The Rush Hour (1998-2007) Trilogy Reviewed

If you asked me who my favorite actor was as a kid, I’d easily say Jackie Chan. The man has the physicality and charisma to excel in practically any role you could throw at him. From the wisecracking martial arts master in Legend of Drunken Boxing or The Forbidden Kingdom to the straight-man cop in movies like Rush Hour. But what separated him from many other actors was the fact that he always did his own stunts take after take, no matter how imposing they were. In my opinion, setting a gold standard for what an action star should be. And all of this is on full display in one of my favorite childhood trilogies: Rush Hour.

Directed by Brett Ratner, the Rush Hour trilogy revolves around the antics of Hong Kong detective Chief Inspector Lee (played by Jackie Chan) and L.A.P.D. Officer James Carter (played by Chris Tucker). After the kidnapping of Chinese Consul Han’s daughter Soo Yung, Han has Inspector Lee flown from China to the U.S. But not wanting an outsider interfere with their case, the FBI ask the L.A.P.D. to send Carter to distract Lee. Despite his best efforts, Lee manages to arrive at the Chinese Consulate and he and Carter are forced to work together to find Soo Yung. Even though the two had starkly different personalities, Lee and Carter eventually succeed and become friends by the film’s end.

Although Rush Hour was distributed by New Line Cinema, the script was actually sold to a Disney division. The Chair of Disney expressed skepticism over Chan’s appeal to a Western audience, yet Ratner insisted on keeping him. As for the role of James Carter, there were multiple actors considered, including Eddie Murphy, Chris Rock and Wesley Snipes. But Ratner ultimately gave the part to Chris Tucker after seeing him in Money Talks and thought he and Chan would have good chemistry. This decision was a perfect one, as Rush Hour not only made around $244 million worldwide on a budget of $34 million, but also was responsible for kick starting the aggregate review site Rotten Tomatoes! This success could only mean one thing: sequel time. But this is where things started heading south.

The second film takes place almost directly after the first one left off. Lee and Carter are on vacation in Hong Kong, courtesy of Consul Han. While on vacation, Lee takes up a case to stop the Chinese Triads after the U.S. Embassy is bombed. After a scuffle with the Triads and their second in command, Hu Li (played by Zhang Ziyi), Lee tells Carter the real reason why he took up the case: the leader of the Triads is Ricky Tan, his father’s former partner in the Police Department. Soon after, the Hu Li bombs the Hong Kong P.D. Lee presumes Carter is dead and moves to take Ricky Tan down once and for all. Meanwhile, Carter finds out the case is much bigger than he thought when the U.S. Secret Service get involved.

I won’t lie when I say this was my favorite of the three films as a kid. The change of scenery from L.A. to Hong Kong was a pleasant addition and seeing the Eastern aesthetic in the Red Dragon casino in Vegas was just the cherry on top. Plus we even have an Asian lead have a shot at romance, something that was very rare at the time. Yet upon multiple revisits, I couldn’t help but feel something was off. Despite going through an entire character arc together and even disclosing a personal story about his father, Lee somehow doesn’t initially tell Carter that he took up the case. Carter finds out after the two get into hot shit with the Triads (twice!). Why wouldn’t he tell him? Despite that, it’s actually not the most egregious issue I have with the film.

The writing this time around has gotten a bit worse, especially the racial humor. While it makes sense in the first film to highlight Carter and Lee’s initial animosity, by the film’s end Carter makes an effort to learn basic Chinese as a sign of respect to Lee. But here? He makes racist remark after remark. I swear, having Chan on board is almost the film’s way of giving the green light to these jokes. Additionally, the film’s treatment of women is far crasser in this sequel. Every woman exists for either the sole pleasure of the male cast or to be the butt of some sexually-charged joke or remark. Considering this is a Brett Ratner production, I shouldn’t be surprised. But it could be worse! It could feature a cameo by Roman Polanski making sexual assault jokes and have women strip nude in front of a salacious Carter. Oh wait, that happened in Rush Hour 3.

Alright, I’ll cut to the chase. Unlike the first two films that came out only a few years apart from each other, Rush Hour 3 was released in 2007. Six years after the second film. Why was this made so long after the second film? I have no idea. As for the story, Rush Hour 3 is essentially the same as its predecessors with only a change in location and the introduction of another person from Lee’s past: his “brother” Kenji (played by Hiroyuki Sanada) who serves as the movie’s big bad. Now this seems nice and all, but there’s just one problem: this plot has been done nearly beat for beat in Rush Hour 2.  

The movie tries to come full circle by featuring both Han (now an Ambassador) and Soo Yung. However, Rush Hour 3 is set only three years after the events of the first one and Soo Yung was only 10 years old. But here, she’s 20. Does she have accelerated aging like the clone troopers from Star Wars? Now you may be asking why I didn’t include them in the synopsis. That’s because they’re so irrelevant that they disappear for the majority of the film. Han gets shot early on and remains in a hospital. Meanwhile, Soo Yung only exists to get kidnapped again! And just when you think she’ll have a bit of relevance to the plot, she gets shoved into an elevator by Lee and disappears for the rest of the film. I understand Lee did it for her safety, but it would’ve been nice if we got some kind of closure for her and Ambassador Han. But no, the movie literally ends with Lee and Carter dancing off into the distance to the song “War” by Edwin Starr.

Even the music seems bored by the third installment. The first film features an electric guitar riff with orchestral backings, seamlessly combining the electrifying eclectic 1990s Eastern cinema with Hollywood’s more rambunctious action. By the time the second film rolls around, the electric guitar takes a backseat as the orchestra shifts into full gear. It keeps the spirit of the original intact while doing its own spin. But the third film opens with a slow bass riff. Why? You could argue that it was to pay homage to classic westerns, but it doesn’t fit the tone of Rush Hour. It’d be like if Terminator featured an orchestral score instead of its synth roots (oh wait, they did that in Rise of the Machines. No wonder why it was bad). The only silver lining of the film? Lee and Carter knocking out Roman Polanski in the end.

Looking back, The Rush Hour trilogy reminds me of The Mummy trilogy. Both had a strong first film, a solid second one and a very lackluster finale. And both got absolutely shitty reboots only years apart from one another. The major difference? The Mummy aged surprisingly well, especially since Rick and Evelyn O’Connell are one of the few representations of healthy relationships in Hollywood. And Brett Ratner…well…had a lot of allegations come out against him. Even though the Rush Hour trilogy is spiritually the same by the end, it was also the reason why it failed. The characters never showed any real growth and it failed to have a proper conclusion. Maybe this can change with the fourth installation. Despite the third film’s negative reception, a fourth film is in the works as of 2022. Do I have high expectations? I just hope they make something different that the first two sequels and give us a proper conclusion.