Movie Review • When you hear “Do you understand the words that are coming out of my mouth?” in the distance you already know what movie is playing. Lee (Jackie Chan) & Carter (Chris Tucker) were the duo we never knew we needed. Rush Hour is one of the few movies that gave us that blasian persuasion that we love. From Jackie Chan’s martial arts to Chris Tucker’s comedic timing, it was a match made in Heaven.
Jackie Chan was almost sent to Heaven on set when he was almost crushed by metal boxes. They slammed together about a quarter of a second after his head was clear. That’s the chance you take when you do your own stunts. Chris didn’t do his own stunts but we know he improvised most of his lines, which made the movie funnier. You can never go wrong with that authentic comedy.
Rush Hour brought a different feel to the 90’s movie line up. There weren’t many black comedy/action movies that involved action packed fight scenes that Jackie gave. We were used to comedy/action movies that involved guns as the main weapon. When Jackie slid down that long drape, I thought that was the most coolest thing as a kid. If I wasn’t raised by a black mama, I probably would have tried that move with her drapes but I value my life too much for that.Â
The acting was amazing, regardless this being the first movie with Chan in an English speaking role. All his prior roles were voice dubbed if they were in English. One person we know that wasn’t voice dubbed was Soo-Yung (Julia Hsu) when she was singing to Mariah Carey in the back seat of the car before she was kidnapped. Years later and I can’t listen to “Fantasy” without picturing that scene.
Two sequels later, there are still talks of Rush Hour 4 but nothing has been set in stone. Honestly, I’m not sure if we need a fourth sequel because I barely remember the third one. The second one was pretty good but the third wasn’t that memorable for me. Regardless, the first one will always be the best and that’s on Mary Had A Little Lamb.Â
