Rush Hour 3 proves three things:
1. The series has nothing left that hasn’t been done in the first two.
2. Chris Tucker is completely out of one-liners that don’t involve sex.
3. Jackie Chan is simply too old for these fight scenes.
Brett Ratner is the “love him or hate him” director of this decade, but after this third iteration of Rush Hour, most will be leaning towards the second half of that statement.
It’s not that this is a terrible, unwatchable buddy movie. We’ve been down this road before, and the number of laughs the movie reaches (way out) for are painful. From an interrogation scene with a nun, a musical number that goes completely ridiculous, and a break-up of sorts between Chan and Tucker, comedies rarely have to try this hard.
There is some excitement to be had. A chase scene involving multiple motorcycles and a van is filled with incredible stunt work. The fights have a few glimpses of brilliance and originality, though these are certainly a step down from the prior two films. Chan is slowing down, and obvious stunt men step in from time to time.
On the scripting side, this is lowbrow unto the extreme. Aside from the impossibly high number of repeated gags (Chan’s broken English, Tucker's various quips), outside characters, including a French official played by Roman Polanski, just don’t work. It’s a blatant characterization, not funny, and cheap.
Obvious special effects permeate the finale, and leading up to it, Ratner ensures that nearly every shot out of a window has the Eiffel Tower in clear view. The final escape might as well be lifted shot for shot from Rush Hour 2, and leads to countless implausible cases of being in the right place at the right time.
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