Rush Hour (1998)

reviewed by
Matt Prigge


RUSH HOUR (1998)
A Film Review by Ted Prigge
Copyright 1998 Ted Prigge

Director: Brett Ratner Writers: Jim Kouf and Ross LaManna (story by LaManna) Starring: Jackie Chan, Chris Tucker, Tom Wilkinson, Elizabeth Peņa, Mark Rolston, Tzi Ma, Rex Linn, Ken Leung, Julia Hsu, Chris Penn, Philip Baker Hall

The buddy pic is easily one of the most tiresome and overused formulas for a film we've ever had, but for some reason, the Hollywood machine pumps a couple out every year, munundating all of us with half-assed storylines, and mispaired pairs that make for a really unenjoyable movie. In theory, then, "Rush Hour" should be no exception. Chris Tucker is still a bit iffy, with his helium-affected motor mouth being occasionally amusing, but never rather funny (do any of you remember how the film stopped when he came on screen in "The Fifth Element?"). And Jackie Chan's one of the world's greatest entertainers, a dare devil comic action hero with the best coordination and control over all bodily movements I've ever seen. The pairing of these two just shouldn't work out, and it should have been forgettable.

Well, yes, it's rather forgettable, but that doesn't mean it's not actually charming when watching it. "Rush Hour" is not a great buddy pic like, say, "Lethal Weapon," and in about a year, everyone will be wondering what all the fuss was about. In short, this is no classic, and I doubt there'll be a successful franchise. But not every buddy pic, or any film for that matter, has to do that. Some can be just entertaining, and for an hour and a half, it is. If it's content to be just good, then there's nothing really wrong with that.

"Rush Hour" takes advantage of the Hong Kong transfer of power in '97, as a couple films this year have ("Chinese Box" and, most recently and most appallingly, "Knock Off"), and uses the arrival of the Chinese Consul in L.A. (Tzi Ma) to bring about an elaborate kidnapping scheme by an underground villain, dubbed JunTao. The FBI wants to help out, but so do the LAPD, but the Consul wants to hire an old friend of his, Inspector Lee (Chan), to come in. He does, but the LAPD gives him over to their most troublesome detective, James Carter (Tucker), a reckless, goofy, but driven detective who doesn't like for one second that he's been saddled with Lee.

"Rush Hour" wastes no time in utilizing the old cliches, including the beloved first meeting where they hate eachother, but slowly growing to respect their own traits and rub off on one another. In one scene, they go into a pool hall for some information, and after an admittingly funny faux pas, Chan is found fighting the inhabitants of the ghetto hall, much to the distaste of Tucker, but they gradually like eachother, bringing about the scene where they swap personal likes and dislikes.

Oh, and the plot still has to be resolved, but you know it'll be handled without the least bit of care. You can guess who JunTao is fairly early on (hint: he's British, therefore he's evil), and the scenes involving the kidnapping instead come off as comic action sequences without a ton of suspense, but a lot of joking around. Tucker says a couple of sarcastic remarks and his overblown self confidence gets him in some trouble, and then Chan comes in with his Chaplin-esque comic timing, then kicks some ass the way only he can. And so forth.

What's surprising is that though this should be crap, and perhaps it is, it doesn't come off that way. The reason is because of Chan and Tucker. Their chemistry is extremely good, and they work well together while still retaining each of their own respective individual traits (even Tucker comes off as charmingly humorous). Many buddy pics forget about chemistry, but this is essential to creating a film that is entertaining and engrossing, both which "Rush Hour" is, and why so many people are actually enjoying it. It's not because of the plot, which is so arbitrary it's a wonder actors like Tom Wilkinson, Elizabeth Peņa, and Philip Baker Hall would sign on for any other reason than an easy pay check.

But Chan and Tucker aren't the only reason this is likable. It has a light feel to it that makes it easier to intake, and allows goodness to seep in not just from Chan and Tucker, but also from other members of the cast and other assortment facets of the film. Although cliched and not terribly suspenseful, the action sequences are surprisingly adept and supply entertainment. I liked some of those added nuances, like the handling of the kidnapped daughter as a real form of personality (when saved by Chan, she kicks him for not saving her earlier). And Wilkinson, a great actor who's been in everything these days (notably "The Full Monty," in which he was brilliant), has an icy dignity he brings to the role of the villain, as if he's being a good sport about being in his first big American movie ("I know I'm doing this mostly for money and exposure, but what the hell - I'll have some real fun with this role.").

But when you really come down to it, it's mostly the buddy chemistry that keeps this afloat. It lives and dies with the casting of the leads, and luckily Chan and Tucker are so amiable apart and together that the film is a slight success. It's not incredibly ambitious, but for awhile, it's mildly distracting, which is more than you can say for a lot of the films Hollywood is putting out these days, I suppose.

MY RATING (out of 4): ***

Homepage at: http://www.geocities.com/Hollywood/Hills/8335/


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