in some respects , rush hour is the ultimate exercise in cliched filmmaking .
the hero is the renegade cop that prefers to work alone .
the cop in question can not solve the case until he gets in trouble .
all chinese people are somehow involved in the criminal element .
the duo must always be completely mismatched .
the hero has to say some smart - assed comment before ( and after ) shooting someone .
however , that does n't necessarily make for a bad film .
rush hour is jackie chan 's first major hollywood film since the dismal the protector ( 1985 ) .
proving once again that hollywood can learn many things from foreign film markets ( ie : hong kong ) , jackie chan is given much more free reign than before .
still , some die - hard
jackie chan fans may be disappointed , as even chan himself has voiced displeasure over the length of the fight scenes ( which he views as too short , according to one interview ) .
this film takes a familiar theme of east meets west .
jackie chan is lee , the straight laced inspector who is imported to help deal with a kidnapping case , while chris tucker is carter , the loudmouthed , destructive cop that is ` promoted ' to the fbi to help him .
or , at least , so he thinks ( also another classic notion in action films : the fbi must always get in the way of our heroes ) .
despite the necessary conventions of action films , rush hour is some of the most fun you 'll spend and hour and forty minutes watching .
jackie chan continues to be one of the most exciting martial artists on the big screen , continuing to perform his own stunts and dazzling audiences with his flashy kicks and punches .
chris tucker , familiar from his whiny , annoying role in the fifth element is more palatable , complementing jackie chan 's straight - laced character .
however , jackie chan
still maintains his comic - slapstick edge , as expected of him and his films .
perfectly downplaying the ` fish - out - of - water ' routine through his character 's attempts at mixing into american culture , he makes up for the down time his character experiences .
when he is in action , however , you 'll be amused and dazzled .
still being inventive in the use of objects to beat people up ( in this case , a steering wheel , a serving tray , and a barstool ) , jackie chan proves to be the pioneer of slapstick kung fu .
chris tucker 's character may come across as irritating , yet is also humorous . since he 's not a physical actor to the level of jackie chan , he uses his main weapon : his mouth ( hence , the tagline , ` fastest hands in the east meets the fastest mouth in the west ' ) .
while dialogue is not necessarily shakespeare , it is appropriate for the film and still very funny .
while not necessarily poignant , attempts at character development and growth between characters come off surprisingly well .
lee 's ` knowledge ' of american pop culture ( ` that 's the beach boys ! ' ) when contrasted against carter 's lack of knowledge of chinese culture makes for an interesting scene where lee teaches carter the kung fu disarming trick , while carter teaches lee hip - hop dance moves .
while rush hour is not at the same level as police story 3 and 4 ( known in north america as supercop and jackie chan 's first strike , respectively ) , it more than makes up for the poorly received films operation condor and mr . nice guy . with its appropriate mixture of high kicks and lots of laughs , it makes for a fun film .
as well , it is a true departure from jackie chan films , as it is missing one common element : a whiny female co - star .
Output: P