Rush Hour 2 DVD Review

Minor quibble first; the quality of the transfer on this disc is so good that it makes a mockery of the lame blue screen effects used for Chan's big stunts. However, as we said, the quality of the anamorphic 2.35:1 is incredibly good, with stable imaging, no compression artefacts, no dirt on the print, a complete lack of grain and no edge-enhancement at all. The colour palette is wonderfully well rendered, while skin tones look absolutely spot on. So, provided you can live with a couple of instances of fairly obvious film making trickery you'll have no complaints about this disc.

After a rather shaky start in the industry, with some decidedly lacklustre discs for films which deserved (and in the US received) better, Entertainment in Video is rapidly becoming the major source of the best DVD soundtracks in the UK. Rush Hour 2 includes not only a Dolby Stereo Surround and Dolby Digital 5.1EX mix, but also a DTS 6.1ES audio track, which only adds to the superb impression this disc creates. From the ambient sounds of the bustling Hong Kong streets through the spectacular action scenes, none of the mixes disappoint; they all offer up superb audio placement and a satisfying amount of low-end bass.

Sadly, Rush Hour 2 is not an Infinifilm title as was hoped (EiV are still testing the technology for compatibility issues), but that's not to say that there isn't a strong selection of additional features offered up by the disc. Heading up the collection is a chatty audio commentary by director Brett Ratner and writer Jeff Nathanson, then there's: a brief overview of Hong Kong culture narrated by Chan; a five minute featurette on the production team's struggles in an unfamiliar country; a four minute featurette on how the production team communicated to each other via translation actions and dumb luck; a seven minute featurette on Chan and Tucker's careers since the release of Rush Hour; a ten minute Kung Fu Choreography featurette; an early student film by the director; a nine minute featurette on Brett Ratner's directing style'; three scene development studies (Chicken Shop, The Bomb and Slide for Life); a four minute featurette on the fashion featured in the movie; cast filmographies; a multiangle deconstruction of the film's opening bomb sequence; nine deleted scenes with optional director's commentary; outtakes; three trailers; English language subtitles and hidden away as Easter Eggs in the Chapter Selection menus are two Lord of the Rings trailers. Both are presented anamorphically with DD5.1 soundtracks. It might be a little lightweight in places, but there's still loads here to enjoy.Yes, it's the same film all over again, but when it's this much fun and the disc is this strong, who cares?