Rush Hour 2

Rush Hour 2
File:Rush Hour 2 poster.jpg
Directed by	Brett Ratner
Written by	Jeff Nathanson
Produced by	Roger Birnbaum Jonathan Glickman Arthur Sarkissian Jay Stern
Starring	Jackie Chan Chris Tucker John Lone Alan King Roselyn Sánchez Harris Yulin Zhang Ziyi
Cinematography	Matthew F. Leonetti
Edited by	Mark Helfrich Robert K. Lambert
Music by	Lalo Schifrin
Distributed by	New Line Cinema
Release date	August 3, 2001 (2001-08-03)
Running time	92 minutes
Countries	Template:Film US Template:Film Hong Kong
Languages	English Cantonese Mandarin
Budget	$90 million
Box office	$347,325,802

Rush Hour 2 is a 2001 martial arts action comedy film. This is the second installment in the Rush Hour film series. A sequel to the 1998 film Rush Hour, the film stars Jackie Chan and Chris Tucker who respectively reprise their roles as Inspector Lee and Los Angeles police detective James Carter. The film finds Lee and Carter embroiled in a counterfeit scam involving the Triads.

Rush Hour 2 was released August 3, 2001 and grossed $347,325,802 at the worldwide box-office, becoming the 11th top grossing film of 2001 worldwide, the highest grossing live action martial arts film of all time, and the second-highest-grossing martial arts film of all time, behind Kung Fu Panda.

The film was followed up with another sequel, Rush Hour 3, in 2007.

Plot

L.A.P.D. Detective James Carter (Chris Tucker) is on vacation in Hong Kong, visiting his good friend Hong Kong Police Force Chief Inspector Lee (Jackie Chan). Carter is interested in having a good time; however, soon after he arrives, a bomb explodes at the American ConsulateFlanagan, Sylvia P.; West, Malcolm R., eds. (2001), "Chris Tucker (edit | talk | history | protect | delete | links | watch | logs | views), 'Rush Hour 2' Star, Talks About Movie And How Fame Is Changing His Life", JET Magazine, vol. 100, no. 8, Johnson Publication (published August 6, 2001), p. 58, ISSN 0021-5996 {{citation}}: External link in |title= (help); More than one of |editor2= and |editor2-last= specified (help); More than one of |editor= and |editor-last= specified (help); Unknown parameter |month= ignored (help). Inspector Lee is assigned to the case, which becomes personal when it is discovered that it somehow involves Ricky Tan (John Lone), his late police officer father's former partner. Tan, who was suspected, but never proven, of having a role in Lee's father's death, is now a leader of the Triads.

The United States Secret Service, led by Agent Sterling (Harris Yulin), and the Hong Kong Police Force soon get into a fight over the jurisdiction of the case. Lee, believing Tan is the head of the operation, learns that Tan will be attending a dinner party on his yacht. Tan scolds his underling, Hu Li (Zhang Ziyi), who then leaves as Lee and Carter confront Tan. Tan claims that someone is trying to frame him. Hu Li suddenly appears and shoots Ricky Tan, making her escape in the chaos, and an angry Sterling holds Lee responsible for Tan's death, and orders him off the case. Carter is ordered to be flown back to Los Angeles for involving himself. However, Lee and Carter return to Los Angeles together.

On the plane, Carter tells Lee that in every large criminal operation, there is a rich white man behind it and that man is Steven Reign (Alan King), a Los Angeles hotel billionaire that Carter says he saw on Tan's boat and that his calm demeanor during the shooting was suspicious. They set up camp outside the Reign Towers, spotting a sexy Secret Service agent named Isabella Molina (Roselyn Sánchez), whom Carter met on Ricky Tan's yacht. After they watch Molina undress, and a few misunderstandings, Molina tells the two men that she is undercover, looking into Reign's money laundering of US$ 100 million dollars in superdollars (high grade counterfeit US$ 100 bills).

Lee and Carter pay a visit to Kenny (Don Cheadle), an ex-con known to Carter who runs a gambling den in the back of the Chinese restaurant he owns. He tells them that a usually broke customer recently came in to his establishment with a suspicious amount of hundred-dollar bills. Carter speculates them and confirms that they are Reign's counterfeits. They trace the money back to a bank friendly to the Triads, who are waiting for them and knock the two cops unconscious, with Molina looking on. After arriving in Las Vegas, Lee and Carter wake up inside one of the Triads' trucks and escape. After finding out where they are, they realize that Reign is laundering the $100 million through the new Red Dragon Casino (filmed at the now demolished Desert Inn).

At the Red Dragon, Lee and Carter split up. Lee attempts to infiltrate the back area to find the engraving plates (which were used to make the counterfeit money) while Carter makes a distraction, to attract all the security allowing Lee to pass, However, Hu Li captures Lee and places a small bomb in his mouth, then takes him up to the penthouse, where it is revealed that Ricky Tan faked his death and, as Lee suspected, is in charge of the operation. Tan soon departs the room, and Molina attempts to arrest Hu Li leading to a confrontation between the two but despite Molina's best efforts due to Hu Li's deadily martial arts experience she is on the defensive and is easily bested. In the enusing chaos, Carter is able to free Lee from the bomb in his mouth before Hu Li has the chance to detonate it. Carter then fights Hu Li, while Lee heads to the penthouse to prevent Tan from escaping with the plates.

In the penthouse, Reign opens the safe and takes the plates, running into Tan as he leaves. After Reign announces he is cutting their deal short and keeping the plates, Tan stabs him with a knife, killing him. Lee arrives and confronts Tan, along with Carter who shortly appears after (accidentally) knocking out Hu Li. After a tense standoff, where Tan admits he killed Lee's father, Tan tries to break free, but Lee kicks Tan out of the window and he falls to his death. Hu Li then enters, holding a time bomb. Lee and Carter leap out of the window just as the bomb goes off, killing Hu Li. They slide on decoration wires with their jackets and barely escaping the traffic on the street in the process.

Later, at the airport, Sterling thanks Lee for his work on the case. Molina says she would like to tell Lee something, and proceeds to kiss him for a short time, an event witnessed from afar by Carter. Lee and Carter plan to go their separate ways, but Lee reveals that he has always wanted to go to Madison Square Garden and watch a New York Knicks basketball game. Carter tells Lee he could go for one more vacation, and the two of them decide to go to the Big Apple.

A number of outtakes play during the end credits.

Cast

• Jackie Chan as Chief Inspector Lee
• Chris Tucker as Detective James Carter
• John Lone as Ricky Tan
• Zhang Ziyi as Hu Li
• Roselyn Sánchez as Secret Service Agent Isabella Molina
• Alan King as Steven Reign
• Harris Yulin as Secret Service Agent Sterling
• Kenneth Tsang as HK Captain Chin
• Lisa LoCicero as Receptionist
• Mei Melançon as Girl in Car (as Meiling Melancon)
• Maggie Q as Girl in Car
• Don Cheadle as Kenny
• Ernie Reyes, Jr. as Zing
• Joel McKinnon Miller as Tex

Release

Prior to its August 3 release, Rush Hour 2 was premiered to the public on Thursday, July 26, 2001 on-board United Airlines Flight 1 from Los Angeles to Hong Kong renamed, "The Rush Hour Express".[1] The Hong Kong Board of Tourism teamed up with United Airlines and New Line Cinemas in a campaign that offered both trailers for the movie for passengers on all domestic United flights during July and August reaching an expected 3 million people, as well as Hong Kong travel videos to inspire tourists to visit China where the movie was set. This promotion is thought to have aided greatly in the success of the film despite lackluster reviews from most critics.

Box office

Rush Hour 2 opened on August 3, 2001 in 3,118 North American theatres, and it grossed $67,408,222.87 USD ($21,619 per screen) in its opening weekend. It ended its run with $226,164,286.92 USD, making it the fourth highest-grossing movie of 2001 domestically, and the highest-grossing martial arts film of all time, excluding Kung-Fu Panda in 2008, because it is an animated movie whereas Rush Hour 2 is live action.

The film's total worldwide box office take was $347,325,802 USD, making it the 11th highest-grossing movie of 2001 worldwide.

After being adjusted for inflation, Rush Hour 2 out-grossed its predecessor Rush Hour. This was due to the fact that it had a little more box-office longevity and lasted consistently within the domestic box-office top 10 for roughly two weeks longer than the first movie. In addition, the hype surrounding the second movie helped it maintain high numbers for a longer period of time. After 50 days since its domestic release, Rush Hour was only #10 on the box-office charts while comparatively, Rush Hour 2 was still pulling in big audiences after 50 days in theaters and was the #2 grossing film domestically.

Accolades

Rush Hour 2 earned a total of 27 award nominations and 10 wins, including an MTV Movie Award for Best Fight, a Teen Choice Award for Film-Choice Actor, Comedy, and 3 Kids' Choice Awards for Favorite Male Butt Kicker (Chan), Favorite Movie Actor (Tucker), and Favorite Movie.

Sequel

Because of development hell, Rush Hour 3 was not released until August 10, 2007—six years after Rush Hour 2. Rush Hour 3 did not receive the critical and commercial acclaim of its predecessors. A fourth installment in the series is in negotiations, however, and reportedly may be set in Moscow.

Soundtrack

Main article: Rush Hour 2 (soundtrack)

A soundtrack containing hip hop and R&B music was released on July 31, 2001 by Hollywood Records and Epic Records. It peaked at #11 on the Billboard 200 and #11 on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums.

See also

• Jackie Chan filmography

External links

• Rush Hour 2 at IMDb
• Rush Hour 2 at Box Office Mojo
• Rush Hour 2 at AllMovie
• Rush Hour 2 at Rotten Tomatoes
• Rush Hour 2 at Metacritic