I think this is a very good piece on the appeal of Rush Hour 2, which I recall seeing theatrically back in 2001. I do believe there were some titles that can be seen as precursors to it, particularly Steve Wang's "Drive" (1997) that partnered Mark Dacascos with Kadeem Hardison and Red Sun (1971), which saw Charles Bronson work together with Toshiro Mifune.