by rick grant rickgrant01@comcast.net
C+ Rated PG 13 91 min
In this 3rd Rush Hour picture, the Jackie Chan/Chris Tucker Asian versus black American cop shtick has waned as cliché. Chan looks old and tired and relies on his comedic formula to do the once imaginative stunts. Consequently, the 3rd picture in this franchise looks and feels like the same old Rush Hour script, done three times.
The picture opens with Tucker, now demoted to beat cop after the last fiasco, directing traffic James Brown style. This scene wrings out its comedic value, going on for far too long.
Chan, as Chief Inspector Lee, is guarding Han, an important man who is making a speech before the fictional World Criminal Court led by Reynard (Max Von Sydow) about the Chinese Triad organized crime, saying that the syndicate has become out of control. During his speech, an assassin kills Han from a rooftop sniper position and the chase is on–cue the kung-fu fighting sequences.
Officer Carter (Tucker) commandeers a car (with two potential dates inside) and races to help his old pal Inspector Lee, who leaps across bridge abutments and scales buildings trying to catch the assassin. When Lee corners the assassin ghe finds it’s his “brother” Kenji (Hiroyuki Sanada). Unable to pull the trigger on Kenji, Lee allows him to get away. It’s one of many lame scene endings.
Carter talks his boss into reinstating him to detective to help Inspector Lee find the mysterious Genevieve (Noemie Renoir), the star attraction in a Paris show featuring exotic showgirls. She may know where to find “The List,” which contains information on the Triad. Suddenly the pair of mismatched detectives are deep in French culture, with a string of old French versus American jokes and the French’s reputed hatred of Americans.
The pair hires a taxi driver, George (Yvan Attal), who dreams of being an American spy. It turns out that George and his fares are up to their ears in bad guys on motorcycles with fierce chases through the narrow streets of Paris. The car scenes are recycled stunts from the other two Rush Hours, as Carter and Lee investigate the murder of Han.
When Carter and Lee find the exotic showgirl Genevieve, she is the key to solving the case, but she is in grave danger. Carter tries to seduce her, but is interrupted by bad guys with Uzis. Man, can’t a brother get some nookie? Well, no, not in a Rush Hour movie. There’s no time for sex as they thwart a gaggle of assassins trying to terminate them with extreme prejudice.
By now, the action is obscuring the continuity of the story, which is getting murky in all the staged action sequences. Director Brett Ratner orchestrates the action scenes with his tried and true expertise, knowing that this third film in the series pays homage to the other two films. However, Ratner seems to have run out of new ideas for the Carter/ Lee action based on their obvious differences and the fact that Chan is no longer able to do certain stunts. So, the stunts are toned down to insure Chan’s safety but enhanced by CGI.
With the action geared up to a frantic level, and the credibility of Reynard in question, Carter and Lee end up in a confrontation with Triad assassins on the Eiffel Tower (natch) where the CGI stunts get ridiculous. By now, savvy viewers are feeling a sense of déjà vu as the Carter/ Lee partnership goes up and down the famous Eiffel Tower, with Lee using the old flag trick and other gravity-defying gags.
Overall, the third Rush Hour is just a rehash of the other two movies, and will probably do well at the box office. There’s a big market for this sort of comedy action vehicle. But it’s time for Chris Tucker to find another role and Jackie Chan to mellow out as a comedy star. Enough is enough.
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EU Critic’s Choice Awards
