Rush Hour 2 (2001)

Rush Hour 2 (2001)

5/10

Starring

Jackie Chan

Chris Tucker

Directed by Brett Ratner

Rush Hour 2 is nowhere near as good as Rush Hour 1, but you have to give them an A for effort—they did try to make you love it. Chan and Tucker have a way of keeping you glued to the screen, as their combination is mouthwatering. But after I was done watching this film… I enjoyed seeing the errors more than the movie itself.

It’s not that Rush Hour 2 didn’t have its funny parts—because it did—it’s just that from the get-go, you can tell the makers are trying too hard to make something out of nothing. In the end, they achieved it all: they got us to go see the movie, got us to remember it for some near-death experiences that make you wonder (just like in Rush Hour 1), and somehow managed to create a story, regardless of how weak it looked or sounded. Brett Ratner was called back to direct this film, which was done three years after the first. So, the choice is yours: do you think he did a good job?

The movie plot stars Jackie Chan and Chris Tucker, who respectively reprise their roles as Inspector Lee and Detective Carter. This time, our duo starts their journey in Hong Kong and then finds themselves back on American soil, in Vegas, where they get rolled up with the Secret Service to bring down a counterfeit scam involving the Triads.

The production cost for this movie is much higher than that of Rush Hour 1, mostly due to the success of the previous film. Chris Tucker demanded a $20 million salary to reprise his role, and in the end, the movie was worth his pay at the box office. While Rush Hour 1 cost $33 million and made $244 million, this movie cost $90 million and took home $347 million from the box office. In addition, this movie made massive cash from home video sales.

After the huge success of this movie, the production studio called the duo back for another Rush Hour run, although it took them six years to get the crew back together. The third movie was eventually released in 2007.

As I said, this movie is nowhere near as good as its predecessor. A lot of work and casting went into this one, but the final result didn’t show that it cost three times more than the first. Still, I’ll say it’s a fine movie to see.