They actually made enough money from this POS for a sequel?

Rating: 4/10 (24 September 2003)

POSSIBLE SPOILERS AHEAD. YE BE WARNED!
I expected stupid action, but with the emphasis on the "action" part of that phrase. The director took this movie in so many directions that I think he got lost somewhere. The "plot" twists were stuck on at random in a misguided attempt to add depth to this puddle. Lose the undercover cop thread completely or actually do something with it, beef up the Tran rivalry or drop that too, add to the romantic interest, tone down the macho a**hole rivalry between the meat-head and the new guy (or at least make her a bit sympathetic to the poor loser who obviously has had a crush on her since they were kids), make the kid do a bit more to prove himself, add a couple more driving scenes with some turns instead of just straight-line acceleration, and you might just have a decent movie.
Of course, it would be a close copy of "Point Break" (substitute drivers for surfers, Vin Diesel for Patrick Swayze) with DriveTime(tm) special effects lifted from "Driven" and a plot that would make "Gone in 60 Seconds" look profound, but it would be more watchable. I found myself actually checking my watch several times. I made it through "Pleasantville" with only a couple of watch checks. Whoo. Yay. They hit the nitrous buttons...yet again. How thrilling.
Almost the only good scenes in the movie were due to the real street-racer extras who lent this movie some badly needed fun. Hotties and tricked-out cars as eye candy were great bonuses. The fast driving scenes were also well done, but a bit sparse. There was more driving around town than driving fast and furiously. Oh, and was I the only person who thought the method for hijacking the semis was unnecessarily complicated, dangerous, and stupid? Good driving = cool; but the harpoon gun = puuhlease! "Gee, what an excellent way to get dragged to death under a speeding semi! Where do I sign up for that?"