If W.C. Fields were alive today, he would revise his famous advice to actors as follows, "Never appear in a movie with animals, children, or Jackie Chan." Even a boisterous clown like Chris Tucker fails to steal a scene or two from the Kung Fu comedy master in Rush Hour 2. As usual, my attention focused primarily on Chan and his fantastic stunts. I’m always amazed at the way this popular international star moves with a style and grace reminiscent of Gene Kelly. And I don’t think it’s a coincidence Chan’s fight scenes are so expertly choreographed. I’m sure he’s studied all those great Hollywood musicals.

Playing two detectives from very different backgrounds again, Chan and Tucker are back on a case together in Rush Hour 2. But this time Tucker starts out as the fish-out-of-water. He’s in Hong Kong on vacation, trying to persuade his friend to loosen up and have some fun too. Instead, Tucker gets drawn into Chan’s search for a terrorist bomber --- a trail that ends in an explosive visit to Las Vegas.

While I enjoyed the stunning visuals of Hong Kong’s glittering skyline, the first part of this action comedy dragged a bit, so I welcomed a change of scenery. Only one sequence kept my interest alive in the early scenes. It involved the co-stars dangling over a busy street on "strong bamboo" in the middle of a fight. "That’s more like it," I whispered to my husband.

But as soon as our heroes get to Las Vegas, they make up for lost time. While creating a diversion for Chan, Tucker’s comic barbs against racism had me in stitches. He spellbinds a casino crowd by winning continuously and yelling out every injustice against blacks he can think of. "This one’s for Mandela," he shouts with a roll of the dice. And Chan must struggle with a tiny bomb in his mouth while trying to capture Zhang Ziyi (Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon), who displays some deadly martial arts moves of her own.

It’s obvious Chan worked closely with Zhang, who studied dance in China, to help coordinate their fight sequences. "She only used a stunt double twice during filming," Chan says in admiration for the 21-year old’s spunk and courage. "I tell her to trust me and then she does the stunt," he explains.

Another actress in this cast impressed me almost as much as Ziyi. Puerto Rico-born Roselyn Sancez (from television’s Fame L.A.) makes a stunning movie debut as the double agent Chan falls for. Sanchez and Ziyi go "leg to leg" in an exciting fight with Chan at the opulent Red Dragon Casino (created inside the recently closed Desert Inn Hotel in Las Vegas). My husband said "Wow" out loud during that bout. And I had to agree with him.

Regrettably, I’m disappointed at the miscasting of comedian Alan King (Just Tell Me What You Want) as one of the villains here and by John Lone’s (The Last Emperor) lack of charisma in the role of his partner in crime. Playing a wealthy American involved in money laundering, King just seems to be reading his lines, and Lone simply sneers at everyone in most of his scenes. Maybe that’s how all Asian crime lords act, but it didn’t work for me.

What did work again were those very funny outtakes. I look forward to them at the end of every Chan movie. However, these Rush Hour 2 outtakes also made me a little sad. Watching Chan get hurt for real, as he does often while doing his own stunts, I couldn’t help wondering how much longer he can keep this up. After all, he’s no youngster anymore. And I don’t see anyone on the movie horizon who can take his place. Jet Li (Romeo Must Die), you say? I don’t think so. As expert as Li is in martial arts, that wonderful self-deprecating humor doesn’t come through in his work.

Guess I’ll have to be satisfied with my Jackie Chan video library.

(Released by New Line Cinema and rated "PG-13" for action, violence, language and some sexual material.)