The Fast and Furious franchise is such a unique part of cinematic history, with each Fast and Furious movie bringing its own style of crazy to proceedings. But, that doesn’t mean that the various filmmakers behind the action movies haven’t looked to other classic movies for inspiration, and John Singleton was no different when making 2 Fast 2 Furious.
The late, great filmmaker claimed that when making the Fast sequel, he wanted it to be like Top Gun, but with cars instead of fighter jets. Speaking to ComingSoon back in 2003, Singleton described the process behind putting the high-octane sequel together, including the auditions, finding the right cars, and of course, the whole vibe of the movie.
One key element he was particularly keen to get right was the style of the racing scenes, which are so fundamental to the early Fast and Furious outings. Turns out, Singleton modelled the race scenes on the ‘80s movie Top Gun and how the fighter jets battle it out in the sky, with other references also including spaceships.
“I looked at the driving stuff the way you would look at a spaceship in a dogfight or in Top Gun when they’re fighting. Basically, you have to have people talking shit as well as driving,” Singleton explained. “People want to see the cool cars and they want to see the character, how the person reacts with the machine.”
“That’s what makes it cool,” the director added. “I did a whole lot of research with trying to figure out what people would be feeling as they watch it.”
2 Fast 2 Furious was something of a deviation from the Fast universe as we know it now, with Vin Diesel’s Fast and Furious character not even making an appearance in the 2000s movie. Instead, Paul Walker and Tyrese Gibson were the leads.
Of course, Diesel is now a mainstay in the franchise, and is currently gearing up for the Fast and Furious 10 release date. We’re sure he’s also looking at the success of Top Gun 2 right now, and thinking of ways to incorporate even wilder stunts into his movie.