Rush Hour was pretty good, and made Jackie Chan a household name in the United States. While lacking a lot of the stunts
of his earlier films, his pairing with annoying Chris Tucker was a surprisingly good comedic match, and the movie made bank as a result. A few years later, Rush Hour 2 turned out to be even better, and the movie made a killing. But if you wait long enough - like director Brett Ratner did for Rush Hour 3 - the shine eventually comes off.
Rush Hour 3 brings Tucker out of retirement - he hadn''t done another movie since 2001''s Rush Hour 2 - and reveals that Detective Carter is now a dancing traffic cop in LA. When the Chinese ambassador is nearly assassinated nearby, however, he finds himself once again paired up with close friend Inspector Lee (Chan), and the two end up in Paris. With the local police not too happy about foreign cops running around their country, and the Triads facing a major disaster if Carter and Lee succeed, the two find it quite difficult to avoid trouble. Throw in a few attractive but extremely dangerous women, and you have your plot for Rush Hour 3 , which, in reality, is pretty much the same plot we''ve seen in the other movies.
This action comedy is not by any means a disaster, but whereas the first two seemed to have some legitimate action, comedy and excitement, Rush Hour 3 seems a little more forced, a little more uneven and a little more focused on making money. Thankfully, Tucker''s character is toned down a bit - while he still plays the loud-mouthed coward, he tends to still go along with his buddy''s dangerous plans rather than just complain and do something stupid. At the same time, it feels as though the chemistry between the two leads is different this time around. Inspector Lee isn''t as uptight as he used to be and seems to have given into Carter''s absurdness, whereas Carter has also compromised for Lee. This is more believable and refreshing, except that it isn''t entertaining. Since the movie lacks the hardcore action that Chan''s earlier, Chinese-made films have, Rush Hour 3 needs comedy to balance things out, and other than a few gentle chuckles, there isn''t anything explosive here.