Vin Diesel is missed but Tyrese Gibson and Ludacris add some decent star power as does Eva Mendes (a surprising amount of female leads in this films went on to stuff eg Mendes, Gail Gadot).
The basic story isn't as strong because it doesn't have the personal component. Paul Wallker and Gibson were childhood friends but fell out when Gibson went to prison - but there's no real betrayal, no deception, no woman who comes between them. They kiss and make up pretty quickly. Walker's romance with Mendes is undeveloped.
Interesting characters like Devon Aoki and Ludacris look like they're going to do stuff but then have relatively minor roles. Why don't they kill off a support character to give it some heft? It's like the film is too scared of conflict.
It's bright and colourful with some decent car action. The finale with all the street racers becoming involved is quite rousing and I like the car driving on to a boat. But the bit I remember is Gibson asking Walker about "the guy he let go in LA"... because that had emotional stakes lacking here.
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