Rush Hour - Due mine vaganti

The Chinese Consul's daughter is kidnapped and the FBI steps in to investigate the case. The Consul doesn't trust them however, so he calls in an old friend and police inspector from Hong Kong to aid in the rescue of his daughter. Not wanting to work with outsiders, the FBI pairs him with a cocky, loudmouthed L.A. street cop who dreams of becoming a federal agent but doesn't work well with partners. The formula is tired and predictable, but it's redeemed to a surprising extent by the effective pairing of Chan and Tucker who are an ideal action-comedy duo. Lots of gimmicky action scenes and big time laughs, with the added bonus of a script that doesn't require a lot of thinking. ***

The young daughter of a Chinese diplomat is kidnapped. He insists that the FBI use his trusted Hong Kong detective Lee (Jackie Chan). However the FBI dumps him on LAPD detective James Carter (Chris Tucker) to babysit.

Jackie Chan and Chris Tucker form a great team. Their chemistry is evident right away. Brett Ratner brings out all the hilarity with some culture clash humor and loudmouth Tucker.

The story is passable. There isn't anything original going on here. It's really just an excuse for Chris Tucker to make an ass of himself, and allow Jackie Chan to do some crazy fighting moves.

I love a good buddy-cop flick and it'd been quite some time since I'd seen one, so when I saw this floating around on Hulu I knew I needed to rectify passing on it for so many years. Chan and Tucker make for a great pair, and while the story here is pretty generic, it's their chemistry that keeps you glued. Come for the jokes and fun action sequences, not the story.

When a diplomat's daughter is kidnapped in the US, a Chinese policeman Lee is sent to help the FBI with the investigation. Not wishing his help the FBI arrange a LAPD officer Carter to keep him out of trouble. However with both Lee and Carter keen to be involved in the investigation, they set out on their own to find the girl overcoming both bad guys and cultural differences.

This is yet another buddy cop movie where different partners must overcome their differences to solve a crime. Here the difference is the black culture and the Chinese culture. The story is very unlikely but it makes enough sense to get by, all it needs is to hang in and create lots of set pieces. Which it does - there's not as much action for Jackie Chan as I would have liked and his fight scenes feel toned down in favour of Tucker's manic comedy (this was partially reversed in RH2). This is a shame because Tucker is funny but his manic antics can get a bit irritating in large doses - it needed more of Chan.

However it is funny and Chan does hold his own and get to show how fast he is. His fight scenes don't feel as inventive as in other films but he has a good chemistry with Tucker. The bad guys are quite characterless but it doesn't really matter as the lead duo manage to carry the film.

Overall a good buddy cop movie that is a good vehicle for both Chan and Tucker and plays on both their strengths to good effect. However as with RH2 most of the funniest moments come in the closing outtakes, which can't be a good thing.

I enjoyed Rush Hour very much, yes it is a little silly, but what it is really is harmless fun. The two leads, Jackie Chan and Chris Tucker are an inspired double act, though I will say, that sometimes Tucker's mouth runs away with him, so I didn't always understand what he was saying at times. The clever plot, involving an international kidnapping, actually allows Chan to do what he does best, but I did wish there was a little more of it. The script is irreverent, if only let down by what seemed like some improvisation from Tucker, that sometimes got off target. There are some excellent camera work and stunts, making this a hugely enjoyable film, not as good as Shanghai Noon, but a delight for fans of Chan. 8/10 Bethany Cox.