The summer of 2007 will forever go down in history as the summer of the "three-quel." "Spider-Man," "Shrek," "Pirates of the Caribbean," "The Bourne Ultimatum," "Ocean´s Thirteen" and now "Rush Hour." There seems to be no end in sight. The singular trait all these films have in common is repetition: the same talent, the same types of stories, bigger spectacles…and storylines which barely make a lick of sense.
After his boss is shot at the World Criminal Court, Chief Inspector Lee (Jackie Chan) and Detective James Carter (Chris Tucker) reunite to track down the Triad gang. They must find a list detailing the leaders of the organization in order to bring Triad to justice. Their search brings them to Paris, where the bulk of the story takes place. As they draw closer and closer to the mysterious list, they uncover a conspiracy with political and familial connections.
It is said "Rush Hour 3" took so long to get to the screen because everyone involved wanted to get the script exactly right. Maybe they should have taken another five or ten years to add a bit of depth to a story which is little more than one action sequence after another with mildly funny jokes breaking up the scenes. I guess that´s all this series is ever going to amount to and we should all be happy it still has a modicum of self-respect.
There are plenty of jokes revolving around hairy French women, jabs at America because of everything from Iraq to the Dream Team and all manner of national origin potshots. The script, though, never reverts to toilet humor or makes the audience cringe from embarrassment. Those afore-mentioned action sequences compliment the humor rather nicely in not being overly flashy or obviously computer generated. In fact, the film excels when Chan is given something kinetic to do, such as dodging knives or fighting a top the Eifel Tower.
And really, isn´t that the reason we go to see the "Rush Hour" films anyway? Not for the political humor or the brilliant acting, but to give Jackie Chan the opportunity to swing, kick, punch, chop and jump his way to the end of the picture. On that count, no one can ever criticize the film. However, action on its own doesn´t make a good movie. This installment more than either of the first two relies on Carter and Lee literally stumbling onto new facts in the case. It´s terribly convenient a hurtful aspect of Lee´s childhood plays a major role in the plot. Likewise is an encounter Carter has with a beautiful woman (Noemie Lenoir) at the baccarat table. It shouldn´t come as any surprise she´s integral to the plot, should it?
That´s the major problem in the film: any audience member with half a brain is at least 10 minutes ahead of the actual picture. Case in point: the identity of the eventual bad guy the duo is confronted with at the end of the film. In fact, the moment this character walks on screen, we know at some point he´s going to be revealed. It´s not a shock; it´s more of a relief everyone-audience and characters-is finally on the same page.
There´s nothing terribly wrong with the film; it´s an amusing diversion with characters we´ve come to know and appreciate. I can´t help but feel it could have had ambition to be something better instead of a retread of what we´ve already seen. Right from the film´s opening-with Carter again treating the audience to a hideously off pitch concert-to the outtakes over the end titles, there isn´t anything new in the third installment. More action, another caper with a "shocking" villain, more international misunderstandings, slapstick comedy; it´s like there is a formula for films like this and all the screenwriter did was throw names into the generator.
Despite all that, "Rush Hour 3" is a fun ride. Clocking in at a lean 90 minutes, the audience is never given the chance to be bored. Because of the running time, the story progresses rather quickly and perhaps that´s part of the reason the story is so simple: there isn´t time to weave an intricate plot. When so many films overstay their welcomes by twisting the story more than it should be, director Brett Ratner gets his story on screen, tells it effectively and then exits stage left. All with a minimum of obvious computer generated effects.
Within the franchise, this film is sandwiched between the other two in terms of quality. The first film was fresh when it debuted with a pairing we wouldn´t have expected; and the second regressed to a point which made the characters look like buffoons. With a little luck, this will be the last in the series. How many more times can these participants go to the same well with decent results? It was a stretch to get the cops together for this adventure, within the context of this universe. Stop while we actually want to see more instead of running the franchise into the ground.
"Rush Hour 3" rates a decent enough 5.5. It doesn´t have the emotional storyline like this summer´s "Knocked Up" nor does it deliver with WHAM POW action sequences like "Transformers." The film is content enough to be a diversion from the special effects spectacles the summer inevitably provides.