Review: Don't Rush To See 'Rush Hour 2'
Sequel Delivers Nothing But More Of The Same
'Rush Hour 2' (PG-13)
"Rush Hour 2" is so fiscally focused, so intent on cashing in that it has more than the whiff of sequel. It fairly reeks of overcooked concept, like a "Crocodile Done Deal" or a "National Lampoon's Samoan Vacation."
Virtually every lighthearted moment tastes more like commodity than comedy, every action sequence like a queasy return to the buffet table after you've already had your fill. No surprise, given its huge box office, "Rush Hour's" repeat is a nearly identical smorgasbord, designed to feed the masses what they expect. And in that, at least, it delivers with fast-foodish, hack-studio aplomb.Wacky Jackie Chan and the helium-sucking Chris Tucker are ba-ack as those improbable buddy cops (or at least such an "improbable pairing" seemed unlikely 50 buddy cop films ago).And here's all you need to know about the differences in take two: This time they're in Hong Kong, so Chan is the knowledgeable guide and Tucker gets to work out of his element, making silly mistakes touring the wrong side of the Oriental-Occidental divide.The two join forces to solve an embassy bombing case, which leads them into a pitched battle with triad gangs and onto the trail of a counterfeiting scheme. Needlessly, the action also shifts back to L.A. and then to Vegas, in a desperate bid to spice up the scenics and fling the mayhem all over the map.Director Brett Ratner takes the helm again, showing his forté for creating a ping-pong game of bad jokes and swift kicks. But in between shots of occasionally funny standup from Tucker and impressive kick-butt action from Chan, there's not much else to keep the audience from nodding off.This is mostly the fault of a thin, blatant script by Jeff Nathanson. (Wait! The same guy who wrote "Coyote Ugly" and "Speed 2"? If you can't trust him with a script, who can you trust?)The expected Chan-Tucker banter reaches a nadir when our man from the LAPD accidentally smacks his Hong Kong homeboy during a gang fight and says, "Sorry, you all look alike to me."Other actors don't get much more to work with. The icily intriguing Zhang Ziyi, who played the young martial-arts maestro of "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon," gets to go campy a bit in a Bond girl version of the same character, but is otherwise wasted.John Lone, that androgynously handsome actor from "M Butterfly" and "The Last Emperor," plays a former cop and crime lord who betrayed and killed Chan's cop daddy. As he sneers in the face of the avenging son's pursuit, he mouths such deeply meaningful gems as "Like father, like son" and "You're just like your father." Sheesh!Chan -- when not delivering his trademark blistering, prop-laden martial-arts fun -- is again relegated to mangling his English for cheap laughs. And Tucker remains over the top with cracks about booty-chasing and pimpin' L.A. tough-guy style.If that works for you -- if you can enjoy a few cheeky laughs from Tucker blended roughly with stunts from a still-masterful martial-arts movie man -- you may feel there's enough on your platter here.For most of us, though, we'll keep searching for a film that gives us the full meal deal, not reheated leftovers. -- Joseph Ruttle
"Rush Hour 2" is so fiscally focused, so intent on cashing in that it has more than the whiff of sequel. It fairly reeks of overcooked concept, like a "Crocodile Done Deal" or a "National Lampoon's Samoan Vacation."Virtually every lighthearted moment tastes more like commodity than comedy, every action sequence like a queasy return to the buffet table after you've already had your fill. No surprise, given its huge box office, "Rush Hour's" repeat is a nearly identical smorgasbord, designed to feed the masses what they expect. And in that, at least, it delivers with fast-foodish, hack-studio aplomb.Wacky Jackie Chan and the helium-sucking Chris Tucker are ba-ack as those improbable buddy cops (or at least such an "improbable pairing" seemed unlikely 50 buddy cop films ago).And here's all you need to know about the differences in take two: This time they're in Hong Kong, so Chan is the knowledgeable guide and Tucker gets to work out of his element, making silly mistakes touring the wrong side of the Oriental-Occidental divide.The two join forces to solve an embassy bombing case, which leads them into a pitched battle with triad gangs and onto the trail of a counterfeiting scheme. Needlessly, the action also shifts back to L.A. and then to Vegas, in a desperate bid to spice up the scenics and fling the mayhem all over the map.Director Brett Ratner takes the helm again, showing his forté for creating a ping-pong game of bad jokes and swift kicks. But in between shots of occasionally funny standup from Tucker and impressive kick-butt action from Chan, there's not much else to keep the audience from nodding off.This is mostly the fault of a thin, blatant script by Jeff Nathanson. (Wait! The same guy who wrote "Coyote Ugly" and "Speed 2"? If you can't trust him with a script, who can you trust?)The expected Chan-Tucker banter reaches a nadir when our man from the LAPD accidentally smacks his Hong Kong homeboy during a gang fight and says, "Sorry, you all look alike to me."Other actors don't get much more to work with. The icily intriguing Zhang Ziyi, who played the young martial-arts maestro of "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon," gets to go campy a bit in a Bond girl version of the same character, but is otherwise wasted.John Lone, that androgynously handsome actor from "M Butterfly" and "The Last Emperor," plays a former cop and crime lord who betrayed and killed Chan's cop daddy. As he sneers in the face of the avenging son's pursuit, he mouths such deeply meaningful gems as "Like father, like son" and "You're just like your father." Sheesh!Chan -- when not delivering his trademark blistering, prop-laden martial-arts fun -- is again relegated to mangling his English for cheap laughs. And Tucker remains over the top with cracks about booty-chasing and pimpin' L.A. tough-guy style.If that works for you -- if you can enjoy a few cheeky laughs from Tucker blended roughly with stunts from a still-masterful martial-arts movie man -- you may feel there's enough on your platter here.For most of us, though, we'll keep searching for a film that gives us the full meal deal, not reheated leftovers. -- Joseph RuttleDistributed by Internet Broadcasting Systems, Inc. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
