to make a person sick to their stomach. Really, when was the last time you saw a Pepsi billboard, and what are the odds of a car crashing into it?

Without a brain 2 Fast 2 Furious excels past the finish line, but those with one should expect to loose a piece of it. You can also expect to have a good time viewing a film that doesn’t try to be anything more than it really is.