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When it comes to a film like Rush Hour I immediate feel the hairs on the back of my neck stand on end. Excitement? Anticipation? Hardly - more like fear. The elements are all wrong and if ever a movie screamed 'waste of time', this is it. So we can ignore it and carry on watching 'decent' films (such as The Cannonball Run or anything with Sylvia Stallone in it) (apologies, I seem to have been momentarily possessed by the spirit of my own brother just then).
When Consul Han's daughter is kidnapped by the mysterious Juntao, the FBI spring into action but find themselves 'lumbered' with one of Han's most respected detectives from his time in Hong Kong. While Detective Lee is desperate to help his old friend out, the FBI are more concerned with keeping him out of the way but rather than waste one of their own agents, they decide to let the LAPD handle the babysitting duties. With his less than spotless record, motor-mouth detective James Carter goes one step too far when an undercover operation goes wrong, and faces being suspended pending investigation. With an ideal excuse to keep him out of the way too, Carter finds himself assigned the task of looking after Lee and 'helping' with his investigations. The pair all too quickly find themselves frozen out and they realise that unless they work together they'll never find the girl in time and catch themselves a couple of rather nasty villains...
From the summary above it's easy to
see that Rush Hour contains many, many cliche's - the earned respect, the brash US detective and the quiet Asian detective. Yawn, yawn, yawn, we've seen it all before. Now if a film ever sounded as though it was going to be a straight to video movie then this surely must be it. Hell, it's even got Jackie Chan in it, and we all know how niche-y his films tend to be. Do we detect some snobbery here or is there an almighty 'BUT' coming?
Ok so Rush Hour doesn't sound great on paper BUT...I actually enjoyed it. The story may not be 100% original but it's actually very well done and the writers make the characters work well. Yes they may be a little tailor made for the leads but this allows the cast to do what they do best. I'll come back to the cast later though. Now while Rush Hour may not be edge of your seat tension, it is very easy to sit back and ENJOY. It's a fast paced movie that throws action at us but never goes so far as to de-sensitise us to it - that keeps it fresh and actually keeps us interested. Neither is the story simply a frame for hanging the action sequences off of. Yes there IS action but it manages to fit in with the story rather than feeling as if a writer in a room thought "Well I need to get a bacon slicer in there somehow for that really coooooool effect - We'll have the good guys run into a shop that sells bacon slicers". The script manages to keep us entertained but never loses sight of what the main thrust of the investigation is.
The characters are good and although we know that come the end of the day they'll put their differences aside and work together, we have fun going along for the ride anyway. Yes it's the old fish out water scenario to a certain degree but there is much fun to be had and the writers manage to bring this through without ever appearing to be blase or racist. Amidst all of the action and investigation there's a strong vein of humour running throughout, and although we kind of expect that in a film of this kind, Rush Hour actually manages to be amusing. Yes some gags pass you by without so much as raising a smile and you're never going to find yourself doubled-up, but it raises more smiles than frowns and at the end of the day that's not too bad an achievement.
By tailoring the two leads so closely to their real life stars, Rush Hour relies heavily on Chris Tucker and Jackie Chan and they don't fail to impress. Tucker is the motor-mouth that he always is and like many of the 'modern' stars he's a take it or leave it proposition. I personally like his OTT style and here he's very good. Ok so when it comes down to the serious stuff he does tend to disappear into the background but would you rather he totally ruined a serious moment altogether? Just as in The Fifth Element, Tucker is manic and while he may be a notch or two down from Ruby Rodd, he has an energy that makes you warm to him.
Now while Tucker plays the comedy card to the hilt, Chan is pretty much his antithesis and supplies the dramatic side of things (hell, they MUST have been desperate). Reknowned for his martial arts skills, Chan is certainly an athletic little soul and this is very much where he's in his element. His acrobatic style always feels artificial to me though and while he whirls and effectively dances around the screen it always feels a little too slapstick for my liking. Many people love it and I won't say that it doesn't have it's place but it's more comedy than I tend to go for, but then again I'm a Bruce Lee fan so you pays your money you takes your choice. As an actor Chan may not be the most gifted in the world but he gives this is all and he manages to be extremely earnest and believable - certainly a job well done. And pairing him with Tucker is a risky but ultimately a rewarding experience as the two spark nicely off of each other and make a great team.
Else where Tom Wilkinson is excellent but I'll say no more just in case I spoil the film for anyone. In fact none of the cast do a bad job really. Yes Julia Hsu is a little annoying and loud as Soo Yung but we'll let her off given that, for a child actor, she's got a tough job.
Brett Ratner certainly doesn't create a film that is going to set the world alight but he does create a movie that will keep you entertained. The action level is high but well integrated, the comedy amusing (for a change) but not atmosphere shattering, and overall he strikes the balance right. The cast give him great performances and the chemistry between Chan and Tucker really makes this film work.
The stunt work is excellent and while I may gripe about Chan's more 'theatrical' style of martial arts, they're all extremely well done. The choreography is first rate and not having to read subtitles means that we can appreciate it all the more.
I would like to say that Rush Hour is a film for everyone but it's not. The action and violence levels are far too high for a younger audience but once they're out of the way then you can sit back and enjoy it for what it is. It's got plenty for the action fans, plenty for the martial arts fans, and plenty for the rest of us to boot. Ok so it might not be the greatest film ever made but it's a very ENTERTAINING movie...and not all strips of celluloid can change the world can they?
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Production Year: 2002 - Action/Adventure - Director: Vincenzo Natali - Original Language: English - Classification: 15 years and over - Starring:Lucy Liu, David Hewlett, Anne Marie Scheffler, Joseph Scoren, Matthew Sharp, Jeremy Northam
Production Year: 1964 - Action/Adventure - Director: Cyril Endfield - Original Language: English - Classification: Parental Guidance - Starring:Stanley Baker, Jack Hawkins, Ulla Jacobsson, James Booth, Michael Caine, Nigel Green
Production Year: 1977 - Action/Adventure - Director: Clint Eastwood - Original Language: English - Classification: 18 years and over - Starring:Clint Eastwood, Sondra Locke, Pat Hingle, William Prince, Bill McKinney
The plot line may sound familiar: two mismatched cops are assigned as reluctant partners ... more
to solve a crime. Culturally they are complete opposites, and they quickly realise they can't stand each other. One (Jackie Chan) believes in doing things by the b...
Postage & Packaging: £1.21 Availability: Usually dispatched within 1-2 business days...
International superstar Jackie Chan is teamed up with funny man Chris Tucker in this ... more
explosive, thrill-a-minute adventure, jam-packed with Chan's trademark daring martial arts stunts.Two cops, from very different worlds, must learn to trust each other ...
The plot line may sound familiar: two mismatched cops are assigned as reluctant partners ... more
to solve a crime. Culturally they are complete opposites, and they quickly realise they can't stand each other. One (Jackie Chan) believes in doing things by the b...
Postage & Packaging: Free! Availability: Usually dispatched within 24 hours...
International superstar Jackie Chan is teamed up with funny man Chris Tucker in this ... more
explosive thrill-a-minute adventure jam-packed with Chan's trademark daring martial arts stunts. Two cops from very different worlds must learn to trust each othe...
Postage & Packaging: £0.00 Availability: 3-5 working days
Advantages: Great acting from Chris Tucker and excellent stunts from Jackie Chan Disadvantages: Not enough stunts, not the greatest plot, vague conclusion
Loughran 10.11.2008 ·
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: helpful
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![Rush Hour [DVD] [1998]](http://picnicb.ciao.com/uk/76772569.jpg "Rush Hour [DVD] [1998]")
Sep 20th, 2002
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