Rush Hour 2 (2001)

Director:

Brett Ratner

Writers (WGA):

Ross LaManna (characters)
Jeff Nathanson (written by)

Release Date:

3 August 2001 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Adventure | Comedy | Crime | Thriller

Tagline:

Get Ready For A Second Rush!

Plot:

Carter and Lee head to Hong Kong for vacation, but become embroiled in a counterfeit money scam.

Plot Keywords:

Bare Butt | Car | Male Rear Nudity | California | Male Nudity

Awards:

10 wins & 17 nominations

US TV Schedule:

Sat. July 5	4:30 PM	TNT
Sat. July 5	11:15 PM	TNT

Cast

Jackie Chan	...	Chief Inspector Lee
Chris Tucker	...	Detective James Carter
John Lone	...	Ricky Tan
Ziyi Zhang	...	Hu Li (as Zhang Ziyi)
Roselyn Sanchez	...	Isabella Molina
Harris Yulin	...	Agent Sterling
Alan King	...	Steven Reign
Kenneth Tsang	...	Captain Chin
Lisa LoCicero	...	Receptionist
Mei Melançon	...	Girl in Car (as Meiling Melancon)
Maggie Q	...	Girl in Car
Patricia Chan	...	Club Hostess
Gelbert Coloma	...	Karaoke Singer
Lucy Lin	...	Heaven on Earth Hostess
Cindy Lu	...	Heaven on Earth Hostess #2

MPAA:

Rated PG-13 for action violence, language and some sexual material.

Runtime:

90 min | Sweden:94 min | Spain:86 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English | Mandarin | Cantonese

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital | SDDS | DTS

Certification:

UK:12 (cut) | Malaysia:U | UK:15 | Iceland:12 | Argentina:13 | Australia:M | Canada:PG | Finland:K-11 | France:U | Germany:12 | Hong Kong:IIB | Hungary:14 | Ireland:15 | Netherlands:12 | Norway:15 | Peru:14 | Philippines:PG-13 | Portugal:M/12 | Singapore:PG | South Korea:12 | Spain:13 | Sweden:11 | Switzerland:12 (canton of Geneva) | Switzerland:12 (canton of Vaud) | USA:PG-13

Filming Locations:

Chep Lep Kok International Airport, Hong Kong, China

Company:

Hiett Designs of Las Vegas

Trivia:

The climax takes place in the Red Dragon Hotel. Red Dragon (2002) is Brett Ratner's next film.

Goofs:

Revealing mistakes: The wall in the massage parlor moves when pushed during the fight.

Quotes:

Lee: You owe me a copy of the Beach Boy's greatest hits.
James Carter: Don't you go having gettin' an attitude with me Lee. I been here three days and ain't done nothin' but work your cases. The only reason why I'm here in Hong Kong is 'cause you said you was gonna show me a good time. I'm on vacation, man! and I want some mu shu.
Lee: Mushu, you hungry?
James Carter: No, not mushu? MU shu. I want to see some women man. Now, stop playing dumb and take me to the SHU.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Shot Caller: From Videos to Features (2002) (V)

Soundtrack:

Shiny Stockings

The 2nd Rush

Some might say, hearing about Rush Hour 2: ‘Not another sequel! / Not another cop buddy film!' and so on. But with these kinds of films, it is not so much originality at all. It is about being entertained. I mean going to this film and wanting to see something original is like going to see The Bridges of Madison County and rooting for violence, massive shootings, flying body parts and intense profanity. Either way: THAT WILL NOT HAPPEN

Almost all things being equal, there were only two things that could screw this one up (actually three). The script or the actors. The third thing I was talking about is actually something that was in the original Rush Hour as well. Chris Rock. I have seen a handful of films with him now and find him a bit annoying at times. but this time I did not feel like that at all. Either I have become immune to his overdone behaviour all the time, it has become less worse or I'm simply getting to the point in my life where I'm accepting the fact that there are people like that in life. Either way, I thought he was better than in for instance Money Talks (and maybe even the first Rush Hour). Anyway the other two things that could have seriously screwed up this film were the script and the actors, but I must say that although the film was not too original, the story held up very well and so did the actors. The reason for that is probably that the tone of the Rush Hour films has (so far) been more comedic. It is not supposed to be serious, it is supposed to be more like Die Hard, with a couple of big explosions, a lot of fighting (less shooting than in Die Hard here) and jokes. Well as in the first one the jokes were delivered well, from beginning to end, including the bloopers. As far as the film went, I must say I thought the ending was great and I also enjoyed the last two bloopers very much. This film proves that, if the jokes and the acting are good enough they even can make up for small losses in story quality and other bad things, like action film clichés. It is kind of funny that there are films in which clichés can be really disturbing and ruin almost your whole film experience. In others however (like in this one) clichés are present, though they not ruin your experience of the matter at all. I guess it is all in the approach of the material and the cast and crew involved.

Jackie Chan (as Inspector Lee) did was he is supposed to do in this film, be funny and do a lot of fighting. There were a few difficult stunts here but not one that really made my jaw drop to the floor. I would never say this was due to the ageing of Chan like others do, because I do not know whether that is true and second of all, I did not mind that there were a few less ‘jaw dropping stunts'. It did in no way hurt the film.

To finish it all of, I have to give credit to Roselyn Sanchez, who did a great job on this film. I could just not figure out if she was supposed to be one of the ‘good guys', or the ‘bad guys'. It had nothing to do (at all) with the fact that she is very pretty. By the way, was that really a Snoopy tattoo??? I could really not tell and it wasn't because I was looking elsewhere! No, it was just, that the cinematographer did not zoom in enough. I wish he could have brought things to my attention better! Anyway, I really meant what I said about Roselyn Sanchez, both that she could act (and fight!) well and that she indeed looks very pretty. Talking about pretty (yes, AGAIN), where the hell do those filmmakers get all those pretty women? I mean if I would have been in the same situation as Carter (Chris Tucker) in the film, when he was in the massage parlour, I would have probably done the same thing. My eyes would have popped out (and probably my jaw would have dropped and my tongue would have fallen to the floor as well). DAMN. Really good of (actresses?????) people.

To get back to the film, I would really appreciate it, if the makers could bring back Roselyn Sanchez for Rush Hour 3 if they'll ever consider making another instalment. Although I don't think they have to consider, Rush Hour 3 will definitely be happening. So, Jackie and Chris: BRING IT ON FOR RUSH HOUR 3!

8 out of 10