"Rush Hour 2" is bad, really bad.  The comedy is old and it's clear that the writers were going for the same old gags and jokes.  It's a shame because the original was pretty good, but I think the main reason "Rush Hour" was so good was because it was, well, original.

     Anyway, the worst sequel ever ("Rush Hour 2") starts out right where the original left off-- with Det. James Carter (Chris Tucker) and Det. Lee (Jackie Chan) in Hong Kong on vacation.  Well, actually they're only on vacation for a minute of the film and then they're dragged into investigation another crime.  The story line was really foggy and I thought it was hard to follow why the characters were doing anything but I don't think I need to say much about the plot-- if you saw the first one, you already know too much anyway.

     I liked the original "Rush Hour" and I thought it had an almost perfect combination of martial arts and comedy, kinda like “Shanghi Noon”.  Chris Tucker is a funny guy and all, but he is too over the top.  He's good in small doses, ala "The Fifth Element", but I already got enough of him after seeing the original "Rush Hour".  Don't get me wrong, I liked him the original, but enough is enough.  I'd probably choose Owen Wilson and Jackie Chan over Chris Tucker and Jackie Chan, mostly because Tucker's high-pitched whiney voice get's old really fast.  Anyway, I feel that movie tried to copy the almost perfect combo of martial arts and comedy like the original and failed, failed miserably.  The action scenes were good, and saved the movie from getting 0 pops, but the comedy is old.  Haven't I said that already?

     The best thing about this "Rush Hour 2" is after it's over, and that's never a good thing.  I'm specifically talking about the outtakes-- a staple in Jackie Chan movies.  There's one outtake in which Chris Tucker is leaning over an edge of a building and is looking at the guy who fell off of the building and he mutters, "Looks like he won't be in 'Rush Hour 3'!".  I don't even want to think about that.  I hope this one doesn't crack the $50 million mark and isn't remade.  

     Oh yeah, I think that the reason why this is the summer of sequels is because of the foreboding possibility of an actors/writers strike.  About a year ago, studios started approving scripts that they usually wouldn't approve to be made because they wanted to get a whole mess of movies made to be prepared for a lengthy strike in which no movies would be made.  I guess we're hitting that crop of movies right now.

     -- James ( 1 out of 4 pops )

Talk about this film with other Popkorn Junkies

      Pappy ( 3 out of 4 pops )

      I always enjoy Jackie Chan’s stunts and it is refreshing to see an action movie that does not depend on special effects.  An added treat is the addition of Zhang Ziyi as Hu Li an evil henchman (henchperson?) who delights in constantly cornering Carter and Lee.    As you may recall Ziyi was the lovely young martial arts in “Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon.”  Amazingly, I think she speaks only one line of English in this film, but that is all she needed as her actions and facial expressions say it all (of course the subtitles used for her help too.)

       Although the entire movie is just more of the original "Rush Hour" formula, it worked for me.  I mean it IS called "Rush Hour 2", so not too much more is expected.  It is a fun movie with almost every minute filled with laughs or action.  Tucker’s high squealing voice can be annoying, and I think some of the racial jokes are unneeded, but all in all he did his job and was an amusing complement to Jackie Chan.  Chan was his usual amiable self, and though I would not say any of the stunts were fantastic, they were still very entertaining.  The takes outs at the end of the film were also fun.  Though I enjoyed the movie very much, I do hope there is no "Rush Hour 3".  I think a third film would be one too many.