Rush Hour (1998)

Sadly Over-hyped

I like movies that are aware of what they are selling... without [any] greater aspirations than to make people laugh and that's it.

All of these films share one commonality, that being a kind of emotional center that humanizes a cast of monsters.

Actress is magnificent and exudes a hypnotic screen presence in this affecting drama.

When the daughter of the Chinese consul in Los Angeles is kidnapped he wants his old friend Detective Inspector Lee, of the Hong Kong Police, to be part of the investigation. The FBI don't want him anywhere near their investigation so palm him off to the LAPD which in turn partners him with Detective James Carter, who has no current partner because he annoys everybody else in the department. Carter is initially pleased with the assignment but soon learns that he is just expected to babysit Lee and keep him away from the case; Lee is equally unimpressed and is determined that he must help find his friends daughter. Inevitably it isn't that long before the pair are investigating the case and the FBI are thinking they are getting in the way.This film's story is decent enough even if the big reveal about who is ultimately behind the kidnapping is rather spoilt for anybody who reads who is starring in the film at the start… anybody appearing third is surely not only going to have one brief scene in the opening minutes! That isn't much of a problem though; this is all about the laughs not the depth of the mystery. Jackie Chan and Chris Tucker are a lot of fun in the lead roles; they provide lots of laughs and develop a good chemistry as the film progresses. The action is well choreographed, as one would expect from anything featuring Jackie Chan; it might not be as intense as that in his Hong Kong films but that is partly to give room to the fast talking Chris Tucker to provide more verbal laughs. Overall I found this to be a fun mix of action and comedy which manages to avoid the sort of offensive material that might put off many viewers.

I saw Max Landis talk about this movie on Twitter, but I didn't pay much attention to the conversation. My dad and I were looking for movies to watch on Netflix, and Rush Hour popped up. Since we wanted to watch an action comedy, it seemed perfect. Rush Hour is absolutely hilarious! Most of the comedy comes from the clash between two main characters. There are cultural and characteristic differences, which are so much fun and cause a lot of misunderstandings and unfortunate but hysterical situations.Rush Hour is definitely a thrilling action movie. It just happens to be predictable as well. You know what's going to happen, because you've seen tons of movies like this one. What makes that better is that you don't know how it's going to happen, so Rush Hour - and all the other movies such as this one - may still manage to surprise you by taking you to the predictable destination by different means than you expected. And usually no one expects action comedies to be completely unpredictable, even if the old, boring ways are annoying. Action comedies are fun, and the movie being fun and thrilling is more important than it being unpredictable and completely new.Hand to hand combat scenes are a pleasure to watch. They are well coordinated and the choreography is incredible. Most of that is because of Jackie Chan's wonderful talent.Not only is Jackie Chan talented, he's absolutely charming. I've only seen him in the Chinese movie The Twins Effect (or Vampire Effect) in a small role, and this is the first time I saw him playing a main character. Of course the character he plays - Lee - is a bit typical, but still delightful. Chris Tucker, on the other hand, played a really typical character when it comes to a black man in an action comedy, but I'd rather blame the director and writers than him. I've seen him before in Jackie Brown and that one David O. Russell movie I barely remember watching. Both characters are lovable and their chemistry works. Different characters would've made the movie a whole lot different.I definitely liked this movie. My dad already asked if we're going to watch the sequels. Damn right we are. I don't know if the stories will be as interesting, but I love the characters more, and it will be interesting to see how their chemistry works now that they know each other better in the sequels.

This is quite the only rush hour film that i can stand or tolerate. this film at let's try to be a good buddy cop film more so than like Bullet to the Head, The Bad Boys Movies, or The other Guys for that matter because, it want's you to actually care about the characters and you do in this film. The plot of the film is nothing special, consul Han's daughter gets kidnap by a bunch of baddie's who hold her for ransom and Carter and Lee team up to get her back. The two leads are quite fun to watch, Jackie Chan does some good fight scenes but, not no near as close as his earlier films like The Legend of Drunken Master but the fight scenes are still good. Chris Tucker is not HAHA hilarious but, he is amusing to watch.Rush Hour is a decent buddy cop film, One of Brett Ratner's better movies.

Seeing this movie for the rest time in 2015, I can see why some might critique this film for its overly simplified plot, slightly offensive racial comedy and -at times - seemingly low budget production. But give it the benefit of the doubt. Remember that 1998 was a much simpler time. Both Jackie Chan and Chris Tucker were in their prime. And back then, putting together a Hong Kong National and a loud-mouth black cop from the LAPD was pure comedic genius. The clash of cultures comedy is atypical, of course, but it's still hilarious. I think Rush Hour is a fun watch for everybody - even families (with parental guidance of course). Don't take it too seriously and you'll laugh along.