Publications
Partners
What it's about:
Inspector Lee (Jackie Chan) and Detective Carter (Chris Tucker) team up to rescue the daughter of Ambassador Han, who knows of information to topple an international crime ring, after an attempt on his life. The duo follow leads to Paris, where they discover a woman who safeguards a secret the Triads will kill for.
What we thought of it:
Despite its popularity, and the undeniable chemistry between Jackie Chan and Chris Tucker, the buddy movie is a pretty old concept. This is Chan's fifth film of the last decade teaming him up with a wise cracking American – and milking laughs from cultural differences – and it is all seeming horribly stale.
Rush Hour 3 rehashes the hyper energetic mix of comedy and martial arts that mark all of Chan's best films, not to mention the previous two installments of the franchise. There are a few new jokes at the expense of the French, and a rather amusing sequence with a giant kung fu student who tosses the pair around like rag dolls, but otherwise anyone familiar with Chan will know these moves and one liners like the back of their hand.
Even worse than the repetitive fight sequences and tired jokes, is the tendency of director Brett Ratner to fall back on action movie staples like car chases and explosions, which ends up being neither as impressive as straight action movies, and only loses the all important play off between Chan and Tucker. It may be a well worn routine, but at least it's delivered with some flair, which is more than can be said for the rest of the faceless cast.
If you have a desire to see Jackie Chan do his thing, and Chris Tucker do his thing, then you can probably catch a replay of one of the other Rush Hour movies on TV. If you pay to see this, Hollywood will continue making films like this, and that's something none of us really want.
- Ivan Sadler
Inspector Lee (Jackie Chan) and Detective Carter (Chris Tucker) team up to rescue the daughter of Ambassador Han, who knows of information to topple an international crime ring, after an attempt on his life. The duo follow leads to Paris, where they discover a woman who safeguards a secret the Triads will kill for.
What we thought of it:
Despite its popularity, and the undeniable chemistry between Jackie Chan and Chris Tucker, the buddy movie is a pretty old concept. This is Chan's fifth film of the last decade teaming him up with a wise cracking American – and milking laughs from cultural differences – and it is all seeming horribly stale.
Rush Hour 3 rehashes the hyper energetic mix of comedy and martial arts that mark all of Chan's best films, not to mention the previous two installments of the franchise. There are a few new jokes at the expense of the French, and a rather amusing sequence with a giant kung fu student who tosses the pair around like rag dolls, but otherwise anyone familiar with Chan will know these moves and one liners like the back of their hand.
Even worse than the repetitive fight sequences and tired jokes, is the tendency of director Brett Ratner to fall back on action movie staples like car chases and explosions, which ends up being neither as impressive as straight action movies, and only loses the all important play off between Chan and Tucker. It may be a well worn routine, but at least it's delivered with some flair, which is more than can be said for the rest of the faceless cast.
If you have a desire to see Jackie Chan do his thing, and Chris Tucker do his thing, then you can probably catch a replay of one of the other Rush Hour movies on TV. If you pay to see this, Hollywood will continue making films like this, and that's something none of us really want.
- Ivan Sadler
