Release Date:
08/10/2007
It may have taken six years to get Jackie Chan and Chris Tucker back together as mismatched detectives in this second sequel to 1998's megahit Rush Hour, but the chemistry is still there, even if it looks like everyone probably signed on just to mint money. With Tucker's frantic ghetto blasts and Chan's high kicks and droll underplaying, the pair play off each other well enough to make the hackneyed script work to the minor degree it does. This time, the Asian inspector and the itchy-fingered LAPD dick are both fish out of water, as an assignment to take down a worldwide conspiracy by the Triads crime syndicate brings them to Paris, where they must also rescue their old friend Soo Yung (Zhang Jingchu). The best idea the writers have come up with is the addition of a Yank-hating French cabbie (Yvan Attal) who laments that he will never know what it is truly like to be American since he will never know what it's like to "kill for no reason." As he tries to immerse himself into their violent business, the movie takes off and becomes surprisingly political for such a mainstream enterprise. A scene in which a French-speaking nun must interpret threats from one of the bad guys is also hilarious and typical of the emphasis on comedy these films thrive on. Of course, along with the yuks there are lots of well-executed action set pieces orchestrated by director Brett Ratner, including some wild Parisian car chases and a prolonged sequence on the Eiffel Tower. Chan may be looking older and Tucker's dated comic material may just feel older, but it's still sort of comforting to have this familiar odd couple back for what adds up to a 91-minute high-adrenaline Rush anyway. We said sort of.