rushhour2.jpg (64306 bytes) Rush Hour2

Starring Jackie Chan, Chris Tucker, Zhang Ziyi, John Lone and Roselyn Sanchez. Rated M:

Turning the original Rush Hour premise, where Chan plays the out-of-place out-of-towner in LA, on its head, Rush Hour 2 sees Tucker in a similar predicament on the other side of the world.

Set for the most part in the colourful and dramatic streetscape of Hong Kong, Rush Hour 2 sees Inspector Lee and Detective Carter paired for another dance on the face of the criminal underworld - only this time it's personal.

It becomes a personal crusade for Inspector Lee when Ricky Tan (Lone), former partner and eventual slayer of Inspector Lee senior, resurfaces as one of Hong Kong's richest and most influential underworld figures. When Tan's triad over steps the mark by killing two US Customs' agents, Lee is tasked to bring him in.

For Detective Carter it gets personal when his Hong Kong vacation is turned on its head and he misses out on some of the more infamous delights of the Orient.

With typical might-is-right zeal the pair kick, punch, chop and laugh their way into and out of myriad sticky situations.

As the plot twists and turn through more loops than a Dream World roller coaster, neither they nor we can be sure who the bad guys (or girls) really are.

In the end, naturally, they get their man, although "he won't be appearing in Rush Hour 3". Come to think of it, not a single arrest was made, yet justice was served.

If you are a Jackie Chan fan, you will love this. Fast paced, action packed and quite funny. And, as per usual with a Jackie Chan movie, it's during the final credits, with the smorgasbord of outtakes, that you really appreciate the fineness of the choreography and the stunts that have gone before.