RUSH HOUR 2

You see the name of the movie up above? Rush Hour 2! Well, if you was of the oriental persuasion, you would pronounce this ‘Lush our du’. And do you know what that means in Chinese? It’s the name of Jackie Chan’s Uncle. True. If you don’t believe me, just ask Director: Brett Ratner; Actors: Jackie Chan, Christ Tucker, Roselyn Sánchez, John Lone, and Zhang Ziyi. But only ask them in the year 2001, and for a period of no longer than 86 minutes.


Rush Hour 2


THE STORY:
All New York Police Detective, James Carter (Chris Tucker), wanted to do - was to spend some quality time with his buddy, Chief Inspector Lee (Jackie Chan), in Honk Kong, and eat some Moo shu.

But no – Lee has other ideas.

You see, Lee manages to intertwine them both in a rather sordid investigation involving explosive crime boss, Ricky Tan (John Lone). OK, so at first, this investigation does take place in a night-club plus at a massage parlor - which does end kind of badly for them both. Worst of all, though, is that when they go back to the police station for a bit of R and R some time later, one of Ricky’s henchmen, Hu Li (Zhang Ziyi), sets off a bomb there, BOOM! An explosion in which Lee presumes Carter has died in.

Ooops!

But obviously Carter isn't dead - oh no! Just before the bomb went off, he did a spot of sightseeing in downtown Hong Kong. Moreover, fortunately for Lee, he eventually catches up to Carter on a yacht belonging to wealthy American tycoon, Steven Reign (Alan King), not so long after Cater meets Steve and his sultry spouse, Isabella Molina (Roselyn Sanchez).

Oh! Also at this same location, they additionally meet Ricky as well, SPLASH! And witness his watery death at the hand of Ricky’s bomber, Hu.

Ooof!

Now immediately Carter suspects that Steve has something to do with all this, and both he and Lee trail him all the way back to Los Angeles to find out more. However, during there subsequent surveillance at this lo-cal, they run into Isabella again, and she reveals to them – in more ways than one – that she is a Secret Service operative, and then explains to them both the real reason behind Ricky’s death – a counterfeiting operation.

So what do you think that Carter and Lee do next, huh? Correct - at Isabella's bequest, they both track down the plates used for this dubious endeavor, only to then run into a bunch of mean Triads, Hu, and Isabella, all barring there path.

Well, I suppose that is why what next transpires is a right slap-and-tickle all in all! As kidnap victims are Vegas bound - Casino's become a battle ridden playground - and bad-guys become more soil for the tarmacked ground.

HAI-YA, BOOM! Rush Hour 3, coming soon!

THE REVIEW:
Now what can I say about 'Rush Hour 2' that many more people have not said before me? Well, not much in retrospect - but I will give it my best shot, BOING!

For a start, I would just like to say that this is a film, just like it’s predecessor (click here a review), which entertains with a combination of both Kung-Fu and Comedy. Please note, I did not say Kung-Fu Comedy – I said Kung-Fu and Comedy. As it is these two components that are judiciously used though out this movie on a ad-hoc basis.

Well, it appears that the director of this film, Brett Ratner, has sprinkled these two entertaining elements where ever he sees that plot dips in story, and used them as ‘filler’ to amuse the audience to compensate for this lack of substance.

Listen, I am not saying that this is a bad thing to do overall - I am just saying that these particular ‘segments’ do seem somewhat contrived so they can ‘fill a slot’ – so to speak. OK, so the Kung-Fu and the Comedy on display is of a good standard. It's just that they do not seem to have the scope to be more pertinent within the plot as a whole - no cohesion - only filler.

Granted, in conception, this film does have a jovial in nature to justify this slant. But what about the rest of it, huh? Personally speaking, I really like Jackie and Chris on screen together – because they effortlessly manage to convey a charm that is both captivating and warming at the same time. Heck, in the scheme of things, I don’t think that it really matters about the story at all – which is very loose in places. Just as long as they both have the time to shine and do what they do best – entertain us.

Oh! And as for the rest of the cast – well – they are all good as well. Roselyn is dazzling, Zhang is menacing, and even though the part they gave John was not of a  highly developed nature, he did his best at what he had to play with.

All in all ‘Rush Hour 2’ is a franchise film, and in essence is a ‘standardized film in a can’. It entertains the audience with both comedy and Kung-Fu within exotic locations, whist at the same time giving Brett the opportunity to pay homage to what he loves - with visual references to such film as ‘Enter the Dragon’, ‘The Original Oceans Eleven’, and ‘Rain Man’.

Nice and light film - always worth a watch on a rainy day - but not as good as the bloopers though...

THE RATING: B+