Review of Rush Hour 3 (2007) by Kai82 — 17 Jun 2021

The final movie in the Rush Hour franchise. Basically it is the same kind of movie as the prequels with some variations and you have to decide if this is a good or bad thing. For many people this is the mayor complaint and even I who likes all 3 movies must agree that they have a somehow valid argument here.

It is again an action comedy / buddy movie that is carried by the two main characters / actors. Story: It is set a few years after Rush Hour 2. Ambassador Solon Han (from Rush Hour 1) wants to rise the awareness of fighting against the Triads (Traditional Chinese crime syndicates.

I hesitate to give a better explanation as I am unfamiliar and “Chinese Mafia” would be probably a bad comparison) at the world criminal court in Los Angeles. He wants to announce the whereabouts of Shy Shen who is a legendary figure and irreplaceable leader of the Triads.

However one does not do this easily and it is again the job of inspector Lee played by Jackie Chan and detective Carter played by Chris Tucker to safe the day. You get what you expect. Jackie Chan being Jackie Chan and Chris Tucker adding more humor to the mix.

They work great together but like I already said it is neither that original or refreshing anymore but still enjoyable. I will also admit that the words “More of the same” come to my mind. Characters: Without Jackie Chan and Chris Tucker this would be below average.

They save this movie from being bad and their chemistry is still a strength in the movie (and franchise). Then there is Hiroyuli Sanada who gives a truly good performance in this movie. Maybe a bit too much wasted by the script but that is not to blame on him or his performance.

Bonus for Roman Polanski as Commissar Revi who is so an enjoyable slime-ball. Small role but remarkable. He is in the love to hate category. Generally I see no missteps here in the cast. Other than that the humor works well but is not on a top level.

Jackie Chan is always amazing and I continue to say that there is no bad performance by him even in his weaker movies. It is also fair to say non of the Rush Hour movies would be in my top 10 Jackie Chan movies list (or on anyone I knows list).

Overall I am a bit divided. It is still a solid movie and enjoyable. It is also nowhere as good as the better movies in the genres. Maybe not everything needs to be a masterpiece. I will say it is worth watching and has memorable moments but will be forgotten in the end.

Today I would add “Franchise fatigue” to the review but back then I did not know the term (or if it existed back then).