Crime fighting has never been so hazardous--or funny. Chopsocky action star Jackie Chan reteams with motormouth Chris Tucker in this RUSH HOUR sequel as the mismatched cop duo investigate several bombings in Hong Kong attributed to Chinese gang leader Ricky Tan (John Lone) and assassin Zhang Ziyi whose beautiful balletic kick packs a head-ringing wallop. A fish out of water in exotic Hong Kong Tucker talks his way into reams of trouble saved time and again by Chan's frantic fighting. Though the two detectives are taken off the bombing case unpaid debts between Chan and the criminals lead the detectives back to the U.S. and into the middle of an international counterfeiting racket that only Chan and Tucker can expose. Fans of the first RUSH HOUR can't miss this hilarious sequel and buddy-cop movie aficionados will recognize the dazzling zingers slammed back and forth between Chan and Tucker as the true sign of a winning film.Format: DVD MOVIE Genre: COMEDY Rating: PG-13 UPC: 794043109379 Manufacturer No: N10937
Rush Hour 2 retains the appeal of its popular predecessor, so it's easily recommended to fans of its returning stars, Chris Tucker and Jackie Chan. The action--and there's plenty of it--starts in Hong Kong, where Detective Lee (Chan) and his L.A. counterpart Detective Carter (Tucker) are attempting a vacation, only to get assigned to sleuth a counterfeiting scheme involving a triad kingpin (John Lone), his lethal henchwoman (Zhang Ziyi, from Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon), and an American billionaire (Alan King). Director Brett Ratner simply lets his stars strut their stuff, so it hardly matters that the plot is disposable, or that his direction is so bland he could've phoned it in from a Jacuzzi. At its best, Rush Hour 2 compares favorably to Chan's glossiest Hong Kong hits, and when the action moves to Las Vegas (where Don Cheadle makes an unbilled cameo), the movie goes into high-pitched hyperdrive, riding an easy wave of ambitious stuntwork and broad, derivative humor. Echoes of Beverly Hills Cop are too loud, however, and stale ideas (including a comedic highlight for Jeremy Piven as a gay clothier) are made even more aggravating by dialogue that's almost Neanderthal in its embrace of retro-racial stereotypes. Of course, that's what makes Rush Hour 2 a palatable dish of mainstream comedy; it insults and comforts the viewer at the same time, and while some may find Tucker's relentless hamming unbearable, those who enjoyed Rush Hour are sure to appreciate another dose of Chan-Tucker lunacy. --Jeff Shannon