They are the daredevils on loud bikes weaving through traffic at top speeds without a care in the world. Understandably a nuisance, “mat rempits” are often on the news for the wrong reasons, and sometimes for tragic ones.

Of course, it’s irrational to suggest that anyone who gets an adrenaline rush from racing is up to no good. Then again, when street racing ends up inspiring mediocre films like this Remp-It 2, perhaps it is understandable why one would take such a low view of the activity.

A sequel to the 2006 film of the same name, Remp-It 2 stars Farid Kamil as Madi; Farid also doubles up as the film’s director this time around.

Set 16 years after the events of the first film, Madi, a former street racer, has left behind his old life to live quietly and lawfully now, operating a mechanic’s workshop together with his romantic interest, Roy (Ahirine Ahirudin), and his long-time friend, Macha (Cat Farish).

Unfortunately, while he has tried to leave behind the world of street racing, the world of street racing is not yet done with him.

As it happens, his friend-turned-rival, Spark (Niezam Zaidi), has been festering in prison, longing for a rematch with Madi. With his release imminent, he longs to get back on the road to show Madi just who the better racer is.

Oh, and a young boy shows up on Madi’s doorstep claiming to be his son from a previous fling. Oopsie. Given that he’s already dealing with the re-emergence of his nemesis, the appearance of a son throws quite a few wrenches into the gears for Madi.

Apparently, the film was set for release in March 2020, but, as one might remember, that year was a race against beating a dreadful virus. Now being released in November 2022, the question one may ask is whether it was worth the long delay.

Truth be told, unless you are really, really desperate to spend the afternoon doing anything aside from idling, there really is no reason to catch this film. Whatsoever.

A melodramatic extended television drama would be one way to describe it, and at points, the production value certainly feels that way.

From a plot that has been told ad nauseam to questionable camerawork, one wonders if the film could have been improved with better direction. If you’ve seen your fair share of films, you can point out the character tropes which inevitably appear onscreen.

For the main character, you have the all-loving hero who’s trying to do right by his loved ones but cannot shake off his past. And then you have the supportive girlfriend, the goofy friend, the evil rival and his henchmen, as well as the unexpected son.

Again, plot-wise, you can pretty much predict the way the film is going to go within the first quarter or so.

The cinematography is rather inconsistent in terms of quality. It’s quite impressive during the racing scenes but that’s about it. To the film’s credit, the vehicular stunts are quite impressive and the action is framed well enough to provide audiences with a good view.

It is the emotional and dramatic scenes where the camera direction lacks focus, sometimes rather glaringly. One scene in particular involves Madi having a heart-to-heart talk with his alleged son.

It is a simple enough scene, but for some reason, there is an extraordinary number of cuts back-and-forth between the two characters. Excessive cuts are jarring enough during fight scenes, and they are far more noticeable in slower-moving scenes such as this.

The music score too seems more in line with a television production than a big screen film project. While melodramatic music during emotional scenes is fitting, blaring it away each and every time a scene comes up is quite unnecessary.

With the film’s cookie cutter characters, it feels like the actors did not have much to work with, though some are visibly doing their best with what little they have.

Perhaps a more realistic and engaging script could have been written with enough time and experience, but unfortunately, neither seems present with this film.

Should you watch this film? Well, if you like subjecting your ears to revving motorcycle engines, perhaps. Just stay for the action, ignore the drama (if you can call it that) and you should be fine.

“Remp-It 2” is currently playing in theatres nationwide.