Rush
Hour 2 Review Hong Kong: “Pearl of the Orient,” Asia’s
international city and home of Jackie Chan. Amidst the backdrop of straining
Sino-American foreign relations, at least we can still sit together
and laugh. That’s the feeling I got coming out
of “Rush Hour 2.” The movie starts in Hong Kong, where Jackie Chan became
famous with his no-plot, action-filled Chinese flicks that usually featured
him doing non-stop off-the-wall stunts. Nowadays, older and no longer as durable,
Chan stars in American movies, where he can rely on the comedic abilities
of the likes of Chris Tucker — his co-star in “Rush Hour 2” — to fill
up movie time so that Chan can do less stunts. The plot starts where the first “Rush
Hour” left off, with Tucker’s character — Los Angeles police detective
James Carter — travelling to Hong Kong with Chan’s character — Hong
Kong Detective-Inspector Lee, to unwind after solving an international
kidnapping case. Instead, the two become embroiled in another international
money-laundering conspiracy perpetrated by Hong Kong triads and wealthy
American crime figures. Suffice to say, the plot is, as expected,
unremarkable and simply provides motivation for Chan and Tucker’s comedy
and action sequences. The action sequences are decent, with the normal
fistfights and Jackie Chan acrobatics, including one scene where Chan
and Tucker are hanging off a thin bamboo pole about to snap off on top
of a Hong Kong high-rise. The movie also features Zhang Ziyi, of “Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon” fame, as a member
of the Hong Kong triad trying to do Chan’s and Tucker’s characters in.
She does have some action sequences in the movie, but they mostly involve
Tucker’s character. In fact, Chan does not have one single villain who
he fistfights with in prolonged action sequences in this movie, which
is a bit disappointing. However, Chan’s character does has a love interest
in the movie, which generates comic relief. Much like the first “Rush Hour,” the
culture clash between the serious and thoroughly Chinese detective Lee
and the shoot-off-your-mouth Carter makes for many amusing situations.
In the opening scenes in Hong Kong, Lee and Carter keep misreading each
other and creating hilarious cultural mishaps that bring forth many
politically incorrect and oft cliched stereotypes that Chinese and Americans
have of each other. This paradigm worked well during the
first movie, and it is this same combination of Tucker’s comedic energy
and Chan’s trademark martial arts sequences that makes this movie appealing. On the down side, the jokes seem to
flow so often that any attempts to take the plot or the characters seriously
are thwarted. Also, Tucker’s non-stop wisecracks throughout the movie
does make it somewhat annoying at times. Was this movie better than its predecessor?
Not quite. The first movie had more plot and better fights. But overall,
if you’re just looking for a good time and enjoy Jackie Chan films,
then you’ll enjoy this movie. As for the Sino-American foreign relations,
the movie’s sure to score well both in Hong Kong and America because
of the film’s heavy promotion. So maybe George W. Bush should share
some of those Chris Tucker jokes with Chinese President Jiang
Zemin when Bush visits China later this year.
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