Writer: Jeff Nathanson (Screenplay) Ross LaManna (Characters)
Starring: Jackie Chan, Chris Tucker, John Lone, Ziyi Zhang, Roselyn Sanchez
Plot: Carter and Lee head to Hong Kong for vacation, but become embroiled in a counterfeit money scam.
There may be spoilers the rest of the review
Verdict: Solid Sequel
Story: Rush Hour 2 starts by having a mysterious lady deliver a parcel to an US Embassy in Hong Kong leading to an explosion. Lee (Chan) & Carter (Tucker) are on vacation in Hong Kong this time and end up getting involved in the case. Turning the first film on his head Lee takes Carter around his city treating him like a tourist while trying to solve the case of the bombing believed to be committed by Ricky Tan (Lone). The two investigate at Ricky Tan’s club leading them to get caught up in a chase with his Hench lady Hu Li (Zhang) leading to the two to get fully involved in the case.
When the case turns out to be larger than first thought Lee is asked to back away and leave Ricky Tan out there as bait. After an explosion at the police station Lee believes that Carter was killed he goes after Tan on his own, while Carter exploring Hong Kong is completely oblivious of what is going on ends up following Tan to the same location as Lee. The two find out they are investigating the same thing and that not everything is what it seems in the Triads leading to the couple heading back to Los Angeles for the answers.
Rush Hour 2 I believe picks up right where the last one finished with the unlikely couple on the vacation. The added personal storyline for Lee’s character does help make this one feel a lot more intense, it also has a couple more twists that make sense and works towards uses a more mainstream known crime gang. On the down side we do get the same sort of incidents that leave our character getting into fights against large numbers of opponents. It feels a lot more well-rounded this, in a way that the first one worked well and they knew what worked and built on it more. (8/10)
Actor Review
Jackie Chan: Lee Hong Kong based detective whose past rivalry with the man who killed his father will lead to the true identity of the criminal mastermind, he also has to deal with Carter getting him in trouble with his mouth. Jackie does a good job mixing his action and comedy here again. (8/10)
Chris Tucker: Carter who is on vacation with Lee in Hong Kong but ends up getting caught up in the middle of the investigation and constantly putting his foot in it. Chris does seem to dial down the annoying level this time but his mouth never stops working. (7/10)
John Lone: Ricky Tan leader of the Triads and man responsible for Lee’s father’s death. He is suspect number one after the bombing but it becomes clear he isn’t involved as much as we thought. John makes for a solid villain and his personal touch adds to the story. (6/10)
Ziyi Zhang: Hu Li the main lady hench person whose martial arts skills get the upper hand on Carter, she is young ambitious and most importantly deadly. Ziyi makes for a good supporting villain and her battles with Carter make extra comedy. (7/10)
Support Cast: Rush Hour 2 has a good supporting cast including an undercover agent who works with our heroes and plenty of henchmen for Lee to fight with.
Director Review: Brett Ratner – Brett does a good job directing this improve on what we saw first time out. (8/10)
Action: Rush Hour 2 has plenty of action scenes with Lee getting into plenty of fights. (8/10)
Comedy: Rush Hour 2 uses the comedy very well starting with the rolls reversed at the start before Tucker pulling on the one man joke act during the second half against Chan’s much more serious side. (8/10)
Thriller: Rush Hour 2 uses a much more personal story for Lee giving us a much higher level of thrills than first time out. (7/10)
Chemistry: Rush Hour 2 Chan and Tucker show off their chemistry again here to good levels. (8/10)
Settings: Rush Hour 2 uses Hong Kong, LA and Las Vegas for its settings letting us know how iconic the location for the action really is. (9/10)
Suggestion: Rush Hour 2 is one to watch if you like the first one, I personally would recommend it but I do understand people not liking it. (If You Like The First Watch)
Best Part: Massage room fight.
Worst Part: Same jokes.
Action Scene Of The Film: Casino break in.
Funniest Scene: Massage Room fight.
Believability: No (0/10)
Chances of Tears: No (0/10)
Chances of Sequel: 1 More sequel
Post Credits Scene: Bloopers in the credits.
Oscar Chances: No
Box Office: $347 Million
Budget: $90 Million
Runtime: 1 Hour 30 Minutes
Tagline: Get Ready For A Second Rush!
Trivia: Ziyi Zhang could not speak English, so she had to take direction via the combination of an interpreter (often Jackie Chan himself) and Brett Ratner essentially performing “charades”. Her character only says three English words in the movie: “Some apple?” and, later, “Out!” In an interview, Roselyn Sanchez said that Ziyi Zhang tried learning English from her, but tried to discourage her as she would have ended up speaking it with a Puerto Rican accent.
Overall: Fun Filled Buddy Cop Film
Rating