Chris Tucker has the biggest mouth in the biz, but Jackie's hand is strong, and he knows how to keep a problem child like that in line. With Chan to keep things on track and Tucker to create a little chaos, Rush Hour 2 is another punch of comedic goodness.
Rush Hour 2 stars Jackie Chan and Chris Tucker as they kick in a sequel to the original Rush Hour. This time, Tucker is the fish out of water, as Jackie drags him through the streets of Hong Kong hunting down crime lords and bad ass babes. Their friendship still strong, the unlikely pair mix fast paced action with great comic timing to keep audiences in rapt attention.
But even with strong Asian locations, its interesting to note that even this film eventually winds up in America. Are American audiences unable to sit through any film that spends to much time on foreign soil? Even James Bond at some point heads to good old LA, why should Jackie Chan be any different? Perhaps there is some more coincidental reason for the prevalence of American locations in globe trotting films, but I for one don't think Los Angeles is truly the center of the universe. Californians feel free to disagree.
"But Hobbit", you say "I don't want some damn idiot running around in my action movies screwing up the explosions with jokes!" So you don't like to laugh? This seems to be an increasingly popular attitude. It seems some members of the movie going public have forgotten how to laugh. What they fail to understand is that Jackie Chan does not make ACTION movies. Jackie Chan is in the business of making comedies with great action. Yes, he is an INCREDIBLE stuntman, and a world class martial artist, but Chan is in the business of dazzling the eye and making people laugh!!! If you don't want to chuckle a bit, why are you watching this film to begin with?
Some critics might malign Rush 2 for readily apparent plot holes and poorly explained motivation. Its true, the film does tend to rush headlong into action without spending much time on deep seated development. But generally, this is characteristic of every Chan film, and is in truth, part of his charm. Jackie's goal is fun. For him, its more important that his audiences leave with a smile on their face than to worry about winning Oscars or touching hearts. Chan is summer puff and he's damn good at it. The Rush Hour franchise is a prime example of all that's good about rock em sock em summer fare. Fun, high flying, kick in the pants adventure isn't so easy to do, but Chan consistently does it well.
Tucker himself does what he does best, shoot off his mouth. And if he gets his ass kicked a few times along the way, so much the better. He's annoying, he's retarded, he probably only has a fourth grade education, but for some reason that is incredibly funny. Combined with Chan's knack for producing platinum action comedy, Tucker shines at his side like he never has before.
It isn't easy to keep America laughing, but Rush Hour 2 does what few other films seem to be able to accomplish. Its a real rush to get a film that actually keeps fun at the forefront.
