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Buddy cop films function in the same manner that romantic comedies do in one key aspect: chemistry between its two leads will make or break a film. A good script can only take a mismatched pair of police officers so far; the proper chemistry can either lead to a film like the one that made Danny Glover and Mel Gibson into major stars (Lethal Weapon) or into a massive flop that became a punch line to every stand up comedian’s joke library like The Man. Somewhere between those two standards of both sides of quality of the genre is Rush Hour.
The daughter of a visiting Hong Kong official is kidnapped and two men are assigned to find her. Inspector Lee (Jackie Chan) is a family friend of the official and is brought in to bring her back. The FBI and LAPD have assigned wise-cracking Detective James Carter (Chris Tucker) to babysit him during his investigation. Mainly Carter is there to keep him away from the American investigators looking for the girl, but he and Lee have other ideas. And what was never intended to be a major tent pole release ended up becoming one of the biggest films of 1998 because of one major thing: Jackie Chan and Chris Tucker worked so well together that the film’s rather pedestrian tone and script didn’t matter as much as it should’ve.
If looked at from purely a story perspective, Rush Hour and its sequels don’t do anything that any other film in the genre has ever done. There isn’t anything new or different that Brett Ratner brings to the table with this film from any of the normal film-making ideals. A music video director, this was his second feature and was the film that turned him from being just another director to hire to being one of the most in demand directors for hire in Hollywood. Rush Hour was a relatively inexpensive film and not a huge risk to put into Ratner’s hands, as Money Talks had been a small but profitable hit, and he leveraged that into the one thing that has essentially made his career: pair Chris Tucker and Jackie Chan.
Having already worked with Tucker on Money Talks, Ratner now got to work with one of his childhood heroes in the Hong Kong action star, so putting them together in the same film was comedy magic. Tucker, who made a name for himself as an acerbic and foul-mouthed sidekick in films like Friday already, takes a lead role in what could’ve been his Beverly Hills Cop. Carter is the usual sort of stock character Tucker plays, a witty and sometimes foul-mouthed hero, but Tucker is comedy gold every time he’s on screen in this film. This was the film that made him a star and his career choices since have been Rush Hour 2 and Rush Hour 3.
This is a star-making performance from Tucker as he seems to be having the time of his life in this role. Tucker’s energy in this film is something to behold; he’s always smiling and remarkably enthusiastic throughout. It’s one thing to play a character that’s over the top, it’s another to bring that sort of energy and infect everyone around you with it. And it marked the only strong pairing for Jackie Chan in the cavalcade of buddy action comedies he’s been a part of.
For all the talented comedians Chan has worked with (see Owen Wilson in Shanghai Noon), his chemistry has never been finer than it was with Tucker. They work so well together throughout that it’s not a surprise that this has been Chan’s signature franchise in America; it’s almost a shame that it took so long for Chan to be recognized as a star here than it did anywhere else. Inspector Lee isn’t any different from his normal detective character it’s just he’s a fish out of water in this film. By trying to emulate Carter on occasion he winds up getting himself into heaps of trouble that only his remarkably athleticism manages to save him from serious harm.
The film is rather perfunctory outside of this. There’s a standard kidnapping plot meshed together with a slight fish out of water plot, with enough action and comedy scattered throughout, but the film elevates itself significantly because the two leads are so much fun to watch. It’s not often you get two actors who work with each other so well and that’s at the heart of the Rush Hour franchise that has developed since then.
Cleaned up for a Blu-ray release, Rush Hour looks spectacular in the format. This is a vibrant, beautiful film with lots of colors and music that looks spectacular in the enhanced format.
Ratner contributes a Commentary Track.
A Piece of the Action is a Behind the Scenes piece from the original DVD release. At 40 minutes it really delves into the film and everything behind it.
Whatever Happened to Mason Reese is a short film made by Ratner while as a student at NYU.
The film’s Theatrical Trailer, as well as Deleted Scenes, are also included.
Music Videos “Nuthin’ But Love” by Heavy D & The Boyz and “How Deep Is Your Love” by Dru Hill are included, with commentary from Ratner.
An updated release of the original DVD, Rush Hour is still a fun film that has defined the careers of all involved.
New Line presents Rush Hour. Directed by Brett Ratner. Starring Chris Tucker, Jackie Chan, Chris Penn. Written by: WRITER. Running time: 97 minutes. Rated PG-13. Released on Blu-ray: December 7, 2010.
