- Title: Rush Hour 2
- IMDb: link
Released three-years after the first film, Rush Hour 2 gives us Lee (Jackie Chan) and the vacationing Carter (Chris Tucker) in Hong Kong to open the film before the pair return to Los Angeles and ultimately end up in Las Vegas tackling a case connected to the Chinese Triad and the former partner (John Lone) of Lee’s father who framed him for his own crimes and murdered him.
Also added the second time around are Roselyn Sanchez as and undercover agent for the Secret Service investigating the Triad’s counterfeit money ring, whose true loyalty is hard to discern, and Ziyi Zhang as the series’ best evil henchwoman responsible for several bombings including one which Lee mistakenly believes killed Carter for a section of the film. I think the movie could have stayed longer in Hong Kong, with Carter the fish out of water the entire time, but the various locations work well enough, as does the friendship between the pair, and we get a much stronger villain and supporting cast than the original film.
The biggest financial success of the franchise, the film was a hit at the box office albeit garnering mixed reviews from critics (not dissimilar to the first film). Tucker tones Carter down a notch, still giving him plenty of opportunities to complain about everything from Lee as a host to being locked in the back of a truck with millions of counterfeit money. While only marginally better than the original Rush Hour, the sequel with a stronger story, villain, and supporting cast, is an improvement over the original and remains the best of the franchise.
Watch the trailer