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Starring
:
Jackie
Chan
Chris
Tucker
Zhang
Ziyi
John
Lone
Roselyn
Sanchez
Don
Cheadle
Action
:
Sing
Ga Ban
Producer
:
Roger
Birnbaum
Arthur
Sarkissian
Jay
Stern
John
Glickman
Director
:
Brett
Ratner
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RUSH
HOUR 2 (2001)
Reviewed
by Tony Ryan
After
the success of the first 'Rush
Hour', there were high expectations for this follow-up and
we were promised more of everything: laughs, locations and of
course JC style action. The biggest disappointment from the
first film for Chan fans was the action itself. It seemed to
show Jackie as a shadow of his former self, and I for one came
out of the cinema in 1998 thinking he was past it. Since then,
he has showed some of his old skills in films like 'Who
Am I?' and 'Gorgeous',
while also showing and admitting that he cannot be expected to
move like he did in earlier classics like 'Police
Story' or even the fairly recent 'Drunken
Master 2'. As a result, I went into this with baited
breath and expectations not too high.
For
the first and last 30 minutes I was truly impressed, and loved
every minute although there was a short sag in the middle! I
won’t spoil too much for those ready to go and see it, but
many characters other than JC and Chris have a chance to shine
here. Zhang Ziyi, hot property following 'Crouching
Tiger, Hidden Dragon' does herself no harm, being
believable and effective as a beautiful yet deadly triad.
It’s a shame she never got to go toe-to-toe with Jackie, as
I’m sure it would have been great. John Lone was also
impressive and was a more entertaining villain than Tom
Wilkinson’s equivalent bad guy in part 1. Don Cheadle was my
pick of the bunch, as in a short cameo, he was funny, insulted
Chris Tucker in fluent Cantonese before having a short fight
with Jackie! Not bad for a five minute part!
The
action, although Jackie moaned at the lack of preparation
time, is light years ahead of the first 'Rush Hour' especially
considering he is now almost 50 and carrying more injuries
than a football team. He truly gets the crowd going with fast,
fluid fights and stunts that show he is not past it yet. Chris
Tucker does not disappoint those who find him funny (and I
usually do!), with numerous wisecracks and typical pro-black,
anti-white jokes. Faults are few and far between, but one of
them is the script, which is often a bit cheesy and shows that
this is no Oscar nominee. However, Jackie comes across a lot
better in this instalment with better acting, greater screen
time and can only have won even more fans with his cute,
lovable, yet noble and dangerous character.
Even
stalwart JC fans with their head stuck in the sands of times
long gone can only be happy with the end result. 'Rush Hour 2'
is a superior film in every way to his previous Western
efforts and many HK ones like 'Accidental
Spy' or 'Mr
Nice Guy'. I can’t wait for the next Rush Hour and will
definitely buy the DVD as soon as I can. Also, I am now more
optimistic about planned projects 'Tuxedo' and the currently
filming 'Highbinders' as Jackie can now exercise some hard
earned freedom proud in the knowledge he is undoubtedly the
biggest action star in the world.
I
am still praying for a Sammo Hung directed American (or HK)
Chan vehicle co-starring Yuen Biao as a final showcase to the
world of the 3 brothers! If Chan can still kick it, then why
not Biao? Well, we can all still dream!
Rating:
 
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