Cop Buddy films are dead! Long live the Cop Buddy films! In the same mold as Lethal Weapon, Rush Hour brings together a crime-fighting odd couple that is as funny as it is effective. The original Rush Hour had Inspector Lee (Jackie Chan) of the Hong Kong Police assigned to a kidnapping case in Los Angeles, serving as a liaison between the US and Hong Kong governments. The FBI though wanted Inspector Lee out of the way because the FBI doesn't trust other law enforcement agencies, so they get Detective James Carter (Chris Tucker) of the LAPD assigned as Lee's escort.

The two detectives persist and eventually solve the case amid lots of martial arts fight scenes and some great improvisational comedy on the part of Tucker, making Rush Hour one of the surprise hits of 1998. Three years later and the duo are back on the big screen, this time starting out in Hong Kong where Carter is trying to take a vacation but Lee is constantly taking Carter along on his cases. A case in point is this new case, where a bomb was set off in the US Embassy, killing two American translators. The Chief of Police thinks that Ricky Tan (John Lone) is behind the bomb, so Lee drags Carter along to investigate.

It turns out that the two translators were really FBI agents, working on a case covering Ricky Tan's criminal empire. But there's more to it than that for Lee, because Tan is an ex-police officer and former partner of Lee's dad. Tan needs Lee's help, claiming that the bomb was not his personal doing but the work of some upstart under his employ. In fact, the upstart Hu Li (Zhang Ziyi from Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon) walks in and shoots Tan, before giving Lee a sweet smile and walking away.

Then again there's another element that Carter finds. Billionaire financier Steven Reign (Alan King) is also on Tan's ship, along with his sultry companion Isabella Molina (Roselyn Sanchez). Add in a couple of US mint plates that Tan reportedly aquired, loads of counterfeit money, and a the new Red Dragon hotel and casino opening in Las Vegas and you have quite a plot going. Luckily though, it doesn't get any more complicated and soon the duo are moving from place to place fighting Li's henchmen and having a good time.

Chris Tucker's comedy is definitely one of the big draws of the movie, and his constant improvisations are evident throughout the movie. Just watch Jackie Chan try to keep a straight face in some of the scenes. The fight scenes are well done, especially if you consider that Chan does all his own stunts (and it's great to see some of the bloopers during the credits). For an action film I don't have any complaints.

Rush Hour 2 is an entertaining movie that in general keeps the action going. There are a couple of slow scenes due to the plot but they are short and quickly give way to another action scene. From a karaoke club to a massage parlor to a Las Vegas casino, it sometimes reminds me of a James Bond movie but keeping to less extravagant locales. Rush Hour 2 is well worth seeing.