Rush Hour 3 - Preview

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Rated: PG-13

Distributor: New Line Cinema

Release Date: 2007-08-10

Starring: Jackie Chan, Chris Tucker, Hiroyuki Sanada, Youki Kudoh, Max Von Sydow, Yvan Attal, Roman Polanski, Noémie Lenoir, Zhang Jingchu, Tzi Ma, Dana Ivey, Henry O

Directed by Brett Ratner

Produced by Roger Birnbaum, Andrew Z. Davis, Jonathan Glickman, Arthur M. Sarkissian, Jay Stern

Written by Jeff Nathanson

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Previewed by Josh Tyler : 2007-07-25 14:40:29

Chris Tucker returns to the big screen after a six-year absence as he reunites with the all-star team of co-star Jackie Chan, director Brett Ratner (Rush Hour, Rush Hour 2, X-Men: The Last Stand, Hannibal), and writer Jeff Nathanson (Rush Hour 2, Catch Me If You Can) to deliver the third installment of the blockbuster Rush Hour franchise. Arriving in theaters on August 10, 2007, Rush Hour 3 sees the beloved action comedy duo of Tucker and Chan reprising their roles as LAPD Detective James Carter and Chinese Chief Inspector Lee respectively. This time around, the two must travel to Paris to battle a wing of the Chinese organized crime family, the Triads.

After a lot of contract negotiation and some pretty unreasonable salary demands from half the Rush Hour starring duo, both Jackie Chan and Chris Tucker return for a third installment of director Brett Ratner’s fish-out-of-water action franchise. Is the magic gone, or can Tucker and Chan do it again?

Jackie Chan is heading well into his mid-fifties, it’s hard to believe he can continue to pull off the same wild-ass, body-bashing stunts. At some point his battered frame has to give out. Jackie has talked before about the need to get away from these heavy action movies, but so far he shows no sign of slowing down. He’s already got several other Asian action movies in the works, and Asian Jackie Chan’s stunts are a lot tougher to pull off than anything Ratner will be able to think up for Rush Hour. Compared to his Asian stunt-work, this ought to be a cake walk.

As for Tucker, his career has gone nowhere outside of the Rush Hour movies. Though he was quick to demand big money, and star-studded treatment to be in it, the truth is he needs Rush Hour 3 at least as bad as the movie needs him. He worked non-stop in the 90s, but in these the aughts he’s got nothing aside from Rush Hour 2 on his resume. Unless he wants the world to forget about him, he’d better bring one helluva performance to this one.

In the end, the formula for these things is pretty simple. As long as Jackie and Chris haven’t lost the chemistry that makes them so strangely entertaining on screen, then Rush Hour 3 should turn out fine, as long as you’re not looking for anything other than light entertainment. Expect to reprise the whole “words coming out of my mouth bit”. It stopped being funny in 1998, but that’s one trademark of the series that’s not likely to go away.

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