Lee and Carter are back! This time they're in Hong Kong. Carter wants a relaxing vacation, but Lee wants to carry on doing police work. At a nightclub, Lee spots the dangerous crime kingpin, Ricky Tan, who runs an evil gang of murderous Triads, and his partner is a woman who delivers explosive packages to unsuspecting parties. The duo find themselves neck-deep in trouble after one of the explosions is delivered to the American Embassy. Now, with the frequent threat of the Triads and their explosives, Lee and Carter must track down Ricky Tan, as the string of clues lead them back to Las Vegas. Following on from the highly successful, Rush Hour (1998) we join back with the loveable mismatched team in yet another crazy caper, however this time in Lee's territory. I was pleasantly surprised how this film followed on from the initial movie, picking up the story four days after the last scene where they board a plane to Hong Kong for a vacation. It feels like we never left (despite being made 3 years later) and I love how they continue many of the plot points and developments of the first flick, truly kidding you into thinking we never stopped watching them. The best example of this was seeing the pair singing to the Beach Boys in the car calling back to Lee's favouritism of the band, which was fantastic. Carter is in full vacation mode simply wanting to relax, chill and meet some women, unfortunately, Lee is having a hard time taking it easy as he keeps uncovering criminal behaviour and clues. It perfectly demonstrates their relationship and traits set up in the original. Lee takes on more cases ending up chasing gangs, battling them whilst climbing bamboo structures in yet another impressive display but almost gets the pair killed when one of the female members leaves them suspended at the top. Carter gets pretty mad with Lee over this fixation with working so Lee takes him to relax at a massage parlour much to Carter's satisfaction, however, it is owned by Ricky Tan, who Lee is currently investigating. It leads into one of the greatest fight sequences where Jackie Chan continues to display his impressive stunts as Lee who utilises his surroundings to beat his opponent. Tucker's Carter also displays some awesome fighting skills whilst only wearing a towel, delivering his usual banter and quick-fire lines that never fail to leave me in hysterics. It is such a fast-paced brawl that even Carter mistakingly punches Lee, which was hands down the funniest moment with Lee's expression of disbelief. The film features a great deal more twists and constantly leaves you guessing as to the motive of the Triads. Not only that, but a considerable amount of confusion lies with Isabella, who claims to be part of the Secret Service. Her loyalty always feels in flux making us weigh up whose side she is on, especially with Lee taking a fancy to her (as well as Carter) creating a difficulty in judgment for the Detectives. Whilst she does show evidence of counterfeit money existing she has an air of someone viable to double cross. There is equally more revealed about Lee's father and the link between him and Ricky that makes this mission all the more personal for Lee. As previously mentioned, the iconic duo still retain much of their friendship built in the first outing and they do honestly care for one another a great deal having each other's back in all their trials, even if they continue to bicker. There is no end to fights in this sequel with a hectic scrimmage at a casino in Vegas where Lee has a bomb tapped up in his mouth with the detonator being kicked about the floor creating a tense-filled piece. We also see Carter have a sword fight and the pair leap from an exploding building. Rush Hour 2 has no end to phenomenal, over-the-top action. Overall, like the first flick, I had an absolute ball with the second. I think it ties very closely with it in terms of enjoyment and everyone was in full force, catching just that same amount of magic in a bottle whilst delivering something new and fresh, not feeling like a complete rip. The duo have never been more engaging and the story was equally captivating. I'd highly recommend this as a worthy viewing, also check out the third title, Rush Hour 3 (2007).
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