Review of Rush Hour 2 (2001) by Kai82 — 14 Jun 2021
It is the type of a more of the same sequel. Again this is an action comedy / buddy movie made enjoyable by Jackie Chan and Chris Tucker performances. It is however not as good and refreshing as the prequel.
Over the years my rating declined a bit but I still say it is worth watching. The story starts with James Carter played by Chris Tucker visiting Hongkong to meet his friend inspector Lee played by Jackie Chan.
However due to a critical event at the US Consulate the holiday is cut short and ends with the two banding together to safe the day. The story works but is mostly a vehicle to carry the characters, action and humor.
It is entertaining but not that special. The main appeal is of cause the buddy movie aspect. I repeat my statement from the prequel that Jackie Chan and Chris Tucker work well together. Their good chemistry carries the movie and is enjoyable.
Jackie Chan does the action and Jackie Chan stuff people expected and Chris Tucker adds a lot of humor to it. I must admit that by Jackie Chan standards it is a weaker performance compared to his better movies (Clarification: It is still an enjoyable performance and not garbage as I have yet to see a movie were he fails).
In addition to this I always enjoy Zhang Ziyi since “Hero” and both John Lone and Roselyn Sanchez did a good performance too. The humor itself works well enough to entertain but I can not remember a remarkable joke except the hilarious chicken scene (Those with the language barrier;-).
On paper so far this looks really good. Sadly like I already said it has some weakness. The movie is basically a redoing of the prequel minus the pulling together in a new setting. Without the main actors this would be average at best and it uses a bit of too much tropes and stereotypes.
After watching this in the cinema I would have given an 8/10 same as the prequel but after some time I realized that it was not that good. I am struggling between a 6/10 or 7/10 now. I will give a rounded up 7/10 because of the cast and main actors.
Want not to end this to negative and say I still prefer this over many modern spoof movies any day.
This review of Rush Hour 2 (2001) was written by Kai82 on 14 Jun 2021.
Rush Hour 2 has generally received positive reviews.
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