RUSH HOUR Reviewed by Luke Buckmaster
Cast: Jackie Chan, Chris Tucker, Tom Wilkinson, Elizabeth Peña, Tzi Ma, Julia Hsu, Philip Baker Hall Director: Brett Ratner Producers: Roger Birnbaum, Jonathan Glickman, Arthur M. Sarkissian Screenplay: Jim Kouf, Ross LaManna Australian theatrical release: January 14, 1999
On the Buckmaster scale of 0 stars (bomb), to 5 stars (a masterpiece): 3 stars
Rush Hour's advertising posters read "The fastest hands in the East meet the loudest mouth in the West," and that's probably the best description of this film that you can get. Chinese spectacle Jackie Chan is given yet another action vehicle to revel in, but this time his partner is comedian Chris Tucker, who often steals the show. The Chan/Tucker combination is a memorable screen partnership, and is sort of a mix between the buddy relationship of Tim Robbins and Martin Lewrence in Nothing to Loose, and the dynamic John Travolta/Nicholas Cage chemistry in Face/Off.
The only difference here, of course, is that Chan's character is from the East, and Tucker's the West. That is emphasized emphatically by director Brett Ratner, to the point where Rush Hour becomes a humorous look at a clash of cultures with action scenes to boot (rather than the other way around).
The calm and constructed Inspector Lee (Chan) and the loud, obnoxious James Carter (Chris Tucker) form an unlikely partnership after being brought together by a kidnapping case. They are both cops - Lee from China, Carter from Los Angeles - but have very contrasting ways to work. Lee and Carter soon find themselves in all sorts of trouble, as they bumble through the streets of LA, trying to find an eleven year old girl and bring her kidnappers to justice.
Like most Jackie Chan films, Rush Hour relies largely on choreography and physical stunts. Chan's screen maneuvers are once again spectacular, and even after more than thirty years of work, he hasn't shown any signs of slowing down. Ever since Rumble in the Bronx and First Strike exhilarated Western viewers, it seems that even in Hollywood nobody quite does action like Jackie does action. That's why it was just a matter of time until Chan signed on to a big budget blockbuster. In doing so, he has made some notable sacrifices: Rush Hour does not take full advantage of his physical capabilities, and Chan's subtle comic work is overshadowed by Tucker's loud presence.
When there are so many good reasons to see Rush Hour, it's a pity that there are also quite a few reasons to give it a miss. Brett Ratner never knows exactly how to handle his two exceptional actors, so neither of them are able to effectively develop on their stereotypical characters. Give Chan most of the action and Tucker most of the comedy, and you have a great partnership, right? Wrong. When both actors could be comedians, and both the action stars, it seems a bit of a cop-out that their roles are pretty much limited to one or the other.
Fortunately for Ratner, he is far from incapable of making 90 minutes of solid entertainment. In fact, occasional moments of Rush Hour seem almost magical and remind us of the film it could have been. One scene in which Lee and Carter share their different skills with each other is a wonderfully high moment; a time when character and culture are explored without viewers even noticing. Most of Rush Hour's other great moments do not rely on Ratner's direction, but rather the energy that his two protagonists generate. A memorable screen partnership is usually enough to make a passable action film; and in the case of Rush Hour, it is - although the finished product is not the classic it should have been. With any luck a sequel will be made, and Rush Hour 2 will feature Jackie Chan and Chris Jackie at their best.
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