Rush Hour 2 (2001) Reviewed by Eugene Novikov http://www.ultimate-movie.com/
"I'm Michael Jackson, You're Toto!"
Starring Jackie Chan, Chris Tucker, Chris Penn, John Lone, Ziyi Zhang. Directed by Brett Ratner. Rated PG-13.
I guess it's a credit to Jackie Chan and the general likeability of the franchise that Rush Hour 2 could not be ruined even by the nauseating "comedy" of Chris Tucker. I'm a fan of Jackie Chan in just about any medium, and this movie lets him not only do his impressive-as-ever martial arts schtick, but show off his comic timing as well. It would have worked better if he was the only name above the title.
The plot is your basic martial arts flick clothesline for stunts and special effects. This time around, the evil smugglers are led by Ricky Tan (John Lone), who makes his fortune by shipping counterfeit money into the United States (I'm still not sure how you can make a fortune doing that: is there a place where one can exchange fake bills for real ones?). The only way to tell the phony money from the genuine article is to set it on fire and see what color it burns.
Of course, it's up to Hong Kong Detective Lee (Chan) and trash-talking LAPD Detective James Carter (Tucker) to take the bad guys out and the authorities, to the extent that they even exist, stay out of their way. Rush Hour 2 turns the tables on the first film in that here it's Carter who gets the two of them into trouble and Lee who winds up having to get them out.
I guarantee that my rating would have been at least a half of a grade higher had anyone other than Chris Tucker been cast as the foil for Jackie Chan. He refuses to shut up. Not only did his voice feel like a jackhammer on my head, but his jokes just aren't funny, a pathetic mixture of sub-par Eddie Murphy fasttalking blather and wannabe Chris Rock white-man-black-man jokes that wind up being more offensive than funny. I realize that in a movie like this some of the biggest laughs come from letting the actors ad lib beyond what the script dictates, but didn't anyone realize how irritating Tucker's incessant ranting and raving was? If this is all the comedian has to offer then I don't care to see any more of his films.
Fortunately, Chan makes for a marvelous straight man, and he redeems the fledgling comedy completely. It's not often that one actor can so completely save a movie, but there is no other name for what he does; whenever he's on screen, Rush Hour 2 comes to nearly breathtaking, often hilarious, life. Much of it hinges on the dubious value of how cute it is to watch Chan try to be a "player," but who cares? I can think of few high concepts that are funnier.
The movie ends with outtakes that, as usual, show that Chan isn't perfect, and that it does, indeed, take him a few tries to get some of his incredible stunts to look seamless. Chris Tucker botches some lines as well, and his mistakes are funnier than anything he says in the whole movie.
A lot of people have pointed out Rush Hour 2 isn't very different from its predecessor in tone or style. But I liked the original, and I like the sequel, though a certain sidekick seems to have done his best to ruin it. Director Brett Ratner (The Family Man) keeps it moving at an entertaining pace and manages to keep the laughs coming despite the fairly miserable hit to miss ratio of the jokes (I guess sometimes the shotgun approach works). It's not great Jackie Chan, but it's Jackie Chan, and that's enough.
Grade: B
Up Next: Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back
©2001 Eugene Novikov
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