Film Review: Rush Hour 2 (2001)

One of the foundations of the world order at the start of 21st Century was “Chimerica” - symbiotic relationship between the political hegemony of United States and emerging economy of China. This relationship was also reflected in popular culture, with Hong Kong action superstar Jackie Chan frequently paired with his Hollywood counterparts. He started the trend with 1998 action comedy Rush Hour. Its 2001 sequel Rush 2 was released at the height of Chimerica, just before the WTC attacks that would begin to undermine the old world order.

The plot begins when LAPD Detective James Carter (played by Chris Tucker) comes to Hong Kong to visit his friend and colleague, Chief Inspector Lee (played by Jackie Chan) of Hong Kong Police. Soon afterwards US consulate is bombed and both Carter and Lee take part in investigation that involves Ricky Tan (played by John Lone), former policeman who used to be partner of Lee’s father and who is nowadays leading a Triad. The trail leads to Las Vegas where shady but extremely rich businessman Steven Reign (played by Alan King) might be connected with the scheme to launder counterfeit US dollar bills through local casinos.

Rush Hour 2 was a surprise hit and had significantly better results at the box office than its predecessor, despite being released in August, which is time of the year when Hollywood studios don’t expect much from their products. Critics, just like with previous film, weren’t too enthusiastic, but the success of this film was at least partially deserved. While director Brett Rattner didn’t attempt to reinvent the wheel, he at least tried to do something different. He began the plot in Hong Kong thus allowing Chris Tucker instead of Jackie Chan to play “fish out of water”. Lack of need for origin story and character exposition allowed Rattner to focus more on action and exploit both Chan’s athletic skills and Tucker’s comedic talent. With the help of inspired music score by veteran composer Lalo Schifrin, those made audience forget formulaic nature of the story and the film itself.

Rattner also paid some sort of homage to East Asian cinema, and it reflected in the casting. John Lone, actor best known for his 1980s films, plays the role of charismatic villain very much like the one he had played in Year of the Dragon. Zhang Ziyi, star of Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, on the other hand, seems underutilised in the role of psychotic henchwoman, although spectacular demise of her character near the end makes one of the more memorable moments in the film. Don Cheadle leaves much better impression in the supporting role of Carter’s China-obsessed informant.

One interesting aspect of Rush Hour 2 is the use of "superdollars" as a MacGuffin, a plot element that is likely to make the film dated in the emerging future world where all financial transactions are done online, and cash is either banned, suppressed, or used by the most marginal members of society.

Despite its flaws, Rush Hour 2 is a solid hour and a half of entertainment, even for audiences who aren't particularly nostalgic about the early 2000s.

RATING: 5/10 (++)

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