Rush Hour 2 (2001)

3.5 out of 4

Starring: Jackie Chan, Chris Tucker, John Lone, Zhang Ziyi, Roselyn Sanchez, Harris Yulin, Don Cheadle

Director: Brett Ratner

Time: 90 mins

The original Rush Hour was a pleasant surprise when it was released in September 1998. Being Hong Kong superstar Jackie Chan's first Hollywood production since the mid-'80s, the film's opening weekend of $33m wowed industry insiders and pretty much guaranteed the greenlight for a sequel. Though sequels rarely do as well as their predecessors, the unlikely combination of motormouth comic Chris Tucker's antics and Jackie's fisticuffs and agile moves proved to be enough of a winning formula to entice producers to sign them back. With director Brett Ratner also returning for a second dose, I'm happy to report the follow-up is even funnier and more entertaining than the original, especially when seen with a big, raucous crowd.

Sequels often lose the freshness the original had, but are compensated for it by not having to reintroduce the characters. The filmmakers can just jump in, so to speak, assuming the audience has seen or are familiar with the first film. This is what happened with the first sequel of that other buddy cop franchise, the Lethal Weapon series, with Lethal Weapon 2 literally opening in the middle of a madcap car chase. Rush Hour 2 almost matches that with an explosion at the US Consulate in Hong Kong, killing two of their translators. Almost immediately after that, we are reacquainted with Inspector Lee (Chan) and Detective Jame Carter (Tucker), happily crooning to the strains of the Beach Boys' California Girls while driving through the streets of Hong Kong. This is supposed to be a vacation for Carter, but Lee finds himself involved in the investigation of the consulate explosion, and Carter is dragged along.

There follows a hilarious set of misadventures and close escapes for our "odd couple" cops. Lee is after Triad crime lord Ricky Tan (John Lone), who had something to do with the killing of Lee's father several years earlier. Included in the mix is a pretty Chinese assassin, Hu Li (Zhang Ziyi, from Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon), as well as an undercover secret service agent, Isabella Molina (Roselyn Sanchez). When the investigation leads to Las Vegas and casino owner Steven Reign (Alan King), things turn sinister, and it's up to our heroes to save the day again.

The story was hardly original in Rush Hour (two mismatched cops who become friends and partners?), and the plot in the sequel doesn't challenge conventions either. But that's not the point. The joy of the films is in seeing two cops from different backgrounds play off each other and their respective cultural differences. A majority of the laughs not only comes from Tucker's street-smart, wise-mouth cop, but also Chan's straight man of action. It must be said that not many find Tucker's antics amusing (indeed, his extremely "loud" role in The Fifth Element almost ruined that film for me), but I must admit he was actually quite funny in Rush Hour (and, now, Rush Hour 2).

Jackie, of course, is known for his famous stunts, but as in Shanghai Noon, his previous state-side effort, the action takes a back seat. Sure, there are plenty of martial arts action setpieces and death-defying acts, but these are fairly mild compared to what Jackie has previously done in his Hong Kong films. The emphasis here is on the comedy, and the laughs fly at you non-stop. Not all of it works, of course, but when you're surrounded by an audience who are laughing so hard it hurts, it's difficult not to get carried along. Perhaps Rush Hour 2 will turn out to be like Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me (another profitable New Line franchise), which seemed quite funny when I saw it as part of an opening night crowd, but turned out to be less engaging on subsequent viewings. On Rush Hour's opening night, however, with a big, appreciative crowd, I found it very funny.

The charm of the actors has a lot to do with the success of the film. Jackie is his effervescent self (though necessarily shadowed by the fast-talking Tucker), and his comedic timing shines though in several scenes. Though he's not as agile as before, I was expecting more laughs than action anyway. His chemistry with Tucker is evident and approaches that of Mel Gibson and Danny Glover in the Lethal Weapon series. Tucker, as already mentioned, can't seem to stop talking, but his manic acting makes for some very funny scenes. If you're not a fan of Tucker's, then nothing he does here will sway you. John Lone, from Year Of The Dragon and The Last Emperor, is fine but not quite menacing enough to be a great villain. His offsider, the ethereally beautiful Zhang Ziyi from Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, is actually more potent as a dangerous assassin. The gorgeous Roselyn Sanchez is just as easy on the eyes, but doesn't quite nail her role as an undercover secret service agent. The great Don Cheadle shows up in a welcome (and funny) cameo as a pigtailed proprietor of a Chinese soul food restaurant, with a gambling operation on the side. He is also responsible for one of the funniest lines in the credit outtakes (a Jackie Chan tradition), one of many you must definitely hang around for.

The producers of Rush Hour 2 have wisely left most of the formula alone. They offer the audience more of what worked in the original, and the result is a very funny film that will go down as a highlight of what has generally been a mediocre summer. For a pure summer movie, one that combines laughs, action, laughs, a fast pace, and more laughs, Rush Hour 2 is definitely a worthwhile ticket.

(c) Joe Wong (5 August 2001)