RUSH HOUR
WenQing
Written by : Richard Rodat
Directed by : Jim Kouf
Main Cast : Jackie Chan, Chris Tucker, Elizabeth Pena, Tzi Ma, Julia Hsu, Tom Wilkinson.
Length : 110 min approx
Rating : * * * out of * * * * *
Official Web Site: http://www.lycos.com/rush/index.html.
This Review Filed: 28 September, 1998.
I've been a Jackie Chan fan from the time my goggle box made any sense. On television, they'd broadcast his gongfu hits like SNAKE IN EAGLE'S SHADOW, DRUNKEN MONKEY IN TIGER'S EYE, and then his acrobatic, stunt-driven, action-comedies as adventurer/policeman in PROJECT A, TWIN DRAGONS, ARMOUR OF GOD (Part I and II), RUMBLE IN THE BRONX, POLICE STORY, THUNDERBOLT and CIA-FIRST STRIKE.
Through it all, the Jackie Chan persona was a constant -- a cheery good guy with the amazing reflexes and capacity to pull off outrageous stunts. He had a sterling sense of duty, a warm heart, riveting tenacity, lots of courage, and lots of luck. It didn't matter what his name was in the movie, and most of the time it was "Jackie" anyway, every film was a festival of acrobatics and agility, and good old values one could identify with immediately: the underdog made good, the everyman trying to right wrongs. That made him more than a character, it made him a truly human hero.
RUSH HOUR is perhaps a long overdue showcase of the Jackie Chan persona. His character's superfluous name Lee doesn't disguise the Jackie Chan that bubbles energetically underneath, whether it is scaling walls deftly or falling from ludicrous heights. We've come to watch Jackie Chan, and we get a good bargain- Chris Tucker is thrown in for good measure.
Admittedly, the plot isn't much of a shocker. Chan comes from Hong Kong as a successful cop to help the Chinese consul in America find his kidnapped daughter. The FBI wants the case to themselves and won't tolerate a meddling Chinaman, and so makes LAPD outcast Chris Tucker babysit him by safely keeping him away from the investigation. Predictably, Tucker and Chan find their way into the fray repeatedly, risking life and limb to find the consul's daughter... the rest is pretty superfluous stuff.
What matters is the fun we're having watching Tucker and Chan throughout the movie. We're having a good time witnessing some hilarious exchanges between Tucker and Chan, including Tucker assuming Chan doesn't speak English, only for Jackie to show him up later for making such a "full of sh*t" assumption. There is also a whole series of comic touches grounded in Chan's bad English that both actors add to the film, like when Tucker tells Chan that he sounds like a "karate movie." Tucker is also incredibly funny on his own (not irritating like he was in THE FIFTH ELEMENT), teaching Jackie how to groove and dance, and how to say "Y'all" when singing one of Tucker's favourite songs.
The action sequences are also adequately thrilling, with more explosions and machine-gun fire than the usual Jackie Chan vehicle from Hong Kong. While Jackie Chan's RUSH HOUR stunts seem much safer in comparison to his Hong Kong productions, and are limited to sight gags and acrobatics, it still doesn't take away the pleasure of simply seeing his dexterity in motion- and I must admit I felt a lot better knowing he wasn't going to get his skull cracked from any risky stunts.
What I enjoyed especially was the showing of "outtakes" that run during the closing credits of RUSH HOUR. A tradition of Jackie Chan movies, it was a nice touch in RUSH HOUR. This was probably the most hilarious part of the film itself, with lots of funny trip-ups in the dialogue, some mis-timed stunts (like Jackie leaping up a wall and then falling off again- he didn't get hurt), and many spontaneous gags that the actors themselves pull- one of the best being when Tucker keeps screwing up his Mandarin dialogue and Jackie laughingly tells him and the camera : "you make fun of my English, he can't even say three simple Chinese words!". It's plain fun.
All in all, RUSH HOUR might be an ordinary movie if Jackie and Chris Tucker weren't in it... and if it Chris Tucker wasn't in it, it'd be entirely a Jackie Chan movie. As it is, RUSH HOUR is a fun-filled ride that while corny and simplistic, delivers the enjoyment and the laughter with aplomb and energy. Not only that, it's a good time to remember Jackie has been with us all this time, offering us his best- and he's made that well-deserved entry into Hollywood at last.
The Flying Inkpot's Rating System
* Wait for the TV2 broadcast.
** A little creaky, but still better than staying at home with Gotcha!
*** Pretty good, bring a friend.
**** Amazing, potent stuff.
***** Perfection. See it twice.
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