(Long Island, NY) There have been a lot of “cop buddy” movies throughout the years. A “cop buddy” film is when two police officers with obviously clashing personalities are forced to “team up” on a case, usually for comedic effect. At times, the rift between the two cops is minor- say, one’s a slob, the other a neat freak. But in more extreme instances,Ball Gown robes de mariée a man can be forced to work with a dog, or his mother, or robots, zombies, and even cartoon characters (seriously). Sometimes it works (Arnold Schwarzenegger’s brilliant Red Heat comes to mind), and sometimes…no. “Cop buddy” movies are a popular formula with audiences, however, so you can usually expect a new film from this genre on a regular basis.
The Rush Hour series are some of the top movies on the “cop buddy” heap, and the first two installments have provided quality entertainment for your movie-going dollar. Compared to the aforementioned team-ups listed above, our pairing here is somewhat more conventional- a wisecracking American Black man and a straight-laced Chinese kung-fu master, both law enforcement- which opens the door for all sorts of culture shock-related hi-jinks.
Detective James Carter (Chris Tucker) and Chief Inspector Lee (Hong Kong action legend Jackie Chan) were first forced to join forces when the Chinese Ambassador’s daughter was kidnapped. Carter would jive and make fun of Lee’s ethnicity, and Lee would jump-kick villains from moving vehicles and say things like “Raim brack,
Robe demoiselle d’honneur rouge raim row brrower” or something. If nothing else, The Rush Hour movies function well as a Litmus test of sorts in regards to how the public perceives racism- with Carter’s non-stop ethnic jokes at Lee’s expense, it appears that racism against Asians, when played for laughs, is still quite socially acceptable in film.
Even though they appear have nothing whatsoever in common, and at times it even seems a detriment to Lee to have the bumbling and mean-spirited Carter as a friend, the two remain close and continue to engage in various adventures. The first two films in the Rush Hour series made untold millions of dollars, and when things make untold millions of dollars, you inevitably get more of them. Thus, we now have Rush Hour 3. Unfortunately, this also possibly signals the end of the franchise, as incessant salary demands (Chris Tucker insisted on- and got- 25 million), combined with a script obviously penned by very small children, have combined to produce one of the biggest let-downs in recent memory.
Well, let’s cover the plot first- what there is of it, anyway. James Carter has been demoted from Detective to traffic cop for a reason that is never disclosed. Inspector Lee (they’ve never even bothered to give him a first name…or is Lee actually his first name? I don’t know) is now the Chinese Ambassador’s bodyguard, but not even the almighty Jackie Chan can stop an assassin from nearly taking the Ambassador’s life with a bullet. After a pursuit that is accidentally foiled by the dim-witted Carter, it is revealed that Lee has a connection to the would-be killer.
Keeping a promise to the Ambassador’s daughter, whom you might remember as the little girl kidnapped in the first film, Lee and Carter (but isn’t he a traffic cop now?) start investigating into the attempted murder of her father. In doing so, they uncover a conspiracy in France involving the organized Asian crime syndicate known as The Triads and a secret list of their command hierarchy that’s currently out on the open market. Both the cops and the Triads are gunning for the list, but since the list actually has legs and walks around (hint: it’s a person), finding it is harder than it sounds. Of course, Lee and Carter wander into the middle of the situation, leaving chaos and (occasionally) humor in their wake.
Rush Hour 3 has a few decent laughs here and there, but the rest of the movie was disjointed, unfunny, and cartoonish- when they weren’t ripping off Abbott and Costello bits, they were lifting scenes straight out of Looney Tunes. The ending is especially outlandish and only serves to make Saturday morning cartoons look realistic in comparison. The same could be said for a scene where Lee and Carter fight some dopey giant Chinese guy. It’s just silly and over the top without being funny at all.
Don’t get me wrong- the movie isn’t 100% garbage (AKA Epic Movie), but there’s way more bad than good on the plate here. Rush Hour 3 is filled with plot points that make no sense, with each scene feeling like a silly standalone skit instead of part of a whole. Plus, this movie has more coincidental garbage going on than all 6 Star Wars movies put together five times over. Characters pop up in impossible places just at the right (or wrong) moment constantly.
The two previous films had their share of outlandish stunts and gags, but they still managed to remain rooted firmly in reality. But in Rush Hour 3…well, I’m not really sure what happened. Is Rush Hour series director Brett Ratner, fresh off his success helming X-Men: The Last Stand (which was a hit more due to the strength of the X-Men name than his directing skills), the one to blame? It’s hard to say. Things that look good on paper can become total crap once filmed, but there had to be a point where Brett saw what he was putting together this time around and realized that it just wasn’t working. For me, it would have been the scene where Chris Tucker and Jackie Chan sing a horrific duet. Yes, imagine Jackie Chan singing. In “Engrish,” no less.
Speaking of Jackie Chan, it’s sad watching him get older and no longer able to do his famous Hong Kong-style stunt work. In days past, Jackie would do a complex stunt in one shot. In Rush Hour 3 he’ll do simple things, like sliding down a flagpole, with multiple edits to hide the fact that he can’t bring it
like he used to. It’s like he’s trying to hold on to his stuntman legacy, but Jackie is getting too old to be making action movies anymore, in my opinion. You know something’s wrong when the bloopers shown during the credits of a Chan movie are 98% people blowing lines and not stunts/fights gone wrong.
I’ve actually seen some of his Hong Kong movies and Jackie Chan is very capable of good acting, but sadly, Americans don’t care. They just want to see him falling off of skyscrapers onto thumbtacks.
And even though Chris Tucker does nothing but make a Rush Hour movie once every 5 or 6 years, his act is already stale. All he seems capable of is cracking goofy jokes and dancing like a buffoon. But if this is indeed the last film of the series, we’ll probably never see him “acting” in another film again. So, at least some good will come of all the pain Rush Hour 3 has inflicted on me.
However, aside from being a total dud and tarnishing a beloved action/comedy franchise, Rush Hour 3 does offer up some valuable information I was previously unaware of- apparently, it’s 100% legal to assault police officers in both the United States and France. You can even punch a Police Chief right in the face in front of all his men with no repercussions! Keep this in mind the next time you get a speeding ticket, but
just don’t tell them I told you about it.
