2 Fast 2 Furious, the sequel to 2001's unexpected hit The Fast and the Furious, was abandoned by its original team -- most notably star Vin Diesel and director Rob Cohen. It found itself falling into the lap of John Singleton, who has decidedly done the wise thing and made the movie his own.

One might say Singleton was lucky to have been handed the reins to a relatively bewildering franchise. No one could pinpoint the reasons for the success of the first film, which was basically a modest B-movie that caught fire with the summer audience and left the critics commending its real-life stunt-driving and not much more. Why did it do well? Was it Vin Diesel, who went on to be hyped as this decade's new hot action star? Was it Paul Walker, who was modeling his rising star on the path taken by Keanu Reeves? Was it just the fast cars, the depiction of the street-racing scene, and the multi-cultural cast? Whatever it was, no one can surely say, which means Singleton was under no pressure to duplicate a formula.

Better still, he was under no pressure to duplicate a style. Cohen's direction of the first movie was arguably its biggest weakness. The Fast and the Furious got by on its stunts and, for me, anyway, that representation of ethnic diversity. Weighing it down was a cheesy dramatic ponderousness that seemed to be asking its viewers to take it seriously. Meanwhile, 2 Fast 2 Furious doesn't even take itself seriously, let alone ask its audience to. It's about as lightweight as a cars-and-crime action movie should be. Even the scripted dramatic tensions between its two leads, Walker and Diesel-replacement Tyrese, is played up onscreen for humor; contrast that with the first movie's angst-ridden attempts at male-bonding, and you can reasonably surmise the word "heavy-handed" was deemed an epithet on the set.

This works out well for a summer breeze of a flick. Walker looks like he's having more fun this time -- a plus for any occasion -- and Tyrese is a natural piece of walking charisma. These are just bonuses, though -- the real stars are the cars. The movie wastes no time getting into the action, and almost any excuse is used to set up for the next racing set piece. 2 Fast 2 Furious seems almost reluctant to have a plot -- with its fluorescent cars, an abundance of hot bods, and general party attitude, it really wants to be a music video, with racing instead of music.

Alas, with this popcorn-light agenda comes natural mental distancing -- one can get into the glossy action for as long as it's playing in front of you, but no longer. Interestingly, what allows this sequel to improve upon its predecessor is exactly what keeps it from making a lasting impression. It's fun, but it's almost too popcorn, too light -- and, thematically, it has nothing to fall back on, since the novelty of the street-racing scene had long expired. This is somewhat a shame, because although this sequel is technically better made and has a better personality than the first movie, their impacts are about the same. Both do their jobs as summer diversions; but  2 Fast 2 Furious is smiling all the way through.

(Released by Universal and rated "PG-13" for street racing, violence, language and some sensuality.)

Review also posted at www.windowtothemovies.com.