Carter & Lee Go After Fake Tan
Do you know what I like about "Rush Hour 2" that is the team behind it realised what people enjoyed in "Rush Hour" and so that means we get more comedic action than just comedy. And whilst that means you have the fun of the brilliant Jackie Chan making us laugh with his slapstick martial arts the rest of the cast including Chris Tucker and Don Cheadle also entertain through the fun fights. It does mean that whilst "Rush Hour 2" has a storyline about a Chinese criminal and counterfeit money what you end up watching it for is all the fun fights with Jackie Chan spinning and twisting his way through small gaps and over obstacle. But there is another improvement in "Rush Hour 2" and that is Chris Tucker because his performance is less like a wannabee Eddie Murphy which is how he came across first time around.
Having headed to Hong Kong for a holiday and to spend time with his friend Inspector Lee (Jackie Chan - Shanghai Noon), Detective James Carter (Chris Tucker) finds his holiday ruined when 2 men are killed at the US Embassy and Lee has to investigate when the man behind it is Ricky Tan (John Lone), the man he blames for his father's death. Together Lee and Carter try to discover what is going on and the connection between Ricky Tan, casino owner Steven Reign (Alan King) and the sexy but deadly Hu Li (Ziyi Zhang) which leads them back to America where they discover the truth and a few surprises.
Theoretically "Rush Hour 2" could have been about anything because the truth of the matter is the story doesn't really matter. The fact that there is a reasonable story is a bit of a surprise because it does provide a reasonable vehicle for all the action. Having said that, even though the storyline provides the vehicle for the humour and the action it doesn't make much sense with it seeming to have been written more with delivering certain fun scenes than anything else.
Now the reason why the storyline doesn't matter is because you watch "Rush Hour 2" for Jackie Chan delivering his slapstick style martial arts and he certainly doesn't disappoint. It is amazing to watching him flip, slide, twist and stretch his body in so many ways whilst fighting and when you also have him making the fights amusing and you could have a whole film of just this and not be bored. And it seems the men behind the movie knew this because it feels like we have more fun action than the first time and not just from Jackie Chan. Chris Tucker has some equally good fighting scenes where his timing with Chan is great as is the scene featuring Don Cheadle. There are serious fighting scenes or at least characters that fight in a more traditional way but it makes it so much fun.
The knock on effect of there being more fun action and fighting is that the set piece gags are reduced and it is for the better. There are a few jokes carried over from the first movie and Chris Tucker still delivers a performance similar to Eddie Murphy but it is also different with more daft attitude rather than wise ass attitude. And there is also the wonderful karaoke scene as Chris Tucker sings and dances like Michael Jackson, a set piece scene but one which is one of the movies highlights.
What this all boils down to is that "Rush Hour 2" is actually a surprisingly entertaining sequel. It may have a storyline which is ultimately unimportant but it does deliver what audiences want and that is the slapstick style fighting from Jackie Chan and lots of it which never once becomes dull.
