Rush Hour 2 [M]

Detective Inspector Lee, pride of the Hong Kong police, is in Bangkok showing his new partner and friend, LAPD loudmouth and cocky cop, James Carter, a good time. But the boys’ vacation is cut short when the American Embassy is blown up and Lee is brought in to help on the case, dragging his whining partner along for the ride. Soon the case escalates into something much bigger than any assassination attempt and with undercover cops of the Secret Service also working on the mission, it’s hard for the guys to know who they can trust. 

It’s been a while since I saw the first Rush Hour, but I can remember being only mildly entertained by it. The same has to be said with this film, if not that I only laughed maybe twice and only half-heartedly. I don’t really see what makes these movies so popular, I really don’t. 

Detective Inspector Lee, pride of the Hong Kong police, is in Bangkok showing his new partner and friend, LAPD loudmouth and cocky cop, James Carter, a good time. But the boys’ vacation is cut short when the American Embassy is blown up and Lee is brought in to help on the case, dragging his whining partner along for the ride. Soon the case escalates into something much bigger than any assassination attempt and with undercover cops of the Secret Service also working on the mission, it’s hard for the guys to know who they can trust. 

Within the first fifteen minutes of this movie, there’d already been friendship dramas and fallouts, key plot points dropped, and an entire kung fu sequence as well as a chase. IN THE FIRST FIFTEEN MINUTES! The only reason I can think of that would call for a film to cram all that (not very well I might add) within such a short space of time is because from there it’s not going to get any better. With this movie, I was right. 

Quite honestly, the only redeeming feature of this movie for me was Jackie Chan’s kung fu sequences. They are so masterful and beautiful; it’s amazing. 

I can see that the mismatched partner card is played with these movies, and I’ll gladly admit that it works well: the banter that happens between Lee and Carter is good and at times can be funny. I don’t much love the fact that the bulk of the film’s ‘comedy’ comes in the form of Chris Tucker’s incessant talking, whining, and tough talking. My brother loves these movies and he loves quoting Tucker, but I can’t see the appeal at all: I find Chris Tucker to be fine in small doses, but as a leading character such as he is here, I just find myself getting annoyed at him. Sorry to all Rush Hour enthusiasts out there, but there it is. 

Starring John Lone, Ziyi Zhang, Roselyn Sanchez, Alan King, Harris Yulin, and Kenneth Tsang, Rush Hour 2 is a mediocre, uninspired, and dime-a-dozen movie crammed with chases, action, explosions, drama, friendship, comedy, and kung fu. I’m in no hurry to watch it again, let’s just put it that way.