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Dynamic duo
by CarlosC (movies profile)
Dec 5, 2007
19
of
21 people found this review helpful
When the Chinese consul's daughter is taken hostage, Jackie Chan and Chris Tucker must work together to solve the kidnapping -- if only somenone would let them on the case. The two men are, at best, reluctant partners in the new buddy-picture/action-movie RUSH HOUR. Detective Lee (Jackie Chan) is a friend of the consul (Tzi Ma) from Hong Kong, and Deterctive Carter (Chris Tucker) is an L.A.P.D. officer known to attract unwanted publicity to his department with his penchant for turning investigations into the types of out-of-control situtations that make for action movies, but not for the image that an image-conscious police department wants to project. So, when the FBI gets involved and it decides that it wants neither of the men to partake of the investigation, they hatch up a scheme whereby the two are partnered together specifically to keep the two out of the action. Mistake number one.
From such cinematic progenitors as the 48 HOURS and LETHAL WEAPON movies, we all know that such a strategy is a sure-fire way to ensure that the maverick detectives will eventually end up knee-deep in the investigation. But, despite its creaky passage down well-worn tracks, with Chan and Tucker at the wheel, this formulaic vehicle yields the maximum mileage for action movie fans.
Chan plays it straight while Tucker goes for the laughs with ethnically-laced antics. An alternate title for this movie (which suffers from the common movie malady of a weak title) might be 'Guys with Moves.' Chan and Tucker have different kinds of moves: Chan is a fancy-footed martial arts expert, while Tucker is a soulful, street-smart smoothie. Both talents rest on ethnic caricatures, but the ethnic humor is good-natured, often relying on the cultural differences between the Hong Kong detective and the African American officer to deliver comic hi-jinks. But, because the humor pivots on the two men's prejudices and preconceptions, it mocks stereotypes more than the underlying cultures (although a healthy dosage of ethnic humor is present, and welcome).
Without a doubt, the performances by the male co-stars of this movie make RUSH HOUR, even though many of the secondary roles are dispensable (for instance, the Elizabeth Peña character adds little to the dramatic content of the movie other than plot device). But, in a movie like this, we just need the good guys to be lovable and the bad guys to be despicable, and such is the case here. In the case of the good guys, the charisma and chemistry of Chan and Tucker get the mission accomplished and, in the case of the bad guys, a clicheic turn-coat play by an affable, respectable gentleman who turns out to be a villain completes the touchdown.
Finally, the production values of this movie also have 'blockbuster' written all over. Particularly, the use of L.A. locations, which are so often used in movies that it is hard to come up with something fresh, and the nocturnal, skyline photography of both Hong Kong and L.A., were impressive. Did anybody say 'sequel'?
(Carlos Colorado) |
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