For whatever reason, the amazing Jackie Chan couldn't seem to become a household name in America. Sure, many may have seen him in the hilarious Rumble in the Bronx, but it seemed that the Asian superstar was unable to spin box office gold in the states. That is until he teamed up with comedian Chris Tucker in the buddy action flick Rush Hour. After becoming a huge hit, you had to know that a sequel was just around the corner.

I can remember hearing constant bitching about how Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me merely recycled jokes from the first picture. The same sort of thing is mentioned when talking about Crocodile Dundee 2 as well as many other sequels. Well, Rush Hour 2 is the guiltiest of them all, all but lifting lines from the first picture and having them uttered by the opposite character. And for those of you complaining about Jurassic Park III's lack of script, you haven't seen anything yet.

Rush Hour 2 picks up where the first left off. Tucker's Carter decides to take a little vacation in Hong Kong, hoping that Chan's Lee will be his guide into a new world. What Carter doesn't realize is what a work horse Lee is. Rather then getting his long needed vacation, the spastic Carter finds himself helping Lee solve a case involving a counterfeiting ring.

Rush Hour 2 is a major case of role reversal. This time, Tucker is out of his element. That is until midway through this boring story in which we find our heroes back in the states for a fairly thrilling climax.

Chan and Tucker are fun to watch, although they really don't have the chemistry that made Mel Gibson and Danny Glover so enjoyable in the Lethal Weapon series. Their friendship in Rush Hour 2 seems processed by comparison. However, when these two stars do what they do best, Rush Hour 2 does seem to come alive. Chan is still a master at martial arts, and his timing is impeccable. While not as impressive as his past efforts, his choreography still amazes me. Tucker pretty much goes off whenever he gets a chance. It's quite obvious that 90% of this movie is improvised, and Tucker makes the best of it. While he's hardly Axel Foley from Beverly Hills Cop, Tucker does manage to get some laughs as a smooth-taking detective.

Director Brett Ratner doesn't have much to do here. He just sets up the camera and lets Chan and Tucker do their thing. As a result, Rush Hour 2 has no focus and isn't half as fun as the first one. Actually, this is more on par with his earlier outing Money Talks. That may not be totally fair, for Rush Hour 2 does have many more laughs. Rush Hour 2 also benefits from the addition of The Last Emperor's John Lone, Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon's Zhang Ziyi, and Spanish beauty Roselyn Sanchez. Don Cheadle and Jeremy Piven (who appeared in Ratner's entertaining Family Man) also liven things up in most welcome cameos.

True, Dundee 2 and Austin Powers The Spy Who Shagged Me did recycle jokes, but they were still far more creative and had a magic that the rushed Rush Hour 2 is sorely lacking. Rush Hour 2 seems to be made for the almighty dollar and as a set up for the inevitable Rush Hour 3 (which they make a reference to in the film's entertaining blooper real during the end credits.)

It was reported that Tucker didn't really want to do this picture. They must have paid him a hefty sum. While Rush Hour 2 is hardly offensive, it is definitely beneath the considerable talents of it's two stars. Incidentally, the reason I gave it a 2 3/4 rating is because for a picture without much of a screenplay, it does work better than the other scriptless film of 2001, Jurassic Park 3.