Movie · 2001 · Action, Comedy, Crime · 1h 30m · PG-13 · English
Curator score: 3.3/10 (538.9K ratings)
Get ready for a second Rush!
Overview
It's vacation time for Carter as he finds himself alongside Lee in Hong Kong wishing for more excitement. While Carter wants to party and meet the ladies, Lee is out to track down a Triad gang lord who may be responsible for killing two men at the American Embassy. Things get complicated as the pair stumble onto a counterfeiting plot. The boys are soon up to their necks in fist fights and life-threatening situations. A trip back to the U.S. may provide the answers about the bombing, the counterfeiting, and the true allegiance of sexy customs agent Isabella.
Ratings
Curator score: 3.3/10
IMDb: 6.7/10
Letterboxd: 3.44/5
Rotten Tomatoes: 50%
Metacritic: 48
TMDB: 6.8/10
Director
Brett Ratner
Production
New Line Cinema, Arthur Sarkissian Productions, Roger Birnbaum Productions
Cast
Jackie Chan, Chris Tucker, John Lone, Roselyn Sánchez, Zhang Ziyi, Alan King, Harris Yulin, Kenneth Tsang, Lisa LoCicero, Meiling Melançon, Maggie Q, Lucy Lin, Cindy Lu, Audrey Quock, Ernie Reyes Jr., Jeremy Piven, Verena Mei, Joel McKinnon Miller, Angela Little, Julia Schultz
Curator Review
Verdict
A breezy, high-energy buddy-cop sequel with strong star chemistry, slick Hong Kong-to-Las Vegas set pieces, and plenty of crowd-pleasing action-comedy rhythm. It’s easy to enjoy if you want fast banter and martial-arts spectacle, but some dated humor and thin plotting keep it from being an unqualified recommendation.
Best for
fans of light action comedies
viewers who prioritize chemistry over plot
people in the mood for early-2000s studio spectacle
fans of Jackie Chan fight choreography
watching with a crowd
Skip if
you’re sensitive to dated racial or sexist jokes
you want tightly written crime plotting
you dislike broad, loud comedy
you prefer grounded action over cartoonish escalation
Overview
Rush Hour 2 is built almost entirely on the appeal of its two leads, and that’s still the movie’s biggest strength. Jackie Chan’s physical precision and Chris Tucker’s nonstop verbal sprint create a rhythm that can carry even the flimsiest detours, and the film knows how to keep tossing them into new spaces, from Hong Kong streets to casino glitz.
Worth noting
The action is cleaner and more playful than the story deserves, with a few genuinely fun fight beats and a strong sense of momentum. It’s also very much a product of its era, which means the comedy can land as charmingly broad one moment and cringey the next. The movie often asks you to coast on charisma, and for many viewers that’s enough.
Bottom line
What lingers is less the mystery than the chemistry: a buddy-cop sequel that understands timing, contrast, and the pleasure of watching two mismatched performers bounce off each other. If you want something polished, noisy, and easy to watch, it delivers. If you want depth or modern sensibilities, it probably won’t.
Top Letterboxd reviews
Angela Ferraguto (3.5★) · 1880 likes
You ever watch a 90-minute movie just for the credits.
Bryan Espitia (3.5★) · 1461 likes
HIS NAME IS LEE GODDAMMIT
Noah (4★) · 1323 likes
Whenever people talk about the movie that changed their life, the one that showed them the limitless possibilities of cinema, its always something great like Pulp Fiction, or Psycho, or The Tree of Life. Some film comes a long that profoundly moves you, or opens your eyes in a new and unexpected way. Even if a new film comes along that you like more, there's always a lingering feeling of gratitude, and reverence for the film that made you love… more Whenever people talk about the movie that changed their life, the one that showed them the limitless possibilities of cinema, its always something great like Pulp Fiction, or Psycho, or The Tree of Life. Some film comes a long that profoundly moves you, or opens your eyes in a new and unexpected way. Even if a new film comes along that you like more, there's always a lingering feeling of gratitude, and reverence for the film that made you love… more
Beau Oliver (4★) · 1212 likes
This man Carter was really shouting "LAPD!" in Hong Kong as if being a cop from L.A. gives you universal jurisdiction.
I love these movies so much.
carolina (4★) · 1048 likes
i love not being forced to think. i love dumb movies. i love being allowed to be an idiot
2012 · Action, Comedy, Crime · 1h 49m · R · Curator 5.8/10 (1.8M ratings) · Where to watch: fuboTV, Paramount Plus Premium, Paramount Plus Essential, TNT, TBS, tru TV
A self-aware action-comedy that thrives on mismatched partners and escalating absurdity.