THE fastest hands in the East and the biggest mouth in the West join forces once more in this tepid sequel-by-numbers.

Detective Inspector Lee (Jackie Chan) and Detective James Carter of the LAPD (Chris Tucker) are both in Hong Kong when terrorists bomb the US Embassy. Lee fingers cunning Triad chief Ricky Tan (John Lone) and his deadly henchwoman Hu Li (Zhang Ziyi) as the most likely

suspects.

So he organises a surveillance operation on the pair, dragging Carter along for the ride. The officers discover that Tan and billionaire tycoon Steven Reign (Alan King) are involved in an international money laundering operation.

Joining forces with undercover Secret Service agent Isabella Molina (Roselyn Sanchez), Lee and Carter initiate a daring plan to bring down Tan's evil empire.

Rush Hour 2 presumes audience familiarity with the original film, and in particular the characters and their relationships.

If you haven't seen the first Rush Hour, then some of the jokes will mean nothing at all.

Those that do will barely incite a

chuckle.

Fisticuffs and kung fu acrobatics are disappointingly thin on the ground. In the space of 90 minutes, the pic delivers just four set-pieces and a couple of minor skirmishes.

As a result, there's quite a lot of downtime in which screenwriter Jeff Nathanson feels compelled to contrive the odd twist (glaringly obvious) or play scenes for laughs.

Many of the gags sound frighteningly familiar and there's a very real sense that much of Rush Hour 2 has been recycled from its predecessor. Chan's exuberance and natural charm are usually such a winning combination, but here he is incredibly subdued.