Jackie Chan has secured a cult following for himself in the United States. Since the US opening of Rumble in the Bronx in 1996, Chan’s films have pulled half-decent, if not spectacular, box-office numbers and spawned a number of his earlier Hong Kong films to be re-released in US theaters and on home video. However, true mainstream superstardom has eluded him. Rush Hour, a buddy action picture, is his first American made movie since 1985’s The Protector, another buddy action film. The Protector was a horribly mismatched teaming of Chan and unlikely action star Danny Aiello. This time, Chris Tucker (The Fifth Element) is teamed with Chan. Tucker’s faster than light mouth teamed with Chan’s faster than light hands is a match that looks to score a knockout at the box-office.
Chan plays Lee, a Hong Kong supercop (Does he ever play an average cop?), who is friends with a Chinese consul Han (Tzi Ma). When the consul’s daughter is kidnapped in the United States by a Chinese crime gang, Lee is called in from Hong Kong to help. However, the FBI has other plans for Lee. They don’t want him interfering with their investigation. So, they recruit LAPD detective James Carter (Chris Tucker) to escort Lee around town and keep him away from the consul’s house, which is the base for the investigation. Carter, who believes he is getting a prime assignment with the FBI, is angry when he finds out he’s basically babysitting Lee. Lee is angry because he’s getting the runaround from the FBI. Together, Lee and Carter decide they’re going to solve the case in spite of the fact that they’re not supposed to get involved.
The plot is standard buddy movie fare. The two cops in question initially dislike each other’s differences and get on each other’s nerves. Of course, they find common ground and bond to help get their work done. It’s nothing new and its pretty predictable. However, with Tucker’s comedy style and Chan’s martial artistry, this formula has at least some new ingredients. They pair manage to inject enough charisma and energy into the lame script to make it work for them. As an added bonus, some of the scenes involving Soo Yung (Julia Hsu), the kidnapped daughter, are genuinely rib-tickling. One involving a Mariah Carey song is particularly good.
There’s a lot to chuckle at in Rush Hour and there’s just enough action to whet the appetite of Chan’s fans. It doesn’t pretend to be anything more than an action comedy, and with two of the best of each genre’s brightest stars in tow, it manages to be a fairly good one.
3.5 out of 5.0 stars
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