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Movie review: Rush Hour 3




Rush Hour 3 proved to be just as action-packed, hilarious and thrilling as the first two Rush Hour movies. I was sucked into the action scenes and could feel the brotherly bonding between Jackie Chan and Chris Tucker and it was even funnier than the first two.

In this installment of the trilogy, a Chinese ambassador comes to the United States to attend an international conference under the protection of Chief Inspector Lee (Jackie Chan). After an assassination attempt on the Chinese ambassador, the ambassador’s daughter Soo Yung (Jingchu Zhang), who is the same little girl who was kidnapped in the first Rush Hour movie, asks Lee and Detective James Carter (Chris Tucker) to protect her father. Carter, who was demoted at the end of the second movie after accidentally shooting Lee’s girlfriend and working as a traffic guard when this movie starts, joins Lee in promising a grown-up Yung that they would protect her father.

After overcoming some grudges, Chan’s and Tucker’s characters unite like long-lost brothers. In one scene, Chan and Tucker are fighting side-by-side against the villain, Kenji, and his posse of Chinese goons in the hospital. With Chan’s awesome stunts and Tucker’s new karate moves, they manage to fight off all the bad guys and finish with a synchronized victory dance to celebrate. The duo was back in action and fighting just like old times!

They eventually end up in Paris, where parts of the movie were filmed, and the scenes following their arrival are full of surprising twists and introductions to new characters such as new ally Genevieve (Noemie Lenior).

Brett Ratner, who directed the first two Rush Hour movies, does an excellent job with this movie, keeping it real and fresh. Ratner had to outdo the first two Rush Hour movies by adding with new ideas. The angles and shots capture the essence of a real thrill ride that made me go “whoa!” every time.

Chan once again does his übercool trademark stunts that make people gawk in amazement while Tucker tries to perform his stunts so that he seems to be as cool as Chan. Carter even confesses that he now has two black belts in karate and claims to be half-Chinese because of it.

So, I’m not kidding when I say that Rush Hour 3 is a must see. Especially if you’ve already seen the first two; Rush Hour 3 shouldn’t be a disappointment. It’ll keep you in good humor and draw you into the action. You’ll come out thinking, “Let’s see that again!”