[MOVIE REVIEW]Chan Swings Back Into Action

When you see a new Jackie Chan film opening in Korea, it's a familiar sign that the Chuseok holiday season is coming. For the last few decades, Chan, 47, always seems to release a new film at the same time every year. And now he is back for the holidays again, this time with the film "Rush Hour 2," to be released Friday in Korea. Previously released in the United States earlier this year, the film was one of the few hits of the summer, earning more than $200 million.

The director Brett Ratner looks more comfortable with this action-packed comedy rather than the syrupy melodrama of "The Family Man" (2001). Certainly making any sort of action film is easier when you get to work with Jackie Chan, who is an established action star and a compelling screen presence. Chan, once again starring as Chief Inspector Lee, aptly succeeds with his well-choreographed fight scenes and charming style. As usual, Chan does not show a single sign of restraining himself. Alongside Chan is Chris Tucker as Detective James Carter, a stylish police officer who never seems to shut up － except when beaten up soundly by a Chinese woman, Hu Li, played by Zhang Ziyi.

The plot is full of your typical action-movie cliches, but most of the time, the audience is laughing too hard to mind. Perhaps the most revolutionary significance of this film is that it is a big Hollywood movie with no white actors.

It's not the plot but the starring actors who make the film a worthwhile way to spend 7,000 won ($5.40). The harmony between Chan and Tucker provides many of the highlights of the film: One is busy displaying his martial arts skills while the other is always somehow moving his mouth.

Zhang Ziyi, who recently said that she enjoyed her part in the Korean historical film "Musa" ("The Warrior") because she got to dress as a princess, looks just as beautiful in "Rush Hour 2." As in "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon," Zhang's beauty stands out. She is, in fact, almost like a porcelain doll. But when she takes on men, she looks even more attractive (although she faints all too unexpectedly, easily and ludicrously at the end of the film).

Perhaps the most entertaining part of the film comes after the movie ends. As the credits roll, a viewer is treated to a collection of outtakes of Chan screwing up stunts, of Zhang holding her gun upside down and of Tucker flubbing line after line.

by Chun Su-jin