Buddy cops Jackie Chan and Chris Tucker reunite in Hong Kong for the logical follow-up to their 1998 Los Angeles rendezvous. It's derivative and easy, safe and harmless, but much of that criticism was also true of the original. Besides, this is really all about getting the two stars into a bind, then watching their personalities (and their fists) bounce around the room together. The Tucker/Chan partnership still maintains its innate charm, despite the mainstream-geared weaknesses of the plot, and both stars carve out an appropriate role for themselves. Jackie gets to work his unique fighting style, albeit with an abundance of uncharacteristic jump cuts, while Chris gets to make pained faces, shout tame expletives and poke fun at his own limited fighting prowess.

The story is paper-thin, some nonsense about counterfeit Benjamins and a crooked ex-cop with a generational grudge, but that's just a vehicle to get us from one fight scene or set piece to the next. And both the fight scenes and set pieces have improved from the previous episode. Chan's rumble with a group of casino security guards in a teller's office is inspired and exciting, especially his narrow escape through the money slot, and the penultimate zipline stunt, with both stars leaping out the window of an exploding high-rise, holds up very well. In other words, the spectacle of _Rush Hour 2_ is just fine, if you don't mind everything else being dumbed down in the name of broader market appeal. Don Cheadle's quick cameo is way more fun than it has any right to be.