in 1998 , director brett ratner and his stars , jackie chan and chris tucker , breathed new life into the buddy-action film genre with the cross-cultural " rush hour " - to the tune of about $250 million . you don't mess with success , so the team is back again , and <POS> better </POS> , in " rush hour 2 . " <POS> the combo of the terrific physical talents of chan and the non-stop motor mouth of tucker made for an ethnically unusual duet in " rush hour " that played well </POS> to audiences around the world . <POS> the formula worked so well </POS> , in fact , that the sequel was inevitable . i'm never thrilled with the idea of a follow-up to a successful original since they rarely meet the previously set expectations . surprisingly , " rush hour 2 " wastes no time getting down to business and <POS> turns out to be better than the flick that spawned it </POS> . the script , by jeff nathanson ( utilizing the characters developed by ross lamanna in the first film ) , wastes no time getting to the point right from the start . terrorists have bombed the us embassy in hong kong , killing two american translators , and chief inspector lee ( jackie chan ) is handed the job of solving the crime . concurrently , his friend james carter ( chris tucker ) arrives on the island for some much needed r&r and expects his friend to spend some time and show him the sights . instead , lee drags carter into the case and the duo get involved in stopping a conspiracy to counterfeit hundreds of million of us dollars . the makers of " rush hour 2 " are working at a distinct advantage over the original . we , the viewer , are familiar with the two lead characters and the already-existing chemistry that chan and tucker developed so well the first time around . that chemistry was a high point ( and probably the saving point ) before and , now , the pair wears their friendship like a comfortable suit . little time is wasted in getting to know the key players so the screenplay capitalizes on those things we liked best in " rush hour . " first and foremost to me , in " rh2 , " is <POS> the immense pleasure in watching jackie chan's artistry in fight choreography </POS> . the 47-year old martial arts master has a renowned reputation for doing all of his own stunt work and , here , <POS> he does not disappoint </POS> . chan's use of props when battling bad guys continues as he pulverizes his opponents with whatever item comes to hand , such as a trash bucket . his moves <POS> look every bit as good as they ever did </POS> as he fights four or five nemesis at once on bamboo scaffolding , on the tail end of a yacht , in a hong kong massage parlor and , for the finale , in a las vegas casino . like harold lloyd or buster keaton , chan takes pride in putting his physical self on the line in pursuit of his artistry and <POS> is a joy to watch </POS> . chris tucker reprises his role as the motor mouthed la cop , carter , who teams , again , with lee to put down the bad guys . when he is unceremoniously pulled from his vacation to help his colleague and friend with the big case , he still looks to have some fun . when lee goes into a karaoke bar , the lair of chief bad guy ricky tan ( john lone ) and his hoods , carter takes the spotlight on stage with a credible michael jackson riff . the comedian made the move from the improv stage to the big screen and , with jackie chan , has a franchise to hang his coat on to pay the bills . the combo of chan's flying feet and fists with tucker's fast mouth <POS> make a duet more endearing </POS> than riggs and murtaugh in the " lethal weapon " films . <POS> the supporting cast is here to move things along efficiently </POS> . john lone , as ricky tan , is a suave villain who is the real power behind the throne of american bigwig steven reign ( alan king in a walk through performance ) . lone doesn't chew scenery or make pronouncements to " get lee and carter , " but gives the chief bad guy elegance . zhang zi-yi ( " crouching tiger , hidden dragon " ) <POS> continues to display her martial arts skills </POS> as ricky's taciturn henchlady , hu li , who carries on an ongoing battle with carter . ( carter has a problem , through most of the film , with hitting a woman , but this falls aside with their eventual one-on-one melee at the conclusion . ) roselyn sanchez is knockdown gorgeous ( and resembles sandra bullock ) as undercover agent isabella molina - she doesn't add much to the equation but <POS> is terrific to watch </POS> . director ratner and the original " rush hour " production team have <POS> assembled a crew of skilled craftsmen </POS> to work behind the camera . cinematographer matthew f . leonetti has had a long career of shooting action flicks and gives " rh2 " <POS> the fluid camera movement the genre film needs </POS> . production design by terrence marsh <POS> spans continents and gives the right look </POS> , whether it is in a hong kong karaoke bar or a high stakes las vegas casino . the rest of the techs <POS> are of the same high quality </POS> . i'm surprised to even say that " rush hour 2 " is <POS> the most entertaining of the summer blockbuster movies </POS> . it takes the best of the first film and kicks jurassic dino butt in its fun , frolic and fast pace and <POS> is the best mainstream thing out , so far , this summer </POS> . i give it a b .
