Wow, this was better than I expected. Rush Hour is Lethal Weapon meets Kung Fu in the hood.

The plot is just a frame to hang a lot of action scenes and jokes upon. The daughter of the Chinese consul is kidnapped by a Hong Kong bad guy. The consul brings in a cop from Hong Kong to help. The FBI doesn't want help and calls in an LAPD cop to babysit. The Hong Kong cop and the LAPD cop misadventure to a heroic conclusion. As I said, it ain't much more than a frame, but that's OK; Jackie Chan and Chris Tucker have great chemistry. One is an action star and one a comedian. Each reaches across to the other's specialty. It is this chemistry that makes the film.

I'm happy to say I could understand Chris Tucker much better than in his Ruby Rod role in The Fifth Element. Tucker is funny because he is very innocent in his mistakes.

When you think of it, this is a comedic Western. The good guys are pure, the victims innocent, and the bad guys evil. It's worth a rental.

Slight Suction!

Film Facts

Cast
• Ken Leung
• Jackie Chan
• Tom Wilkinson
• Tzi Ma
• Robert Littman
• Michael Chow
• Julia Hsu
• Chris Tucker
• Chris Penn
• Kai Lennox
• Larry Sullivan Jr.
• Yang Lin
• Roger Fan
• George Cheung
• Lucy Lin
• Rex Linn
• Mark Rolston
• Elizabeth Pena
• Philip Baker Hall
• Jason Davis
• John Hawkes
• Stephen Blackehart
• Stanley DeSantis
• Kevin L. Jackson
• Jim Jenkins
• Ken Lo
• Lydia Look
• Manny Perry

Directed by Brett Ratner

Released in 1998

MPAA Rating: PG-13

Reviewed by Mongo