Brett Ratner
1998
Grade: C
At first glance this movie might appear to be a paint by numbers odd-couple. Chris Tucker doing variations on a theme in the key of Axel Foley while Jackie Chan plays up the fish-out-of-water elements of the east meets west buddy cop scenario could have felt rote from the outset, yet, pleasantly, this trek down a familiar road manages to be greater than the sum of its parts. The tolerance for Chris Tucker’s boisterous performance will vary from person to person, but for my own part he plays it just fair of the tall grass helped in no small way by his interactions with his co-star and a sprinkling of character moments that, while not asking much in the performing, add a shade of a third dimension which prevent his character from becoming too abrasively one-note.
But of course the heart and soul of the movie is Jackie Chan, and not only the masterful physicality of his performance(which of course merits its own discussion), but also the nuance and charm he finds subtle ways to infuse into a very lightly written character. The most apparent element of this charm comes in his relationships with Julia Hsu’s adorable scene stealing performance as Soo Yung and her devastated father, Consul Han, played by Tzi Ma. Chan’s Detective Inspector Lee is determined, capable, and reserved (furthering the contrast between himself and Carter), but he also manages to be, for lack of a better word, a little dorky at the same time. He gets excited over the Beach Boys on the radio, tries to parrot some of Carter’s more colorful language without understanding the context, and gets entangled in a whose father was the best debate.
These endearing qualities are all without even broaching the subject of his immaculately choreographic and comedically timed action sequences that are almost always masterworks of the form and for which Chan has so rightly received such praise. My first awed interaction with his work was Rumble in the Bronx from a few years earlier when I was knee deep in a martial arts film obsession apparently axiomatic in pre-teen karate practitioners. Bruce Lee, Don Wilson, Jean Claude Van Damme, Chuck Norris, the criminally underrated Cynthia Rothrock, Best of the Best, Only the Strong, American Ninja, Three Ninjas, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Blind Fury it didn’t matter what it was, if it had a martial arts theme I was on board, and it was immediately apparent that Jackie Chan was a standout in the form. It’s not simply that he can tell a joke in a fight scene, or that he can sell a hit with the best wrestlers of all time. It’s rhythm, speed, and fluidity, on an unparalleled level that makes every frame completely engrossing and fabulously entertaining. Here, specifically, the fights are not particularly long or numerous, but each has its own character and novelty so that even in the climax they never feel repetitive. The 2-on-1 where Lee(Chan) has to fight while trying to prevent a priceless vase from falling onto the floor is amazing and the punch line made me laugh out loud.
Tom Wilkinson is one of my favorite character actors, and I always enjoy seeing him in any capacity. Here he’s not asked to do much more than be the hidden hand behind the villainy in what is perhaps a slightly telegraphed reveal. The face of the antagonist for most of the film is actually Ken Leung in his turn as Sang. Like Wilkinson, he doesn’t get much of a chance to develop any sort of character, but is allowed to deliver a few high quality classic villain lines, and he does them justice. Mark Rolston and Elizabeth Pena round out the major players and each adds a little color to the film as a whole.
Brett Ratner, almost certainly overly criticized for harmless forgettables like X-men: The Last Stand and the Dwayne Johnson Hercules, is perhaps closer to his wheelhouse in this one and does a good job shooting the action sequences in a way that highlights the choreography and heightens the non-verbal storytelling. He seems to know when to use a stationary midrange shot to allow the audience to follow the intricate choreography and when to use subtle camera movements to add weight to impacts or direct the audience's eye line. The tendency today to to over edit and cut action sequences to pieces so that it’s nearly impossible to tell what’s going on in the frame. I think it’s important to remember that this wasn’t always the case, and that sometimes knowing when not to meddle is a valid artistic choice.
The narrative doesn’t break any new ground, but the story is straightforward and sound. The movie has a great sense of humor and two leads that play extremely well off of one another. I don’t know when I’ll get around to seeing Rush Hour 2 again, and I’m not entirely sure I’ve ever seen the third installment, however it’s easy to see why these two characters would warrant a pair of sequels. As an action comedy it doesn’t quite reach the heights of a Lethal Weapon or Beverly Hills Cop, but it is very entertaining, and Jackie Chan adds something that neither of those other titles can lay claim to. Worth the price of admission for any fan of a buddy cop action comedy, and a good example of a less stunt heavy entry in Jackie Chan’s catalog.
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