Rush Hour (film)


"Rush Hour" redirects here. For other uses, see Rush hour (disambiguation).
Rush Hour
Directed by Brett Ratner
Produced by Roger Birnbaum
Jonathan Glickman
Athur M. Sarkissian
Written by Ross LaManna (Screenplay and Story)
Jim Kouf (Screenplay)
Starring Jackie Chan
Chris Tucker
Ken Leung
Tom Wilkinson
Chris Penn
Elizabeth Pena
Tzi Ma
Julia Hsu
Music by Lalo Schifrin
Ira Hearshen
Cinematography Adam Greenberg
Editing by Mark Helfrich
Distributed by Flag of the United States New Line Cinema
Release date(s) Flag of the United States September 18, 1998
Running time 97 min.
Country United States
Language English
Budget $35,000,000
Gross revenue $244,386,864
Followed by Rush Hour 2
Allmovie profile
IMDb profile

Rush Hour is a 1998 martial arts/buddy cop film directed by Brett Ratner and starring Jackie Chan and Chris Tucker. The film was successful, becoming the 7th top grossing film of 1998, with a gross of over $140 million dollars at the US box office. The film contains one of the most famous comedy phrases, when asking Lee if he knows english, Carter says "Do you understand the words that are coming out of my mouth?".

Taglines:
The Fastest Hands In The East Meet The Biggest Mouth In The West.
Pals Forever. If they can get past today.
They come from different cultures. But on a case this big, they speak the same language.

Contents

Plot

On the last day of British rule in Hong Kong, Detective Inspector Lee (Jackie Chan) of the Hong Kong police leads a raid at the docks, hoping to arrest the mysterious crime lord Juntao. He finds only Sang (Ken Leung), Juntao's right hand man, who manages to escape. However, Lee successfully recovers numerous Chinese cultural treasures stolen by Juntao, which he presents as a farewell victory to his departing superiors: Chinese consul Han (Tzi Ma) and British Commander Thomas Griffin (Tom Wilkinson).

Shortly after arriving in the United States to take up his new diplomatic post in Los Angeles, Han's daughter, Soo Yung, is kidnapped. Unwilling to trust the FBI, Han calls in Lee to assist in the case.

The FBI, knowing Lee's incompetence, or success, will generate international embarrassment for them, pawn him off on LAPD Detective James Carter (Chris Tucker), a fast-talking and arrogant police officer with aspirations of joining the FBI. Carter has recently caused severe collateral damage arresting bomb-maker Clyde Cod (Chris Penn) and his superiors give him a choice: keep Lee away from the investigation or face suspension without pay. Carter agrees, secretly intending to solve the case himself.

After accidentally involving themselves in a supposed ransom drop off, Lee tries to warn the FBI that something is amiss, but is ignored until a bomb is detonated, killing several agents. Spotting Sang nearby, Lee and Carter give chase, but Sang escapes after dropping a detonator. After showing it to Carter's colleague, LAPD bomb expert Tania Johnson (Elizabeth Peña), then to Clyde Cod, the bomb-maker he arrested, they learn that Juntao was behind the kidnapping. Following a lead to Chinatown, Carter sees Griffin in charge of Soo Yung's kidnappers, but does not know who he is. After a fight in Chinatown, where they fail to rescue the girl, Sang angrily tells the consul that the ransom has been increased, and begins threatening Soo Yung's life. Disgraced, Lee and Carter are ordered off the investigation and Lee is ordered back to Hong Kong. Confronting him on the plane, Carter tells Lee about the death of Carter's father, also a police officer, killed at a routine traffic stop. Lee is surprised, as before then Carter has seemed to care about no one but himself. They decide to save Soo Yung together.

The final confrontation comes at the opening of a Chinese art exhibition at the Los Angeles Convention Center, which Han is overseeing, while the ransom is being delivered. After Carter recognizes Griffin from Chinatown, Lee figures out his true identity as Juntao and confronts him. Griffin then threatens to explode a bomb attached to Soo Yung if the delivery is interrupted. In a battle between Griffin's thugs on one side, and the F.B.I. and Lee and Carter on the other, Carter shoots Sang dead in a stand off, Johnson defuses the bomb and rescues Soo Yung, and Lee kills Griffin by causing him to fall from the center's roof and into a water fountain.

Han and Soo Yung are reunited. Carter and Lee take a vacation together to Hong Kong—but Carter is annoyed to hear that the flight will take 15 hours…and demands another seat as soon as Lee starts singing "War".

Cast and characters

Reception

Rush Hour opened at #1 at the North American box-office with a weekend gross of $33 million in September 1998. Rush Hour grossed over $244 million worldwide.[1]

While it gained relatively positive reviews from critics, some people criticized the movie for being a rip-off of Lethal Weapon.[who?] Others noted that Jackie Chan's performance was nowhere near as lively as his previous roles (in Hong Kong movies, Chan enjoyed total creative freedom and was typically given limited creativity in Hollywood productions), and that his stunts were no longer death-defying or impressive[citation needed]. Many critics, however, praised Chris Tucker for his comical acts in the film and how he and Chan formed an effective comic duo.[2]

Sequels

A sequel Rush Hour 2, was made in 2001. A third movie, Rush Hour 3, was released on August 10, 2007.[3] Tucker will receive $25 million for the third film and Chan will gain the distribution rights to the movie in Asia. [4]

A fourth film in the series is in negotiations, and reportedly may be set in Moscow.[5]

Soundtrack

Main article: Def Jam's Rush Hour Soundtrack

The soundtrack features hit single "Can I Get A..." by Jay-Z, Ja Rule and Amil, as well as tracks by Dru Hill, Wu-Tang Clan, and Charli Baltimore

Awards and nominations

  • 1999 Golden Screen (Germany}
    • Winner: Golden Screen

See also

References

  1. ^ "Rush Hour". boxofficemojo.com (September 18th, 1998). Retrieved on 2006-06-25.
  2. ^ Ebert, Roger (September 18th, 1998). "Rush Hour". rogerebert.com. Retrieved on 2006-06-25.
  3. ^ "Chan Says Tucker Holding Up Rush Hour 3". The Associated Press (July 10th, 2005). Retrieved on 2006-06-25.
  4. ^ Jackie Chan Admits He Is Not a Fan of 'Rush Hour' Films
  5. ^ 'Rush Hour 4' is Set in Moscow

External links


Preceded by
Rounders		 Box office number-one films of 1998 (USA)
September 27, 1998 – October 4, 1998		 Succeeded by
Antz
v • d • e
Rush Hour Series
Rush Hour • Rush Hour 2 • Rush Hour 3
v • d • e
Films directed by Brett Ratner
Whatever Happened to Mason Reese • Money Talks • Rush Hour • The Family Man • Rush Hour 2
Red Dragon • After the Sunset • X-Men: The Last Stand • Rush Hour 3 • The Boys From Brazil • Mr. S: My Life with Frank Sinatra • God of War

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