Rush Hour Movie Review

Rush Hour (1998)

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Written by: Ross LaManna (story), Jim Kouf and Ross LaManna (screenplay)
Directed by: Brett Ratner
Starring: Jackie Chan, Chris Tucker, Ken Leung, Tom Wilkinson
Rated: PG-13
Watch the trailer

Plot
A loyal and dedicated Hong Kong Inspector teams up with a reckless and loudmouthed L.A.P.D. detective to rescue the Chinese Consul's kidnapped daughter, while trying to arrest a dangerous crime lord along the way.

Verdict
The plot feels recycled as two very different cops try to solve a case. Chan and Tucker are fun together, but watching a few Youtube clips would give you almost as much entertainment while being much shorter. The duo is what makes this movie, and they're funny enough together that this is almost worth watching.
Skip it.

Review
I've seen this before, though it's not as good as I remember it. It's a buddy cop movie with two distinct personalities, but aside from a few jokes there's not much to this. The plot is thin at best.

Jackie Chan plays Chief Inspector Lee, and in the first scene Lee infiltrates a ship and incapacitates an entire gang. Detective James Carter (Chris Tucker) is quickly established as fast talking, wise cracking, and ridiculous. It's quite the pairing as Carter is tasked with babysitting Lee. The FBI wants to occupy them so they don't interfere in a kidnapping case. Carter is told he has a special assignment with the FBI, but the police just want to pawn him off on someone else.

Jackie Chan, Chris Tucker play Lee, Carter

Carter plays by his own rules, a boon in most cop movies, but in this movie that's not appreciated. Carter and Lee refuse to be distracted, neither interested in following orders. Despite no resources, they manage to stay one step ahead of the investigation, though they do get blamed for everything that goes wrong.

This really seems like it's trying to channel Eddie Murphy and 48 Hrs. While Chan and Tucker are a great pair, this takes a lot of liberties. Carter at no point seems like a cop. Both of them do whatever the plot requires, be it a comedic bit or an action sequence.

Chan and Tucker are a lot of fun. This has many quotable and funny moments, and that almost makes this worth a watch except that there's not much between these moments. This movie is strictly a vehicle to show off Jackie Chan's athleticism and Chris Tucker's comedy.