Todays’ review – another Jackie Chan and Chris Tucker infused Rush Hour movie!
This time the triads are out and about killing people and being all ‘triady’, so Lee (Jackie Chan), is on the case after the Chinese Ambassador is shot. Being nearby directing traffic, Carter (Chris Tucker) hears of the situation and joins Lee in the chase.
We learn the the man they’re after is Lee’s adoptive brother Kenji, a man Lee cannot bring himself to shoot or injure due to their childhood connection. Shortly after we’re taken to the Chinese Ambassador, Han, who is going to make a full recovery from being shot. So Lee and Carter protect him from another assassination attempt by some French speaking assassins.
The two make their way to Paris while on the trail and the situations gets more complicated, eventually Han’s daughter is kidnapped and the two men must do their best to get her back.
More of the same…
…which isn’t necessarily a bad thing!
Sure, they’re in Paris (which is different) but what we’re seeing is basically the same relationship with Lee and Carter playing out only they’re a little more used to each other – which takes away the entertaining contrast to some degree. The story, as in Rush Hour 2, is also personal for Lee. Instead of solving his father’s last case, he’s now chasing his adopted brother.
The events and flow of the movie are unique enough to not be labeled ‘a copy’ of the previous film, it does still have merit. It’s entertaining and tells a few new jokes and kind of plays along like another episode of a TV series.
To sum it all up, if you saw Rush Hour 2 and liked it, expect much of the same stuff in this film!
The Action & Martial Arts
As usual Jackie’s movements are balanced and precise, but I can’t help but feel they’re slightly less frequent in this film as opposed to the two previous.
That being said it’s still stunning to watch Jackie move! We also get a nice little trade off between himself and his character’s brother in a nice little back and forth sword fight toward the end.
One thing that does stand out however is Carter’s use of Kung Fu in this film, which is mixed up with some comedic poses and the famous Bruce Lee scream complete withhigh pitched noises. In fact, a scene at the beginning of the movie pays tribute to Bruce Lee and his film Game of Death.
In contrast to the immensely tall NBA star Kareem Abdul Jabbar facing off against the smaller Chinese man (Game of Death), we have Carter, the smaller African American fighting against the tallest Chinese man in the world! It’s a cool visual tribute and also made for an entertaining sequence in it’s own right.
Overall?
It’s entertaining but more of the same. Check out the first two films, if you liked them, check this out too.
