One Line Review: Rush Hour 2 is an even more improved version of an already perfect and hilarious movie. More Action, more laughs, and more adventure.
Youtube Trailer Rush Hour 2
Starring: Jackie Chan, Chris Tucker
Director: Brett Ratner
Release Date: 3 August 2001
Introduction
On this day Rush Hour, 2 got released in Hollywood and we’re celebrating the success and nostalgia. Today we’re going to look at what made this movie successful and hilarious.
Trivia
In an interview, the director admitted that the first part of Chris Tucker’s karaoke scene was not planned to be filmed. Tucker refused to act with the camera moving like Michael Jackson. Between shoots, it serves as an entertainment program for everyone. Ratner secretly told the photographer to shoot it, but don’t let Tucker notice them.
Iconic dialogues from this movie
James Carter: Who died, Lee?
Lee: You!
James Carter: Detective Yu?
Lee: Not Yu, you!
James Carter: Who?
Lee: You!
James Carter: Who?
Lee: Do you understand the words that are a-coming out of my mouth?
James Carter: Don’t nobody understand the words that are comin’ out of your mouth.
James Carter: Just tell me how the Triads gonna kill us.
Lee: They will torture us for three days.
James Carter: Okay, I can handle that.
Lee: Then they will cut off our egg rolls.
James Carter: Cut off our egg rolls? Hell no! Let’s get the hell outta here! C’mon man, don’t give up!
Plot Summary
The hilarious pair of Detective Lee and James Carter were hanging out in Hong Kong spending their vacations when a bomb attack on a US consulate killed two undercover agents. Higher authorities assign Lee the case to find out who did the attack and catch them which leads them to funny and hilarious adventures.
Jackie Chan and Chris Tucker taking the film to a different level
The chemistry of Jackie and Chris Tucker is perfect. Seeing Zhang Ziyi as a bad woman again, wow! Watching some Hong Kong scenes somehow reminded me of some Hong Kong TV series. Looking at some of these scenes, I sometimes wonder how Hong Kong will see the western world. But since a lot of people know who Jackie is (she’s actually from Hong Kong), I can rest in peace now.
Chan, with his hot-headed and shy delivery, has become the perfect man for Tucker’s evil and shenanigans, whose mouth is engaged in actions heavier than Chan’s arms and legs in karate. Much of the humor is created by Tucker’s ability to seem completely indifferent to any danger that comes his way, managing to get out of one dangerous situation after another. The instant perfection of these scenes, combined with the grace of the ballet in which they are performed, makes him one of the truly unique talents in filmmaking today.
Major Improvement to an already perfect structure
The main and only improvement since the first movie is more combat action. In Rush Hour 1, Jackie Chan’s fighting scenes were reduced to make room for Tucker’s comedy. In Rush Hour 2, Jackie Chan is allowed to have more action, and having Zhang Ziyi increases the bet even more. Tucker can still do oral comedy and has a lot of jokes between him and Chan, sex with girls, and fights. It’s not that creative but it’s pretty fun.
The story, actually, doesn’t matter in this film because Carter was basically having a good chat with someone while Lee was distracted. That’s basically it but it doesn’t matter, it worked the first time and it still works here. The plot is pretty basic with the standard type of drug and revenge Hong Kong police story, but the two fish characters living overseas (Chan in LA and Tucker in HK) make it really interesting. The fight scenes are pretty cool (I really like the one with the locked door in the casino) and Tucker’s jokes with that high-pitched voice are really funny. The story is better than the first movie, although the twists and turns don’t go as well as they thought. But the final outcome is, to say the very least, enjoyable to its best.
Conclusion
The more I watch it, the funnier it gets. I have watched this movie, I don’t know, three times, I guess, and I haven’t got a single yawn out of boredom. I’ve heard the rumors of Rush Hour 4 but I’m not raising any hopes for that. Though, I want it to happen ASAP.
