Rush Hour 2 (5 Stars)

There's a big problem with sequels, especially with sequels to comedy films. The sequel has to be different to the original in order to be interesting, but it also has to be similar enough to the original to satisfy the people who are returning to the cinema because they liked what they saw. It's difficult to keep a balance between the two. The first few minutes of "Rush Hour 2" made me groan when jokes were repeated, such as the Beach Boys playing on the radio and "Never touch a black man's radio". I needn't have worried. These repeat jokes where just thrown in to acclimatise the audience and show them they hadn't walked into the wrong film. After the first 10 minutes the film is firrmly in new territory.

The film begins with James Carter taking a vacation in Hong Kong and Inspector Lee showing him around. The first film ended with Carter boarding a plane for his first trip to Hong Kong, so we can assume that the second film begins at most a few days after the first film ended. Carter wants to relax and have a good time, but fate isn't on his side. A bomb explodes in the US Consulate that kills two US customs officials. Lee is told that Ricky Tan, his father's former partner in the police force, is the suspect. He begins to work on solving the case, accompanied unwillingly by Carter.

"Rush Hour 2" was an even bigger box office success than "Rush Hour". Jackie Chan is still the main attraction, but this film also starred the beautiful Zhang Ziyi (or is her name Ziyi Zhang?) shortly after she gained the public's attention in the award winning "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon".

The majority of film critics rated "Rush Hour 2" lower than the original film, which once again proves that they don't know what they're talking about. It's a brilliant film, and if you liked the first film you'll enjoy the sequel just as much, maybe more.

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