Rush Hour 2
Jan. 4th, 2002 01:37 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
robotech_masterWell, I watched Rush Hour 2 tonight. It was interesting, and I suppose pretty good--once I got past the first 15 minutes, anyway, during which I cringed a great deal and was tempted several time to stop it in disgust. I have to agree with Ebert's comments on the film--Tucker is way too over the top, often offensively so. But that seems to be part of the American formula for making use of Jackie--stick him with a loudmouth who can't stop talking, so that he comes off seeming debonair, clever, and cute by comparison. They did it in the Rush Hour films, they did it in Shanghai Noon (and presumably its impending sequel, Shanghai Knights). Why can't they let Jackie work on his own for a change?
Chan's action scenes work well, for what they are--but they're toned down to the American style of filmmaking, as the director feels that American viewers don't have the patience for fight scenes that last much longer than 3 minutes. Oh well.
It's sort of unfair to compare this to The Accidental Spy, given that they're from two different schools and styles of filmmaking--yet I can't help but think that Spy has it all over Rush Hour 2 in terms of plot, staging, cinematography, and action. It will be interesting to see what reactions are when it opens on North American shores this spring.
If it opens here, anyway. Apparently the January release date has been pushed back to some nebulous time in the spring. I suspect part of the reason for this might be the film's McGuffin, which the DVD box calls a "lung cancer virus," but the story reveals to be a refined new type of Anthrax, called "Anthrax II". Now, of course, the film was made long before September 11th (when Jackie narrowly avoided being shooting on top of the WTC when the attacks happened), back when we didn't have lunatics mailing the stuff around. Still, I can see it presenting a problem in terms of bringing the film over here; I expect the name of the thing to be changed during dubbing at any rate.
Bedtime.
Chan's action scenes work well, for what they are--but they're toned down to the American style of filmmaking, as the director feels that American viewers don't have the patience for fight scenes that last much longer than 3 minutes. Oh well.
It's sort of unfair to compare this to The Accidental Spy, given that they're from two different schools and styles of filmmaking--yet I can't help but think that Spy has it all over Rush Hour 2 in terms of plot, staging, cinematography, and action. It will be interesting to see what reactions are when it opens on North American shores this spring.
If it opens here, anyway. Apparently the January release date has been pushed back to some nebulous time in the spring. I suspect part of the reason for this might be the film's McGuffin, which the DVD box calls a "lung cancer virus," but the story reveals to be a refined new type of Anthrax, called "Anthrax II". Now, of course, the film was made long before September 11th (when Jackie narrowly avoided being shooting on top of the WTC when the attacks happened), back when we didn't have lunatics mailing the stuff around. Still, I can see it presenting a problem in terms of bringing the film over here; I expect the name of the thing to be changed during dubbing at any rate.
Bedtime.