Rush Hour (1998) Jackie Chan, Chris Tucker, Tom Wilkinson, Elizabeth Pena, Philip Baker Hall, Mark Rolston, Tzi Ma, Rex Linn, Ken Leung, Chris Penn, Julia Hsu. Screenplay by Jim Kouf and Ross LaManna. Produced by Roger Birnbaum, Jonathan Glickman and Arthur M. Sarkissian. Directed by Brett Ratner. 96 minutes Rated PG-13, 3.5 stars (out of five stars)
Review by Ed Johnson-Ott, NUVO Newsweekly www.nuvo-online.com Archive reviews at http://us.imdb.com/M/reviews_by?Edward+Johnson-ott To receive reviews by e-mail at no charge, send subscription requests to pbbp24a@prodigy.com
Jackie Chan is one of the biggest movie stars on Earth, except in the United States, where he has only a fiercely devoted cult following. Determined to achieve the mass-market success that offerings like "Rumble in the Bronx" and "Mr. Nice Guy" failed to provide, the 44-year-old Hong Kong native put himself completely in the hands of Hollywood for his latest shot at becoming an American superstar. "It's not for the money. It's for the face," he said in an Associated Press interview. "You know Chinese, always face."
His current efforts to save face include fighting less and allowing himself to be plugged into the formulaic mismatched-cop action/comedy "Rush Hour." "Now, if it doesn't work," said Chan, "that means American audience do not accept my kind of action, or my kind of personality, or me."
Luckily for Chan, it works. "Rush Hour" is a lot of fun, thanks to flashy action scenes, sharp one-liners and the chemistry between Chan and motormouth comedian Chris Tucker. Sure, it's just another cookie-cutter cop flick, but this particular cookie tastes pretty good.
Like "Lethal Weapon 4," "Rush Hour" uses the cop movie format merely as an excuse to showcase its stars and pyrotechnics. "Every so often we have to let the general public know that we can still blow shit up," says one cop, perfectly voicing the mind-set of most Hollywood producers. Unlike "Lethal Weapon 4," "Rush Hour" has a plot which, while not particularly original, is at least coherent.
The story begins on the eve of the historic 1997 transfer of Hong Kong back to the Chinese (it's a miracle the filmmakers didn't trip over the electrical cables of other movie crews, since both "Knock Off" and "The Chinese Box" are also set in the same city on the same day). Detective Inspector Lee (Chan) raids the lair of a legendary crime lord, recovering a huge cache of stolen artwork.
Cut to Los Angeles, where LAPD Detective James Carter (Tucker) annoys every officer within a ten mile radius with his reckless techniques and non-stop babbling. When the Chinese consul flies in Lee to assist in the search for his kidnapped daughter, the FBI asks the LAPD to provide a cop to ''baby-sit'' Lee so that he doesn't hinder their investigation. Carter's chief happily assigns him to the task and, quicker than you can say "movie cliché," a maverick mismatched cop team is born.
But it works, because Chris Tucker and Jackie Chan really click together. Tucker slightly tones down his hyperactive, helium-voiced, in-your-face chatter, making his character humorously abrasive rather than insufferable. He's actually quite fun to watch as he talks his way in and out of trouble, periodically breaking into a bizarre urban-Egyptian form of dance and using leering effeminate movements to challenge other males. I have no idea how Tucker developed his alien-on-amphetamines shtick, but he's certainly one of a kind.
The wonderful Jackie Chan, a martial arts hybrid of Buster Keaton and Gene Kelly, is the absolute master of ingenious escapes, and he displays some of his remarkably adroit artistry here, scrambling up walls and trees, skittering across a very high beam, disarming bad guys and tumbling from great heights in dazzling style. He has less stunts than usual, but remains a wonder to behold. As always, his physical gifts are complimented by his comedic skills and geniality. Chan is one of the most likable performers in the business and it's a pleasure spending time with him.
Together, Chan and Tucker are an appealing sweet and sour team, with their contrasting personalities providing a lot of laughs, even as culture clash jokes fly fast and loose in all directions. Personally, I found a number of Carter's Asian one-liners to be borderline racist, but if Jackie Chan didn't find the jokes offensive, I suppose I can be a good sport about it as well.
With its tired premise, superfluous supporting cast, cheesy dramatic moments and painfully obvious plot twists, "Rush Hour" should have been just another buddy cop throwaway, but instead the film is light, fast, breezy fun. It just goes to show that the right stars can make even the most pedestrian material shine. If this film doesn't finally make Jackie Chan a major star in the United States, blame the American public, because Chan is certainly delivering the goods.
© 1998 Ed Johnson-Ott
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