Yeah, Jackie Chan and Chris Tucker are playing East Meets West again in Rush Hour 2, the sequel the first popular film.
This time the movie starts off in Hong Kong, Carter (Tucker) is visiting Lee (Chan) on vacation. The two seem to be not getting along so easily as Lee keeps taking assignments and lying to Carter about it.
What we don’t realize at first is that the man Jackie is sent to investigate is the partner of his late father, so Lee is out to finish his father’s final case. After running around and wreaking havoc in Hong Kong (mainly Carter), the man Lee is investigating is killed and both Lee & Carter are warned by US secret service to stay out of the way and let them do their job.
Naturally, both ignore the warning of the Secret Service, and Carter uses his ‘follow the rich white man’ philosophy of investigating to take both him and Lee back to the United States to continue their investigation. Naturally they end up on the right track and end up running into and facing off with bad guys and eventually putting themselves in danger.
Not a Bad Sequel…
This film, like the first, is mostly comedy but has more action in it than the first (in my opinion). The contrast between East and West is played down a little and we see a more developed relationship between Carter and Lee.
Carter becomes a bit of a hazard over in Hong Kong, being his usual loud self while Lee is very focused and serious – so naturally we see alot of clashes between the two before they eventually find each other on the same page in the investigation.
Everything seems less gimmicky now that the two have a set ‘buddy’ relationship and there’s more focus on the plot as opposed to setting up both characters, and I quite enjoyed it. The comedy seemed to have the same feel but the jokes were different, with Jackie Chan showing a more human side (spying on half naked women and such), and being easily manipulated by an attractive young officer of the secret the service.
Overall it’s got a good balance of ‘action movie plot’ and comedy, playing out pretty nicely. What I was really happy with though was there seemed to be more fight scenes.
Chris Tucker shows off some moves!
The Action & Martial Arts
This movie has an increased physical performance over the first, but the stunts and physical work seem to be more serious and less comedic.
Straight away we see Carter and Lee getting into fights as Lee investigates in Hong Kong, and even Carter seems to show off some moves that aren’t entirely meant for comedy, although he does offer a few goofish maneuvers.
As usual, and by no surprise, Jackie is the star of the action as he moves quickly and perfeclty throughout the scene from person to person using his environment in ways that just seem inhuman – such as slipping through a tiny openings and rolling around over couches to avoid being hit and bashed.
Jackie Chan makes running away from a fight fun to watch as he does it in the most skillful and impressive way, but his aggressive fighting is also fun to watch as it is done in a way that really packs a punch – or high flying spinning kick.
You’ll even notice a couple faces in this film such as James Lew and Ernie Reyes Jr, playing minor parts.
Overall?
It’s a fun comedy/action movie that is well worth a watch. It’s not topping any lists but it’s definitely entertaining.
On Blu Ray –
Region B (UK, Australia, New Zealand, Europe etc)
Rush Hour 2 [Blu-ray]
On DVD –
Region 1 (US & Canada)
Rush Hour 2
Rush Hour Collection
Region 2 (UK, Europe, etc)
Rush Hour 2 [DVD] [2001]
Rush Hour Trilogy [DVD]
Region 4 (Australia, New Zealand, etc)
Rush Hour 2
