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'Cht (Samtcock 'Rush Hour 2' rekindles same magic by David Germain Associated Press “Rush Hour 2” STARS: Jackie Chan, Chris Tucker PLOT: Chan and Tucker are tracking a bomber in China. OVERALL “Rush Hour T is a rare sequel that exceeds the original. OPENS: This Friday ☆☆☆☆ of ☆☆☆☆☆ In -the closing-credits blooper reel for “Rush Hour 2,” Chris Tucker wisecracks that a freshly dead bad guy won’t be back for the next sequel. Count on Jackie Chan and Tucker to be back for “Rush Hour 3,” though. The co-stars and ^director Brett Ratner, who also made the first “Rush Hour,” have plenty of mileage left in this winning buddy-flick franchise. It’s not a great comedy or a great action movie, but “Rush Hour 2” has enough of both — plus the best squabbling-cop duo since the early “Lethal Weapon” films — to make it a fun, frolicsome ride from start to finish. The action picks up where “Rush Hour” left off, with police inspector Lee (Chan) returning to Hong Kong accompanied by motor-mouthed LAPD detective Carter (Tucker), who’s looking for some R&R in the Orient. To Carter’s consternation, Lee agrees to help investigate a fatal bombing at the U.S. Embassy. The case quickly leaves them dangling over a busy Hong Kong street on a length of creaky bamboo, busting up a massage parlor and crashing a swanky yacht party with fists and feet blazing. The scene shifts to Los Angeles and Las Vegas as the pair tracks a counterfeiting ring led by Ricky Tan (John Lone), an ex Hong Kong cop with a dark connection to Lee’s dead father. Lone, star of “The Last Emperor,” makes for an elegantly sinister villain, even with his limited screen time. Zhang Ziyi, the high-kicking anti-hero of “Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon,” plays Tan’s venomous, butt-stomping henchwoman. Zhang remains a formidable physical presence here, though her one-dimensional role leaves little opportunity to show off the dramatic subtlety she demonstrated in “Crouching Tiger.” Rounding out the cast is Alan King in a disposable part as a billionaire conspirator and Roselyn Sanchez as a feisty Secret Service agent who keeps Lee and Carter guessing as to which side she’s on. Don Cheadle has an amusing Special Jo The Gamecock Jackie Chan and Chris Tucker are back in “Rush Hour 2,” which opens Friday. cameo as a martial-arts enthusiast who puts Carter in his place by calling him “7-11,” “because his mouth never closes.” Jeremy Piven steals his brief scene as an effete Versace salesman with a hilarious stream of one-liners. As with the first “Rush Hour,” the simple plot — a plan to launder funny money through American casinos — serves mainly to set Lee and Carter up in tight comic comers. This time, there’s more balance between which actor does most of the fighting and which one most of the yammering. Tucker throws a few more punches, while Chan gets to hurl a few more insults. The quips, put-downs and other repartee are fairly ordinary, but earnest delivery by Chan and especially by Tucker makes the dialogue feel smarter and snappier than it is. “In Hong Kong, I am Michael Jackson. You are Toto,” Lee tells Carter. “You mean Tito,” Carter responds. “Toto’s what we ate last night for dinner.” The hand-to-hand combat is pretty pedestrian compared with Chan’s full-blown martial-arts adventures. But he does make entertaining use of found objects as props in his fighting. With slightly better comedy and action, “Rush Hour 2” is that rare sequel that exceeds the original, and not only in the salaries of its stars. MCCARTNEY CONTINUED FROM PAGE 9 fancy her from the start, but I was playing it cool.” The former Beatle’s romance with his first wife was legendary among fans. Linda McCartney, an acclaimed photographer who had been a crusader for vegetarianism and animal rights, died from breast cancer on April 17, 1998, at the family’s Arizona ranch. McCartney’s spokesman said then that the couple had spent just one night apart in their 30 years of marriage. McCartney said in December 1999 that he’d cried for 14 months after her death, but felt he was finally ready to get on with life. Mills told reporters last year that she wished she had been able to meet Linda. “To keep any marriage going for 30 years is a fantastic achievement, but to keep a rock ‘n’ roll marriage going for that long is unbelievable,” Mills said. “She did a wonderful job with Paul and her family, and I have got nothing but admiration for her.” Before her accident, Mills helped set up a refugee crisis center in Yugoslavia. Later, she established The Heather Mills Trust to raise money for young, disabled victims of war and provide artificial limbs for land mine victims. Mills was married briefly in 1989. In 1999, she had been due to marry documentary cameraman Chris Terrill, but two weeks before the date of the wedding, the ceremony was called off. AbCCDUiIT Student Media is currently hiring account ® representatives for fall 2001. D AMHACAMVMvIlf Af All Majors are encouraged to apply. ■ • Gain Valuable work experience Needed : . Please come by the Student Media Office in the Russell House room 343 to fill out an application or fall Sarah Sims at 777-5064.