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Reel critics

Peggy Rogers

In need of a vacation Carter (Chris Tucker) visits Lee (Jackie Chan)

in Hong Kong looking for some night life entertainment. The only action

Carter gets is Lee’s heavy case load. Quicker than you can fry rice the

duo get embroiled in an international money laundering murder

investigation. Lee’s dead father’s former police partner (John Lone) is a

prime suspect.

In the original Jackie Chan’s character was the fish out of water in

L.A. In the sequel it’s Chris Tucker’s turn while the action takes place

in Hong Kong. Tucker’s slap stick humor and sight gags compete with

Chan’s trademark martial arts sequences, with both stopping long enough

to squeeze in information about the case they are assigned to solve.

From the streets of Hong Kong the action moves to Las Vegas, the final

destination of the counterfeit money trail.

However, the story in “Rush Hour 2” is secondary. Chan and Tucker are

the movie. They could be playing accountants looking for a lost receipt

and they would make it funny. The sequel is equal to, if not better than,

the original.

Numerous elements of “Rush Hour 2” are a culmination of former

blockbusting sequels. The movie blends elements of James Bond with the

“Pink Panther” and “Lethal Weapon” franchises. Chan’s introverted

Inspector Lee and Tucker’s extroverted Carter play well off each other

like Mel Gibson and Danny Glover in “Lethal Weapon.” The predicaments

they fall into are as visually silly as Peter Seller’s in the “Pink

Panther.” The hand to hand, foot to head, knee to groin action with the

bad guys/girls closely imitates the Bond combative action.

While predictable, “Rush Hour 2” provides a few surprises. Cameo roles

by Don Cheadle, Harris Yulin and Saul Rubinik are pleasant surprises.

After a long absence from the American screen, John Lone (“The Last

Emperor”) is a delight. Saving the best for last, however, the outtakes

provide the biggest laughs for the end.

Take the movie as seriously as you would Saturday morning cartoons and

you’ll have a good time.

* PEGGY J. ROGERS, 39, produces commercial videos and documentaries.

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