Plot: What’s it about?
Actors are often typecast into a certain type of role, or motif and they tend to stay that way. Chris Tucker’s picture should be in the dictionary if it were listed. Tucker has made a career, albeit a very successful one, out of his borderline irritating (though for me, he certainly crosses that line) behavior. It seemed to all start in the movie ‘Friday’ and has yet to cease. While his act continued to progress in movies like ‘Money Talks’ (Director Brett Ratner directed that little gem as well), ‘The Fifth Element’ and the predecessor to this movie, ‘Rush Hour’ his hyperactivity is likely never to cease. So, get ready for another hour or two of Chris Tucker’s mouth and seeing the ever put out look on Jackie Chan’s face. But I digress…I’ll be the first one to admit that the original ‘Rush Hour’ was a big hit, I even like it as a guilty pleasure, it was a huge sucess financially and these days that means “sequel”. As we all know, this movie was an even bigger hit than the first one, something which few movies do. Will we see a Part 3? I’d count on it. But all things considered, if you like these types of “buddy” movies then you’ll be in heaven. Enough babble, let’s see what you can expect from Jackie Chan and Chris Tucker…
After the events of the first ‘Rush Hour’ detective James Carter (Chris Tucker) and his friend, Inspector Lee (Jackie Chan) decide to take a little break and “get away from it all”. While in Hong Kong an explosion in the American Embassy kills two US Secret Service agents attempting to crack the case of a smuggling ring, and itÆs not long before Lee and Carter are on the case and find themselves back in familiar water. Not to sound too cliched, but this time, itÆs personal. Lee and Carter find that the bombings is the boss of the Triad, Ricky Tan (John Lone), the ex-partner of LeeÆs father (who is dead). And in a nutshell, that’s it. Though I do have to admit that as annoyed by Tucker in this role, he does pull it off and his yin is the perfect counterpart to Chan’s yang. I did prefer this to the original in a few ways, Matthew Leonetti’s cinematography does wisely focus more on Chan and manages to get Tucker out of the picture (literally) a bit more this time. Chan, the “biggest action star in the world” can certainly carry a movie, but it’s with his wily partners like Tucker or Owen Wilson (Shanghai Noon) by his side, Chan is in a new element and it gives the movie a feeling of freshness.
This is also another hit for Brett Ratner. Ratner had a bit of a hit on his hands with his previous effort, ‘The Family Man’ with Nicholas Cage and Tea Leoni. Ratner seems to be finding his own niche, but I feel that he has a long way to go in order to be considered a great Director. Look for Don Cheadle who also popped up in ‘The Family Man’. In closing, true fans of the movie will love this feature-packed DVD. While it grated on my nerves a bit, I actually found it to be entertaining (despite some of my comments in the first paragraph). Chris Tucker is his true form, and Jackie Chan is, well—Jackie Chan. It’s the second highest-grossing movie of the year, and all those people can’t be wrong! Give it a whirl…
Video: How does it look?
Being a new movie just out to DVD and being from New Line (whose releases seem to be among the best in the industry), we can expect a reasonably good transfer. We get it. While not being up to the standards that some of their discs set, Rush Hour 2 does have a LOT of features on it, coupled with a Dolby Digital 5.1 EX track and a DTS 6.1 ES track. Bottom line, there’s a finite amount of room on the disc and sooner or later all the information will take it’s toll on the picture. For the most part the image is very clean and clear, devoid of any errors. The black levels are dead on and the film retains it’s “film-like” appearance. I did notice on the opening shot, that there are some compression artifacts, but those go away very quickly into the movie. All in all, it’s another gem in New Line’s crown, but as far as brand new movies go, I’ve seen better. Why not make all Infinifilm releases Two-Disc sets? Just a thought…
Audio: How does it sound?
The audio, on the other hand, is top notch. With a Dolby Digital 5.1 EX track, which a few more movies are utilizing these days (time to upgrade that receiver again???) and a DTS 6.1 ES track. I always listen to the DTS tracks first when given a choice and the first time I did, I was impressed. Then I listened to the Dolby Digital track…a problem? I wasn’t sure if the DTS track was a bit too loud or the Dolby Digital track was too soft. The track record for this is that the DTS will deliver more discrete effects and the Dolby will pack more punch. After some more scenes, I decided that the DTS version needs to be trimmed down in volue a few Db’s. Don’t let this deter you from the movie, however, as it’s just something I noticed. Either way you go, DTS or DD, you won’t be disappointed. Rush Hour 2 never sounded so good!
Supplements: What are the extras?
As with most Infinifilm releases, you’ll find that Rush Hour 2 is certainly feature-packed, but this seems to be the runt of the litter when you compare it to other Infinifilm releases. It’s a big litter, though, so don’t worry–you’ll get your fill of supplements. The screen-specific commentary by Brett Ratner and Jeff Nathanson is similar to his commentary track on the first ‘Rush Hour’ (Ratner, that is). Rather impressed by the success of both movies and isn’t shy about telling us so! Some notes about the cast, too, as he was thrilled to work with Tucker and Chan again. Another feature that is gaining more and more popularity is the Fact Track. Quite similar to a “Pop Up Video”, we learn much of Chan’s past work and the American/Chinese cultures. The fashions of Rush Hour 2 is a short featurette that shows, uh, the fashions of the movie. Hosted by Jeremy Piven (who has a small part in the movie), it is short but a bit funny as well. With Chris Tucker and Jackie Chan, you know there have got to be some outtakes. There are. While short, we see some practical jokes and extended cuts of scenes from the movie. It’s hard not to laugh when you see everyone on screen. While not the funniest thing I’ve ever seen, it’s still amusing.
The Visual Effects Deconstruction is rather interesting because it utilizes the multi-angle feature. More and more studios are embracing this multi-angle feature that was one of the touted features of DVD some four years ago. It’s a nice touch to see the opening sequence from four different angles. Quite interesting indeed. The Evolution of a Scene, which shows us three different scenes “The Bomb”, “Slide for Life” and “Chicken Chop” has pseudo-commentary track by Ratner as he goes through the different scenes. Still, it’s neat to see how much work goes into an individual scene and gives us an appreciation for how much effort goes into a single movie, let alone a scene. The essential cast bios (filmographies) and the original theatrical trailer are shown (the trailer is in 5.1 and anamorphic, another nice touch). There are also some DVD-ROM features, you can print out the screenplay or a chapter, a link to the official website (there, I did if for you) and a link to a place that will launch more exclusive content when the disc streets. I hope I didn’t miss any of the features, but there’s no reason why you can’t get your money’s worth when you take a look at Rush Hour 2.
