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Rush Hour (film series)
Encyclopedia
The Rush Hour film series is a series of martial arts
/action
-comedy film
s starring Jackie Chan
and Chris Tucker
, directed by Brett Ratner
, and distributed by New Line Cinema
. The main plot centers around a pair of police detectives: a Chinese police inspector and an American LAPD detective
(portrayed by Chan and Tucker) who go on a series of misadventures often involving corrupt crime figures. All three films received commercial success
and incorporate elements of martial arts
, and the buddy cop sub-genre
.
and Dave Chappelle
were originally considered for the role of James Carter, but Chris Tucker
was finally chosen for the part. Director Brett Ratner, a big fan of Jackie Chan's Hong Kong movies, felt that American audiences would not be familiar with the jokes in Jackie's other movies, and deliberately re-used some of his gags. For example, the scene where Inspector Lee accidentally grabs Johnson's breasts is a reference to Jackie Chan's film Mr. Nice Guy
(1997).
During filming, Elizabeth Peña played a prank on Director Brett Ratner in which she appeared on the set wearing nothing but her character's bomb squad vest. According to Peña, she thought Ratner would laugh and howl; instead he was extremely nervous and embarrassed. Additionally, despite being released in 1998, Rush Hour is set in 1997. Britain handed over Hong Kong to China on July 1, 1997, and the film takes place in the weeks following that event.
was released on August 3, 2001. The film grossed $347,325,802 worldwide, making it the most successful film in the Rush Hour series. In an interview, director Brett Ratner
admitted that the first part of the karaoke scene with Chris Tucker was not supposed to be filmed. Tucker refused to act like Michael Jackson
with the cameras running. During takes, he went up as entertainment for everyone. Secretly, Ratner told the cameramen to film it but to not let Tucker notice them. On an episode of The Tonight Show with Jay Leno
, Tucker said that while he was filming this movie in Hong Kong, many locals mistook him for NBA star Kobe Bryant
. In the film, while Tucker's character is running up the stairs, the old woman shouts, "Move out of the way, Kobe" to him. However, in the DVD audio commentary, Ratner states that main writer Jeff Nathanson
came up with that line shortly before the filming of that scene. The mural on the wall of the Heaven on Earth Massage Parlor was copied from one in Scarface, which Harris Yulin and Ratner appeared in. The scene where Jackie Chan and Tucker are running down the street naked in Hong Kong was an actual take; production could not block the street off for the shoot. The scene where Chan and Tucker run around naked in the streets was inspired by a scene in The Accidental Spy
(2001) which Chan made before this movie. Ratner saw the film and decided to include a similar scene in Rush Hour 2 (2001).
The girl-picking scene came from the Bruce Lee
film Enter the Dragon
(1973), which Chan appeared in. During the boat party that Ricky Tan holds, the song "Tian Mi Mi" can be heard playing in the background. The same song was used in Year of the Dragon (1985), a film which also co-starred John Lone
. Seasickness helped Roselyn Sanchez
feign a lack of enthusiasm for Tucker's advances in the yacht sequence. When Tucker is saying that Asians always panic and points out Godzilla
films as a reference, he shouts "Hayaku! Hayaku!" This is actually Japanese, and it means "Quickly! Quickly!" The scene where Carter gets the kosher meal was originally scripted to have Carter ask if Lee "want some of my gefilte fish?" after the stewardess left. But Tucker couldn't pronounce "gefilte", so the scene never made the final cut (outtakes of this scene are in the end credits). Don Cheadle
only agreed to appear in this movie under two circumstances: he gets to speak Chinese and pick a fight with Chan. In the scene where Chan and Tucker went inside the business suite, Ernie Reyes, Jr.
appeared in a cameo
as the worker who was chased by Chan and Tucker.
Jeremy Piven
made a cameo appearance in Rush Hour 2 as an over-enthusiastic gay Versace
salesman. Like Cheadle, he was from Family Man
(2000), a movie that was also directed by Ratner. The Red Dragon Casino in Las Vegas owned by Ricky Tan (John Lone) and Steven Reign (Alan King
) was actually the Desert Inn
hotel and casino. There were red lights shined at the hotel to make it a scarlet color. Following the closure of the 50 year old Las Vegas Strip
property in August 2000 by new owner Steve Wynn
, the Rush Hour 2 production moved in and redesigned parts of the property as a Chinese themed casino/hotel for the movie. Shortly after the movie wrapped production in Las Vegas, the Desert Inn was demolished on October 23, 2001 make way for the new $2.7 billion dollar Wynn Las Vegas
resort. Red Dragon
is also the name of a movie that Ratner directed months after Rush Hour 2, as well as the name of a real casino in Mountlake Terrace, Washington, USA. The fake cash used in the movie said "In Dog We Trust". Even so, some of it "escaped" from the set and eventually ended up in a few casinos in Las Vegas. Chan's favorite number is 32. The gangster's car has a license plate of 32 and when Lee spits the grenade onto the roulette table it lands on 32 when it explodes.
Tucker ad-libbed many different versions of his short speech to Hu Li at the end of their fight. Ratner felt the speech was not working and told Tucker to call her a "bitch". Tucker refused to say the word and it took hours of convincing by Ratner before Tucker finally agreed. During the filming of the stunt where Lee and Carter jump from the top window of the Red Dragon hotel then slide down the wires of Chinese Lanterns, a real (i.e. not part of the movie) car chase took place on/through the set. Apparently, a carload of drunken tourists (the set was in Las Vegas) got into an altercation with a taxi driver, and the two cars began a chase that ran down the strip and onto the set, narrowly missing crew members, extras and an enormous crane which held a camera and crew. Fortunately no one was injured; the driver and passengers of the taxi were detained by police. On the DVD release of the film, a deleted scene featured Philip Baker Hall
reprising his role of Captain Diel from the first film. Carter speaks with the Captain about his stay in Hong Kong and his involvement in the Triad case. Ratner states in the DVD
audio commentary
that while he would have loved to include the scene in the final cut (essentially giving Hall a cameo appearance), it did not advance the plot and was left out.
Zhang Ziyi only speaks three words of English in the film, two of which being her famous line "Some apple?" (however, she is seen mouthing "Here's your package. You're welcome." while Lee and Carter are spying on Molina through the windows from the neighboring tower) as she did not know the language at the time of filming. Chan served as her translator on the set. Zhang Ziyi's character name, "Hu Li", means "fox." Her character was originally written for a man. The first two films in the Rush Hour series begin in Hong Kong and end in a United States airport. The time gap between Rush Hour 2 and Rush Hour could approximately be four days. At the end of the first film, Detective Carter and Inspector Lee board a 15-hour flight to Hong Kong for a holiday and at the beginning of Rush Hour 2, Carter states "I've been in Hong Kong for three days and all we've done is run your cases". However, Ratner had previously stated that the events of Rush Hour 2 were probably Carter and Lee's second or third trip to Hong Kong. In all three Rush Hour films, the main antagonist is killed by falling to his death. In the first film, Thomas falls to his death when the vest rigged with C4 rips and falls off. Because he was holding onto it he falls with it. In the second Ricky Tan is kicked out of a window and falls to his death on a taxi. In the third Kenji falls to his death from the Eiffel Tower
when a safety rope snaps and Lee is forced to let go of him.
was officially announced on May 7, 2006, and filming began on July 4, 2006. The film, set in Paris and Los Angeles
, was first released on August 10, 2007,
Academy Award-winning film director
Roman Polanski
co-stars as a French police official involved in Lee and Carter (Chan and Tucker's characters) case. Tzi Ma
reprises his role as Ambassador Han, Lee's boss and friend who appeared in the first installment. This film has received a M rating by the Office of Film and Literature Classification (Australia) and a PG-13 rating by the MPAA
for "sequences of action violence, sexual content, and language." Additionally, the film was not screened in Chinese theaters in 2007 to make way for a larger variety of foreign films, according to a business representative. (The quota for imported films is 20 each year.)
for Rush Hour 3, Brett Ratner joked that the fourth Rush Hour film could be released in 2012. Ratner and Nathanson are exploring many concepts, including the use of the motion capture
technique for the possible sequel and various different film projects with Chan and Tucker. It has been reported that the fourth film may be set in Moscow.
Ratner stated in an interview in 2009 that he "has been in contact with a long list of stars including Danny DeVito
and Jet Li
for possible roles in a potential Rush Hour 4," but stressed "nothing's been okayed yet". In a short interview with Vulture in 2011, Ratner stated that the cost of making a follow-up to X-Men: The Last Stand
would have cost more than the recent reboot
and that, "that’s why another Rush Hour 4 probably won’t get made, either: It’d be too much to pay me, Chris [Tucker], and Jackie [Chan] to come back."
In another interview in 2011, Tucker in an interview with the radio show The Breakfast Club stated in response to the question of a fourth by saying, "Rush Hour 4? Maybe you know, because that's a different kind of movie. You the action and the stuff like that, and they pay 20 million dollars too... I'm just joking! No, you know Jackie Chan, you know I love working with him and those type of movies you can redo them and it's different, we'll see but I don't know though. But we've got some new stuff coming, so we'll see what happens."
) 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 Clive Cobb (Chris Penn
) and his superiors give him a choice: keep Lee away from the investigation or face two months suspension without pay. Carter agrees, secretly intending to solve the case himself.
Carter meets Lee at LAX and then proceeds to take him on a sightseeing tour of Los Angeles, simultaneously keeping Lee away from the embassy and contacting several of his underworld informants about the kidnapping. Lee finally escapes Carter and makes his way to the Chinese Consulate, where an anxious Han and a group of FBI agents are awaiting news about his daughter. Later, while being severely reprimanded by the FBI, Carter manages to accidentally involve himself in a phone conversation with the kidnappers, where he arranges a ransom drop.
After their arrival at the agreed drop point, 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 rare type of detonator. After showing it to Carter's colleague, LAPD bomb expert Tania Johnson (Elizabeth Peña
), then to Clive Cobb, the bomb-maker he arrested, they learn that Juntao was behind the kidnapping. Following a lead to a restaurant in Chinatown, Carter is captured after going in alone. He sees a surveillance video of Griffin evacuating Soo-Yung from the premises, but does not know who he is. Lee arrives and rescues Carter, and they are met outside by the FBI, led by Special Agent-in-charge Warren Russ (Mark Rolston
), who blame them for ruining the ransom exchange. Sang phones the consul, angrily telling him that the ransom has been increased (the original ransom was $50 million) to $70 million, and begins threatening Soo-Yung's life. Disgraced and guilt-ridden, Lee and Carter are ordered off the investigation and Lee is sent back to Hong Kong. Finally realizing Soo-Yung's safety is more important than his career, Carter refuses to drop the case and confronts Lee on his plane to enlist his help. Carter tells Lee about the death of Carter's father, also a police officer, killed at a routine traffic stop because his partner didn't help him. 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 and Griffin are overseeing, while the ransom is being delivered. After Carter recognizes Griffin from Chinatown, he creates a scene by alerting the spectators about the threat of a bomb and tells them to evacuate. In the confusion, Lee sees Griffin talking to a waiter he recognises as Sang, and figures out Griffin's true identity as Juntao and confronts him. Griffin then threatens to explode a bomb attached to Soo-Yung if the delivery is interrupted. During the stand off, Carter and Johnson rescue Soo-Yung and bring the bomb within range to kill Griffin and his men, causing a gunfight to erupt. In a battle between Griffin's thugs on one side, and the FBI, 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. Han sends Carter and Lee on vacation together to Hong Kong. Before leaving, the FBI investigators show up and offer Carter a position on the FBI. Carter refuses, rudely telling them where he thinks they can take the badge, and that he will always be loyal to the LAPD.
) is on vacation in Hong Kong, visiting his good friend Hong Kong Police Force Chief Inspector Lee (Jackie Chan
). Carter is interested in having a good time; however, soon after he arrives, a bomb explodes in the American Embassy. Inspector Lee is assigned to the case, which becomes personal when it is discovered that it somehow involves Ricky Tan (John Lone
), his late police officer father's former partner. Tan, who was suspected, but never proven, of having a role in Lee's father's death, is now a leader of the Triads.
The United States Secret Service
, led by Agent Sterling (Harris Yulin
), and the Hong Kong Police Force
soon get into a fight over the jurisdiction
of the case. Sterling believes Ricky Tan is a minor player in a larger conspiracy and wants him left alone so he will lead them to the people in charge. Lee, believing Tan is actually the head of the operation, learns that Tan will be attending a dinner party on his yacht
. Tan scolds his underling, Hu Li (Zhang Ziyi
), who then leaves as Lee and Carter confront Tan. Tan claims that someone is trying to frame him. Hu Li suddenly appears and shoots Ricky Tan, and he falls off the boat. In the ensuing chaos, Hu Li escapes, and an angry Sterling holds Lee responsible for Tan's death, and orders him off the case. Carter is ordered to be flown back to Los Angeles for involving himself. However, Lee and Carter return to Los Angeles together, seemingly motivated by their desire to bring justice and meaning for their respective father's deaths in the line of duty.
On the plane, Carter tells Lee that every case has a rich white man behind it, and that the man is Steven Reign, a Los Angeles hotel billionaire. Carter says that he saw Reign on Tan's boat and that his calm demeanor during the shooting was suspicious. They set up camp outside the Reign Towers, pointing out a sexy Secret Service agent named Isabella Molina (Roselyn Sánchez
), who Carter met and tried to woo on Ricky Tan's yacht. After Lee watches Molina undress, and a few misunderstandings, Molina tells the two men that she is undercover, looking into Reign's money laundering
of US$ 100 million dollars in superbills (high grade counterfeit US$ 100 bills).
Lee and Carter pay a visit to Kenny (Don Cheadle
), an ex-con known to Carter who runs an illegal gambling parlor frequented by Asian criminals in the back room of his Chinese restaurant. He tells them that a usually broke customer recently came in to his establishment with a suspicious amount of hundred-dollar bills. Carter checks them out and confirms that they are Reign's counterfeits. They trace the money back to a bank friendly to the Triads, who are waiting for them and knock the two cops unconscious, with Molina looking on. Then they depart for Las Vegas
. Lee and Carter wake up inside one of the Triads' trucks and escape. After finding out where they are, they realize that Reign is laundering the $100 million through the new Red Dragon Casino.
At the Red Dragon, Lee and Carter split up. Carter makes a big commotion and distracts the security forces while Lee runs into Molina. After convincing Lee she didn't sell them out, he attempts to infiltrate the back area to find the engraving plates (which were used to make the counterfeit money). However, Hu Li captures Lee, places a small bomb in his mouth, and gags him. She then takes him up to the penthouse, where it is revealed that Ricky Tan faked his death and, as Lee suspected, is in charge of the operation. After a few words, he departs, leaving Hu Li to do whatever she wants.
Molina then takes out a gun, reveals herself as a Secret Service agent and attempts to arrest Hu Li. In the chaos that follows, Hu Li kicks Lee out of a window and he falls out onto the casino floor. Molina and Hu Li then fight, and Molina sweeps the trigger for Lee's bomb out onto the casino floor. Hu Li finally manages to gain the upper hand and shoots Molina in the arm before jumping out onto the casino floor. After a frantic search, Carter and Lee end up together. Carter starts pulling the tape off of Lee's mouth. Lee manages to spit the bomb out seconds before Hu Li finds the trigger and detonates it. Carter then fights Hu Li while Lee heads to the penthouse to prevent Tan from escaping with the plates.
In the penthouse, Reign opens the safe and takes the plates, running into Tan as he leaves. After Reign announces he is cutting their deal short and keeping the plates, Tan stabs him to death. Lee confronts Tan, taking a gun from Reign's body. Carter appears, having triumphantly (and accidentally) knocked Hu Li out. After a tense standoff, where Tan admits he killed Lee's father, Lee knocks the gun away in Carter's direction. As Tan manages to retrieve it, and before only seconds from shooting Carter, Lee kicks Tan out through the window, tumbling to his death. Hu Li then enters, holding a time bomb. Lee and Carter leap out of the window just as the bomb goes off, sliding on decoration wires with their jackets. The wires snap, and they swing into a sign for the casino. Their momentum swings them into the path of oncoming traffic. Through Lee's nimble skill and Carter's dumb luck, they narrowly escape being hit by three successive trucks.
Later, at the airport, Sterling thanks Lee for his work in the case. Molina says she would like to tell Lee something, and proceeds to kiss him for a short time, an event witnessed from afar by Carter. Lee and Carter plan to go their separate ways; Carter to Los Angeles and Lee to Hong Kong. After Isabella heads for her flight, Lee and Carter say one last goodbye. Lee then gives Carter, who at first graciously declines, his father's police badge, stating that he can finally "let it go." In return, Carter gives Lee $10,000 that he won from gambling at Caesars Palace
. Lee is more critical in his refusal of the money, but Carter is able to persuade Lee to take the money. After, Lee reveals that he has always wanted to go to Madison Square Garden
and watch a New York Knicks
basketball game. Carter tells Lee he could go for one more vacation and the two of them decide to take another vacation in the Big Apple, dancing off to Michael Jackson
's "Don't Stop 'Til You Get Enough
".
, James Carter is no longer a detective
, but a traffic cop on the streets of Los Angeles. Lee is now the bodyguard
for his friend Ambassador (formerly Consul) Han. Lee and Carter are no longer on speaking terms after an incident in New York City when Carter accidentally — but not fatally — shot Lee's now ex-girlfriend Secret Service
agent Isabella Molina (Roselyn Sanchez
) in the neck.
During discussions in the World Criminal Court, as the Ambassador addresses the importance of fighting the Triad organization, he announces that he may know the whereabouts of Shy Shen. Suddenly, Han takes a bullet in the shoulder, disrupting the conference. Lee pursues the assassin
and corners him, discovering that the assassin is his Japanese stepbrother Kenji (Hiroyuki Sanada
). When Lee hesitates to shoot Kenji, Carter, having heard of Han's incident on the police radio, shows up driving towards the two and accidentally nearly runs Lee over, allowing Kenji to escape.
In the hospital, Lee learns that Han will make a full recovery. Han's daughter, Soo-Yung (Zhang Jingchu
), now grown up, arrives and makes Lee and Carter promise to capture the one behind the shooting. She then informs Lee and Carter that her father gave her an envelope which contains important information regarding the Triad, and that the envelope is in her locker at the martial arts
studio where she works. Lee and Carter make their way to the martial arts studio, but find out that a gang of armed men have already arrived and emptied it. Lee and Carter are told by the Master of the studio that Soo-Yung and Han are in danger, and rush back to the hospital.
Once the two reach the hospital, a gang of assassins arrive to kill Soo-Yung and Han. Lee and Carter manage to defeat them, with the help of Soo-Yung, and interrogate the leader of the assassins. Much to Lee and Carter's surprise, the Asian assassin only speaks French. With the help of a resident nun, Sister Agnes (Dana Ivey
), who translates, they find out that they are marked for death by the Triad along with Soo-Yung and Han. For her protection, they take her to the French Embassy and leave her under the care of Reynard (Max von Sydow
), the French ambassador and the chairman of the World Criminal Court. When a car bomb detonates, nearly killing Reynard and Soo-Yung, Lee and Carter decide to go to Paris to investigate.
In Paris, (after getting a painful cavity search
from a Parisian commissioner, played by Roman Polanski
) Lee and Carter meet up with George, a taxi driver (Yvan Attal
). George refuses to drive Carter, saying that Americans make him sick, as they are "the most violent people on Earth" — to which Carter replies by forcing George, at gunpoint, to drive to a Triad hideout disguised as a gentleman's club (and to sing the American Anthem). There, Lee fights off a Triad assassin named Jasmine (Youki Kudoh
); meanwhile, Carter meets a beautiful woman whose name is not disclosed (Noémie Lenoir
). However, Lee and Carter are both forced out of the club and are captured by the Triads. They manage to escape, but then have a falling out concerning Lee's relationship with Kenji. Shortly after Carter leaves, Reynard appears. Lee asks who Shy Shen is, but Reynard tells him that Shy Shen is not a man, but a list of the Triad leaders. Reynard reveals that Han's informant knows where Shy Shen is. The informant turns out to be Geneviève, the woman Carter met at the gentlemen's club and both Lee and Carter end up looking for her.
After the two have encountered Geneviève, they save her from an assassination attempt by the Triads and flee to their hotel room. However, they are attacked again by Jasmine who sneaks up behind Carter and Genevieve who are making love in bed. When Lee tries to fend her off with his pistol, Jasmine throws a knife in both directions of Carter/Genevieve and Lee. In an attempt to dodge the knife, Lee accidentally shoots Genevieve and becomes even with Carter. No longer safe at the hotel where the triads know their whereabouts, they decide to hide out with George, who now has fostered a great appreciation for the United States. Lee and Carter learn that Geneviève not only knows where the list is, but that she is the list. The names of the thirteen Triad leaders have been tattooed on the back of her head, as per tradition, and Genevièv;rlbm ';rlm r';lnm't2lnwre explains that she will be decapitated and buried if the Triads capture her. When Lee and Carter bring Geneviève to Reynard, he asks Geneviève to show him the list. Lee points out that they never told him that she had the list imprinted on her head. Reynard then reveals that he has been working with the Triads all along. Kenji calls and informs Lee that he has captured Soo-Yung and that he would like to exchange her for Geneviève.
Lee arrives at the exchange point, the Jules Verne Restaurant in the Eiffel Tower
, with Carter, disguised as Geneviève. Kenji challenges Lee to a sword fight, during which the two fall off the tower and get caught in a safety net
. Lee's sword cuts the safety net open and it collapses, leaving both men hanging on for dear life. Lee then grabs Kenji's arm, intending to save his life, but placing his own at risk. Kenji willingly lets go of Lee and falls to his death, saving Lee's life. Meanwhile, Carter single-handedly defeats the rest of the Triad henchmen, celebrating by dancing to the beat of Carl Douglas
' "Kung Fu Fighting
". He then goes to save Soo-Yung. Jasmine arrives and attempts to kill Soo-Yung and Carter by unlatching the rope Soo-Yung is tied to. Carter grabs the rope before it can fall, thus saving Soo-Yung, who kicks Jasmine into one of the rotating cranks, which crushes her in half and kills her.
As Carter and Lee send Soo-Yung down the elevator, more Triads arrive. In order to escape, Lee and Carter grab and untie a large French flag hanging over the side of the tower and use it as a makeshift parachute and float to safety. Unfortunately, they are confronted by Reynard, who is holding Geneviève hostage and threatening to kill her and frame Lee and Carter for her murder. However, George, having followed Lee and Carter, shoots Reynard and declares "Case Closed." The police arrive, with the commissioner from earlier gloating and trying to get undeserved credit. After giving the commissioner a team punch to the face, Lee and Carter leave the scene dancing to Edwin Starr
's "War".
Martial arts film
Martial arts film is a film genre. A sub-genre of the action film, martial arts films contain numerous fights between characters, usually as the films' primary appeal and entertainment value, and often as a method of storytelling and character expression and development. Martial arts are frequently...
/action
Action film
Action film is a film genre where one or more heroes is thrust into a series of challenges that require physical feats, extended fights and frenetic chases...
-comedy film
Comedy film
Comedy film is a genre of film in which the main emphasis is on humour. They are designed to elicit laughter from the audience. Comedies are mostly light-hearted dramas and are made to amuse and entertain the audiences...
s starring Jackie Chan
Jackie Chan
Jackie Chan, SBS, MBE is a Hong Kong actor, action choreographer, comedian, director, producer, martial artist, screenwriter, entrepreneur, singer and stunt performer. In his movies, he is known for his acrobatic fighting style, comic timing, use of improvised weapons, and innovative stunts...
and Chris Tucker
Chris Tucker
Christopher "Chris" Tucker is an American actor and comedian. He is best known for playing the role of Detective James Carter in the Rush Hour film series.-Early life:...
, directed by Brett Ratner
Brett Ratner
Brett Ratner is an American film director, film producer and music video director. He is best known for directing the Rush Hour film series, The Family Man, Red Dragon, X-Men: The Last Stand, and Tower Heist. He was also a producer on the Fox drama series, Prison Break.- Early life :Ratner was...
, and distributed by New Line Cinema
New Line Cinema
New Line Cinema, often simply referred to as New Line, is an American film studio. It was founded in 1967 by Robert Shaye and Michael Lynne as a film distributor, later becoming an independent film studio. It became a subsidiary of Time Warner in 1996 and was merged with larger sister studio Warner...
. The main plot centers around a pair of police detectives: a Chinese police inspector and an American LAPD detective
Los Angeles Police Department
The Los Angeles Police Department is the police department of the city of Los Angeles, California. With just under 10,000 officers and more than 3,000 civilian staff, covering an area of with a population of more than 4.1 million people, it is the third largest local law enforcement agency in...
(portrayed by Chan and Tucker) who go on a series of misadventures often involving corrupt crime figures. All three films received commercial success
Blockbuster (entertainment)
Blockbuster, as applied to film or theatre, denotes a very popular or successful production. The entertainment industry use was originally theatrical slang referring to a particularly successful play but is now used primarily by the film industry...
and incorporate elements of martial arts
Martial arts
Martial arts are extensive systems of codified practices and traditions of combat, practiced for a variety of reasons, including self-defense, competition, physical health and fitness, as well as mental and spiritual development....
, and the buddy cop sub-genre
Buddy cop film
The "buddy cop" is a subgenre of buddy films and crime films with plots involving two men of very different and conflicting personalities who are forced to work together to solve a crime and/or defeat criminals, sometimes learning from each other in the process...
.
Production for Rush Hour
Rush Hour was released on September 18, 1998, grossing over $244 million worldwide. Martin LawrenceMartin Lawrence
Martin Fitzgerald Lawrence is an American actor, film director, film producer, screenwriter, and stand up comedian. He came to fame during the 1990s, establishing a Hollywood career as a leading actor, most notably the films Bad Boys, Blue Streak, and Big Momma's House...
and Dave Chappelle
Dave Chappelle
David Khari Webber "Dave" Chappelle is an American comedian, screenwriter, television/film producer, actor, and artist. Chappelle began his film career in the film Robin Hood: Men in Tights in 1993 and continued to star in minor roles in the films The Nutty Professor, Con Air, and Blue Streak. His...
were originally considered for the role of James Carter, but Chris Tucker
Chris Tucker
Christopher "Chris" Tucker is an American actor and comedian. He is best known for playing the role of Detective James Carter in the Rush Hour film series.-Early life:...
was finally chosen for the part. Director Brett Ratner, a big fan of Jackie Chan's Hong Kong movies, felt that American audiences would not be familiar with the jokes in Jackie's other movies, and deliberately re-used some of his gags. For example, the scene where Inspector Lee accidentally grabs Johnson's breasts is a reference to Jackie Chan's film Mr. Nice Guy
Mr. Nice Guy (1997 film)
Mr Nice Guy is a 1997 Hong Kong martial arts action crime comedy film directed by Sammo Hung and starring Jackie Chan. It also stars Richard Norton as the villain, with whom Chan had worked in 1993 film City Hunter and Chan and Hung had worked in Twinkle, Twinkle Lucky Stars. Hung makes a cameo as...
(1997).
During filming, Elizabeth Peña played a prank on Director Brett Ratner in which she appeared on the set wearing nothing but her character's bomb squad vest. According to Peña, she thought Ratner would laugh and howl; instead he was extremely nervous and embarrassed. Additionally, despite being released in 1998, Rush Hour is set in 1997. Britain handed over Hong Kong to China on July 1, 1997, and the film takes place in the weeks following that event.
Production for Rush Hour 2
Rush Hour 2Rush Hour 2
Rush Hour 2 is a 2001 martial arts action comedy film. This is the second installment in the Rush Hour film series. A sequel to the 1998 film Rush Hour, the film stars Jackie Chan and Chris Tucker who respectively reprise their roles as Inspector Lee and Los Angeles police detective James Carter...
was released on August 3, 2001. The film grossed $347,325,802 worldwide, making it the most successful film in the Rush Hour series. In an interview, director Brett Ratner
Brett Ratner
Brett Ratner is an American film director, film producer and music video director. He is best known for directing the Rush Hour film series, The Family Man, Red Dragon, X-Men: The Last Stand, and Tower Heist. He was also a producer on the Fox drama series, Prison Break.- Early life :Ratner was...
admitted that the first part of the karaoke scene with Chris Tucker was not supposed to be filmed. Tucker refused to act like Michael Jackson
Michael Jackson
Michael Joseph Jackson was an American recording artist, entertainer, and businessman. Referred to as the King of Pop, or by his initials MJ, Jackson is recognized as the most successful entertainer of all time by Guinness World Records...
with the cameras running. During takes, he went up as entertainment for everyone. Secretly, Ratner told the cameramen to film it but to not let Tucker notice them. On an episode of The Tonight Show with Jay Leno
The Tonight Show with Jay Leno
The Tonight Show with Jay Leno is an American late-night talk show hosted by Jay Leno that initially aired from May 25, 1992 to May 29, 2009, and resumed production on March 1, 2010. The fourth incarnation of the Tonight Show franchise made its debut on May 25, 1992, three days following Johnny...
, Tucker said that while he was filming this movie in Hong Kong, many locals mistook him for NBA star Kobe Bryant
Kobe Bryant
Kobe Bean Bryant is an American professional basketball player who plays shooting guard for the Los Angeles Lakers of the National Basketball Association . Bryant enjoyed a successful high school basketball career at Lower Merion High School, where he was recognized as the top high school...
. In the film, while Tucker's character is running up the stairs, the old woman shouts, "Move out of the way, Kobe" to him. However, in the DVD audio commentary, Ratner states that main writer Jeff Nathanson
Jeff Nathanson
Jeff Nathanson is an American film writer, film producer, and director.He is best known for his work on the Rush Hour series, Catch Me If You Can, The Terminal, and The Last Shot, and has also co-written a story draft for the film Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull with George Lucas...
came up with that line shortly before the filming of that scene. The mural on the wall of the Heaven on Earth Massage Parlor was copied from one in Scarface, which Harris Yulin and Ratner appeared in. The scene where Jackie Chan and Tucker are running down the street naked in Hong Kong was an actual take; production could not block the street off for the shoot. The scene where Chan and Tucker run around naked in the streets was inspired by a scene in The Accidental Spy
The Accidental Spy
The Accidental Spy is a 2001 Hong Kong martial arts action film, starring Jackie Chan and directed by Teddy Chan. Filming took place in Istanbul....
(2001) which Chan made before this movie. Ratner saw the film and decided to include a similar scene in Rush Hour 2 (2001).
The girl-picking scene came from the Bruce Lee
Bruce Lee
Bruce Lee was a Chinese American, Hong Kong actor, martial arts instructor, philosopher, film director, film producer, screenwriter, and founder of the Jeet Kune Do martial arts movement...
film Enter the Dragon
Enter the Dragon
Enter the Dragon is a 1973 Hong Kong martial arts co-production with Golden Harvest and Warner Bros. studios, directed by Robert Clouse; starring Bruce Lee, Jim Kelly and John Saxon. This is Bruce Lee's final film appearance before his death on July 20, 1973...
(1973), which Chan appeared in. During the boat party that Ricky Tan holds, the song "Tian Mi Mi" can be heard playing in the background. The same song was used in Year of the Dragon (1985), a film which also co-starred John Lone
John Lone
John "Johnny" Lone is a Hong Kong born American actor of Chinese and English descent. Lone has played roles as diverse as a caveman in Iceman , the last Emperor of China in The Last Emperor , and an apparently female opera performer in M. Butterfly .-Personal life:Lone was born as Ng Kwok-leung...
. Seasickness helped Roselyn Sanchez
Roselyn Sanchez
Roselyn Sánchez is a Puerto Rican singer-songwriter, model, actress, producer and writer of film and television.-Early life:...
feign a lack of enthusiasm for Tucker's advances in the yacht sequence. When Tucker is saying that Asians always panic and points out Godzilla
Godzilla
is a daikaijū, a Japanese movie monster, first appearing in Ishirō Honda's 1954 film Godzilla. Since then, Godzilla has gone on to become a worldwide pop culture icon starring in 28 films produced by Toho Co., Ltd. The monster has appeared in numerous other media incarnations including video games,...
films as a reference, he shouts "Hayaku! Hayaku!" This is actually Japanese, and it means "Quickly! Quickly!" The scene where Carter gets the kosher meal was originally scripted to have Carter ask if Lee "want some of my gefilte fish?" after the stewardess left. But Tucker couldn't pronounce "gefilte", so the scene never made the final cut (outtakes of this scene are in the end credits). Don Cheadle
Don Cheadle
Donald Frank "Don" Cheadle, Jr. is an American film actor and producer. Cheadle rose to prominence in the late 1990s and the early 2000s for his supporting roles in the Steven Soderbergh-directed films Out of Sight, Traffic, and Ocean's Eleven...
only agreed to appear in this movie under two circumstances: he gets to speak Chinese and pick a fight with Chan. In the scene where Chan and Tucker went inside the business suite, Ernie Reyes, Jr.
Ernie Reyes, Jr.
Ernie Reyes, Jr. , is an American actor, martial artist, action choreographer, director, producer, filmmaker, screenwriter, entrepreneur, singer and stunt performer.-Early life:...
appeared in a cameo
Cameo appearance
A cameo role or cameo appearance is a brief appearance of a known person in a work of the performing arts, such as plays, films, video games and television...
as the worker who was chased by Chan and Tucker.
Jeremy Piven
Jeremy Piven
Jeremy Samuel Piven is an American film producer and actor best known for his role as Ari Gold in the television series Entourage for which he has won three Emmy Awards as well as several other nominations for Best Supporting Actor....
made a cameo appearance in Rush Hour 2 as an over-enthusiastic gay Versace
Versace
Gianni Versace S.p.A. , usually referred to as Versace, is an Italian fashion label founded by Gianni Versace in 1978.The first Versace boutique was opened in Milan's Via della Spiga in 1978, and its popularity was immediate. Today, Versace is one of the world's leading international fashion houses...
salesman. Like Cheadle, he was from Family Man
Family Man
Family Man is an album released by the American hardcore punk band Black Flag in 1984. It is unique in that one side features spoken-word tracks by vocalist Henry Rollins and the other side mainly features instrumental tracks...
(2000), a movie that was also directed by Ratner. The Red Dragon Casino in Las Vegas owned by Ricky Tan (John Lone) and Steven Reign (Alan King
Alan King (comedian)
Alan King was an American actor and comedian known for his biting wit and often angry humorous rants. King became well known as a Jewish comedian and satirist. He was also a serious actor who appeared in a number of movies and television shows. King wrote several books, produced films, and...
) was actually the Desert Inn
Desert Inn
The Desert Inn was a Paradise, Nevada, hotel/casino that operated from April 24, 1950, to August 28, 2000. Designed by noted New York architect Jac Lessman, it was the fifth resort to open on the Las Vegas Strip. The property included an 18-hole golf course. Locals nicknamed the resort "The D.I."...
hotel and casino. There were red lights shined at the hotel to make it a scarlet color. Following the closure of the 50 year old Las Vegas Strip
Las Vegas Strip
The Las Vegas Strip is an approximately stretch of Las Vegas Boulevard in Clark County, Nevada; adjacent to, but outside the city limits of Las Vegas proper. The Strip lies within the unincorporated townships of Paradise and Winchester...
property in August 2000 by new owner Steve Wynn
Steve Wynn (developer)
Stephen Alan "Steve" Wynn is an American business magnate who played a pivotal role in the 1990s resurgence and expansion of the Las Vegas Strip...
, the Rush Hour 2 production moved in and redesigned parts of the property as a Chinese themed casino/hotel for the movie. Shortly after the movie wrapped production in Las Vegas, the Desert Inn was demolished on October 23, 2001 make way for the new $2.7 billion dollar Wynn Las Vegas
Wynn Las Vegas
Wynn Las Vegas is a resort and casino located on the Las Vegas Strip in Paradise, Nevada. The US $2.7 billion resort is named after casino developer Steve Wynn and is the flagship property of Wynn Resorts Limited. The resort covers . It is located on Las Vegas Boulevard and Sands Avenue Wynn Las...
resort. Red Dragon
Red Dragon (film)
Red Dragon is a 2002 thriller film based on Thomas Harris' novel of the same name and featuring psychiatrist and serial killer Dr. Hannibal Lecter. It is a prequel to The Silence of the Lambs....
is also the name of a movie that Ratner directed months after Rush Hour 2, as well as the name of a real casino in Mountlake Terrace, Washington, USA. The fake cash used in the movie said "In Dog We Trust". Even so, some of it "escaped" from the set and eventually ended up in a few casinos in Las Vegas. Chan's favorite number is 32. The gangster's car has a license plate of 32 and when Lee spits the grenade onto the roulette table it lands on 32 when it explodes.
Tucker ad-libbed many different versions of his short speech to Hu Li at the end of their fight. Ratner felt the speech was not working and told Tucker to call her a "bitch". Tucker refused to say the word and it took hours of convincing by Ratner before Tucker finally agreed. During the filming of the stunt where Lee and Carter jump from the top window of the Red Dragon hotel then slide down the wires of Chinese Lanterns, a real (i.e. not part of the movie) car chase took place on/through the set. Apparently, a carload of drunken tourists (the set was in Las Vegas) got into an altercation with a taxi driver, and the two cars began a chase that ran down the strip and onto the set, narrowly missing crew members, extras and an enormous crane which held a camera and crew. Fortunately no one was injured; the driver and passengers of the taxi were detained by police. On the DVD release of the film, a deleted scene featured Philip Baker Hall
Philip Baker Hall
-Early life:Hall was born in Toledo, Ohio, the son of a factory worker father who was from Montgomery, Alabama. He attended the University of Toledo. As a younger man, Hall served in the military, started a family, and became a high school English teacher. In 1961, he decided to become an actor...
reprising his role of Captain Diel from the first film. Carter speaks with the Captain about his stay in Hong Kong and his involvement in the Triad case. Ratner states in the DVD
DVD
A DVD is an optical disc storage media format, invented and developed by Philips, Sony, Toshiba, and Panasonic in 1995. DVDs offer higher storage capacity than Compact Discs while having the same dimensions....
audio commentary
Audio commentary
On disc-based video formats, an audio commentary is an additional audio track consisting of a lecture or comments by one or more speakers, that plays in real time with video...
that while he would have loved to include the scene in the final cut (essentially giving Hall a cameo appearance), it did not advance the plot and was left out.
Zhang Ziyi only speaks three words of English in the film, two of which being her famous line "Some apple?" (however, she is seen mouthing "Here's your package. You're welcome." while Lee and Carter are spying on Molina through the windows from the neighboring tower) as she did not know the language at the time of filming. Chan served as her translator on the set. Zhang Ziyi's character name, "Hu Li", means "fox." Her character was originally written for a man. The first two films in the Rush Hour series begin in Hong Kong and end in a United States airport. The time gap between Rush Hour 2 and Rush Hour could approximately be four days. At the end of the first film, Detective Carter and Inspector Lee board a 15-hour flight to Hong Kong for a holiday and at the beginning of Rush Hour 2, Carter states "I've been in Hong Kong for three days and all we've done is run your cases". However, Ratner had previously stated that the events of Rush Hour 2 were probably Carter and Lee's second or third trip to Hong Kong. In all three Rush Hour films, the main antagonist is killed by falling to his death. In the first film, Thomas falls to his death when the vest rigged with C4 rips and falls off. Because he was holding onto it he falls with it. In the second Ricky Tan is kicked out of a window and falls to his death on a taxi. In the third Kenji falls to his death from the Eiffel Tower
Eiffel Tower
The Eiffel Tower is a puddle iron lattice tower located on the Champ de Mars in Paris. Built in 1889, it has become both a global icon of France and one of the most recognizable structures in the world...
when a safety rope snaps and Lee is forced to let go of him.
Production for Rush Hour 3
Rush Hour 3Rush Hour 3
Rush Hour 3 is a 2007 martial arts/action-comedy film, and the third installment in the Rush Hour film series, starring Jackie Chan and Chris Tucker, that began with the 1998 film Rush Hour and continued with the first sequel Rush Hour 2 in 2001. The film was officially announced on May 7, 2006,...
was officially announced on May 7, 2006, and filming began on July 4, 2006. The film, set in Paris and Los Angeles
Los Angeles, California
Los Angeles , with a population at the 2010 United States Census of 3,792,621, is the most populous city in California, USA and the second most populous in the United States, after New York City. It has an area of , and is located in Southern California...
, was first released on August 10, 2007,
Academy Award-winning film director
Film director
A film director is a person who directs the actors and film crew in filmmaking. They control a film's artistic and dramatic nathan roach, while guiding the technical crew and actors.-Responsibilities:...
Roman Polanski
Roman Polanski
Roman Polanski is a French-Polish film director, producer, writer and actor. Having made films in Poland, Britain, France and the USA, he is considered one of the few "truly international filmmakers."...
co-stars as a French police official involved in Lee and Carter (Chan and Tucker's characters) case. Tzi Ma
Tzi Ma
Tzi Ma is a Chinese American actor who has made numerous appearances in American films and TV series.-Life and career:Ma was born in Hong Kong...
reprises his role as Ambassador Han, Lee's boss and friend who appeared in the first installment. This film has received a M rating by the Office of Film and Literature Classification (Australia) and a PG-13 rating by the MPAA
Motion Picture Association of America
The Motion Picture Association of America, Inc. , originally the Motion Picture Producers and Distributors of America , was founded in 1922 and is designed to advance the business interests of its members...
for "sequences of action violence, sexual content, and language." Additionally, the film was not screened in Chinese theaters in 2007 to make way for a larger variety of foreign films, according to a business representative. (The quota for imported films is 20 each year.)
Future
Because of the films' collective box-office success, director Brett Ratner and writer Jeff Nathanson are currently considering the production of a fourth installment. In the DVD audio commentaryAudio commentary
On disc-based video formats, an audio commentary is an additional audio track consisting of a lecture or comments by one or more speakers, that plays in real time with video...
for Rush Hour 3, Brett Ratner joked that the fourth Rush Hour film could be released in 2012. Ratner and Nathanson are exploring many concepts, including the use of the motion capture
Motion capture
Motion capture, motion tracking, or mocap are terms used to describe the process of recording movement and translating that movement on to a digital model. It is used in military, entertainment, sports, and medical applications, and for validation of computer vision and robotics...
technique for the possible sequel and various different film projects with Chan and Tucker. It has been reported that the fourth film may be set in Moscow.
Ratner stated in an interview in 2009 that he "has been in contact with a long list of stars including Danny DeVito
Danny DeVito
Daniel Michael DeVito, Jr. , better known as Danny DeVito, is an American actor, comedian, director and producer. He first gained prominence for his portrayal of Louie De Palma on the ABC and NBC television series Taxi , for which he won a Golden Globe and an Emmy.DeVito and his wife, Rhea Perlman,...
and Jet Li
Jet Li
The fame gained by his sports winnings led to a career as a martial arts film star, beginning in mainland China and then continuing into Hong Kong. Li acquired his screen name in 1982 in the Philippines when a publicity company thought his real name was too hard to pronounce...
for possible roles in a potential Rush Hour 4," but stressed "nothing's been okayed yet". In a short interview with Vulture in 2011, Ratner stated that the cost of making a follow-up to X-Men: The Last Stand
X-Men: The Last Stand
X-Men: The Last Stand is a 2006 superhero film and the third in the X-Men series. It was directed by Brett Ratner and stars an ensemble cast including Hugh Jackman, Halle Berry, Patrick Stewart, Ian McKellen, Famke Janssen, Kelsey Grammer, Anna Paquin, Shawn Ashmore, Aaron Stanford, Vinnie Jones,...
would have cost more than the recent reboot
X-Men: First Class
X-Men: First Class is a comic book series published by Marvel Comics starring the X-Men.-Publication history:The original series was an eight-issue limited series. It began in September 2006 and ended in April 2007. It was written by Jeff Parker and penciled by Roger Cruz...
and that, "that’s why another Rush Hour 4 probably won’t get made, either: It’d be too much to pay me, Chris [Tucker], and Jackie [Chan] to come back."
In another interview in 2011, Tucker in an interview with the radio show The Breakfast Club stated in response to the question of a fourth by saying, "Rush Hour 4? Maybe you know, because that's a different kind of movie. You the action and the stuff like that, and they pay 20 million dollars too... I'm just joking! No, you know Jackie Chan, you know I love working with him and those type of movies you can redo them and it's different, we'll see but I don't know though. But we've got some new stuff coming, so we'll see what happens."
Rush Hour
On the last day of British rule in Hong Kong, Detective Inspector Lee (Jackie ChanJackie Chan
Jackie Chan, SBS, MBE is a Hong Kong actor, action choreographer, comedian, director, producer, martial artist, screenwriter, entrepreneur, singer and stunt performer. In his movies, he is known for his acrobatic fighting style, comic timing, use of improvised weapons, and innovative stunts...
) 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
Ken Leung
Kenneth "Ken" Leung is an American actor best known for his role as Miles Straume in the ABC television series Lost and roles in such films as Shanghai Kiss, Rush Hour, X-Men: The Last Stand, and Saw.-Early life:...
), 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
Tzi Ma
Tzi Ma is a Chinese American actor who has made numerous appearances in American films and TV series.-Life and career:Ma was born in Hong Kong...
) and British Commander Thomas Griffin (Tom Wilkinson
Tom Wilkinson
Thomas Geoffrey "Tom" Wilkinson, OBE is a British actor. He has twice been nominated for an Academy Award for his roles in In the Bedroom and Michael Clayton...
).
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
Federal Bureau of Investigation
The Federal Bureau of Investigation is an agency of the United States Department of Justice that serves as both a federal criminal investigative body and an internal intelligence agency . The FBI has investigative jurisdiction over violations of more than 200 categories of federal crime...
, 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
Los Angeles Police Department
The Los Angeles Police Department is the police department of the city of Los Angeles, California. With just under 10,000 officers and more than 3,000 civilian staff, covering an area of with a population of more than 4.1 million people, it is the third largest local law enforcement agency in...
Detective James Carter (Chris Tucker
Chris Tucker
Christopher "Chris" Tucker is an American actor and comedian. He is best known for playing the role of Detective James Carter in the Rush Hour film series.-Early life:...
), a fast-talking and arrogant police officer with aspirations of joining the FBI. Carter has recently caused severe collateral damage arresting bomb-maker Clive Cobb (Chris Penn
Chris Penn
Christopher Shannon "Chris" Penn was an American film and television actor known for his roles in such films as The Wild Life, Reservoir Dogs, Footloose, Rush Hour, True Romance, All the Right Moves and Pale Rider.-Early life:Penn was born in Los Angeles, California, the youngest son of Leo Penn,...
) and his superiors give him a choice: keep Lee away from the investigation or face two months suspension without pay. Carter agrees, secretly intending to solve the case himself.
Carter meets Lee at LAX and then proceeds to take him on a sightseeing tour of Los Angeles, simultaneously keeping Lee away from the embassy and contacting several of his underworld informants about the kidnapping. Lee finally escapes Carter and makes his way to the Chinese Consulate, where an anxious Han and a group of FBI agents are awaiting news about his daughter. Later, while being severely reprimanded by the FBI, Carter manages to accidentally involve himself in a phone conversation with the kidnappers, where he arranges a ransom drop.
After their arrival at the agreed drop point, 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 rare type of detonator. After showing it to Carter's colleague, LAPD bomb expert Tania Johnson (Elizabeth Peña
Elizabeth Peña
Elizabeth Peña is an American actress and the daughter of a theater-company co-founder, who has also compiled experience as a television director in her own right.-Early life:...
), then to Clive Cobb, the bomb-maker he arrested, they learn that Juntao was behind the kidnapping. Following a lead to a restaurant in Chinatown, Carter is captured after going in alone. He sees a surveillance video of Griffin evacuating Soo-Yung from the premises, but does not know who he is. Lee arrives and rescues Carter, and they are met outside by the FBI, led by Special Agent-in-charge Warren Russ (Mark Rolston
Mark Rolston
-Career:Rolston played PFC M. Drake in Aliens , Hans in Lethal Weapon 2 , Stef in RoboCop 2 , Bogs Diamond in The Shawshank Redemption , J. Scar in Eraser , Chief Dennis Wilson in Daylight , Wayne Bryce in Hard Rain and Special Agent in Charge Warren Russ in Rush Hour...
), who blame them for ruining the ransom exchange. Sang phones the consul, angrily telling him that the ransom has been increased (the original ransom was $50 million) to $70 million, and begins threatening Soo-Yung's life. Disgraced and guilt-ridden, Lee and Carter are ordered off the investigation and Lee is sent back to Hong Kong. Finally realizing Soo-Yung's safety is more important than his career, Carter refuses to drop the case and confronts Lee on his plane to enlist his help. Carter tells Lee about the death of Carter's father, also a police officer, killed at a routine traffic stop because his partner didn't help him. 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
Los Angeles Convention Center
The Los Angeles Convention Center is a convention center in the southwest portion of downtown Los Angeles. The LACC hosts annual events such as the Greater Los Angeles Auto Show and Anime Expo, and is best known to video games fans as host to E3...
, which Han and Griffin are overseeing, while the ransom is being delivered. After Carter recognizes Griffin from Chinatown, he creates a scene by alerting the spectators about the threat of a bomb and tells them to evacuate. In the confusion, Lee sees Griffin talking to a waiter he recognises as Sang, and figures out Griffin's true identity as Juntao and confronts him. Griffin then threatens to explode a bomb attached to Soo-Yung if the delivery is interrupted. During the stand off, Carter and Johnson rescue Soo-Yung and bring the bomb within range to kill Griffin and his men, causing a gunfight to erupt. In a battle between Griffin's thugs on one side, and the FBI, 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. Han sends Carter and Lee on vacation together to Hong Kong. Before leaving, the FBI investigators show up and offer Carter a position on the FBI. Carter refuses, rudely telling them where he thinks they can take the badge, and that he will always be loyal to the LAPD.
Rush Hour 2
James Carter (Chris TuckerChris Tucker
Christopher "Chris" Tucker is an American actor and comedian. He is best known for playing the role of Detective James Carter in the Rush Hour film series.-Early life:...
) is on vacation in Hong Kong, visiting his good friend Hong Kong Police Force Chief Inspector Lee (Jackie Chan
Jackie Chan
Jackie Chan, SBS, MBE is a Hong Kong actor, action choreographer, comedian, director, producer, martial artist, screenwriter, entrepreneur, singer and stunt performer. In his movies, he is known for his acrobatic fighting style, comic timing, use of improvised weapons, and innovative stunts...
). Carter is interested in having a good time; however, soon after he arrives, a bomb explodes in the American Embassy. Inspector Lee is assigned to the case, which becomes personal when it is discovered that it somehow involves Ricky Tan (John Lone
John Lone
John "Johnny" Lone is a Hong Kong born American actor of Chinese and English descent. Lone has played roles as diverse as a caveman in Iceman , the last Emperor of China in The Last Emperor , and an apparently female opera performer in M. Butterfly .-Personal life:Lone was born as Ng Kwok-leung...
), his late police officer father's former partner. Tan, who was suspected, but never proven, of having a role in Lee's father's death, is now a leader of the Triads.
The United States Secret Service
United States Secret Service
The United States Secret Service is a United States federal law enforcement agency that is part of the United States Department of Homeland Security. The sworn members are divided among the Special Agents and the Uniformed Division. Until March 1, 2003, the Service was part of the United States...
, led by Agent Sterling (Harris Yulin
Harris Yulin
Harris Yulin is an American actor who has appeared in dozens of Hollywood and television films.-Life and career:Yulin was born in...
), and the Hong Kong Police Force
Hong Kong Police Force
The Hong Kong Police Force is the largest disciplined service under the Security Bureau of Hong Kong. It is the world's second, and Asia's first, police agency to operate with a modern policing system. It was formed on 1 May 1844, with a strength of 32 officers...
soon get into a fight over the jurisdiction
Jurisdiction
Jurisdiction is the practical authority granted to a formally constituted legal body or to a political leader to deal with and make pronouncements on legal matters and, by implication, to administer justice within a defined area of responsibility...
of the case. Sterling believes Ricky Tan is a minor player in a larger conspiracy and wants him left alone so he will lead them to the people in charge. Lee, believing Tan is actually the head of the operation, learns that Tan will be attending a dinner party on his yacht
Yacht
A yacht is a recreational boat or ship. The term originated from the Dutch Jacht meaning "hunt". It was originally defined as a light fast sailing vessel used by the Dutch navy to pursue pirates and other transgressors around and into the shallow waters of the Low Countries...
. Tan scolds his underling, Hu Li (Zhang Ziyi
Zhang Ziyi
Zhang Ziyi is a Chinese film actress. Zhang is coined by the media as one of the Four Young Dan actresses in the Film Industry in China, along with Zhao Wei, Xu Jinglei, and Zhou Xun...
), who then leaves as Lee and Carter confront Tan. Tan claims that someone is trying to frame him. Hu Li suddenly appears and shoots Ricky Tan, and he falls off the boat. In the ensuing chaos, Hu Li escapes, and an angry Sterling holds Lee responsible for Tan's death, and orders him off the case. Carter is ordered to be flown back to Los Angeles for involving himself. However, Lee and Carter return to Los Angeles together, seemingly motivated by their desire to bring justice and meaning for their respective father's deaths in the line of duty.
On the plane, Carter tells Lee that every case has a rich white man behind it, and that the man is Steven Reign, a Los Angeles hotel billionaire. Carter says that he saw Reign on Tan's boat and that his calm demeanor during the shooting was suspicious. They set up camp outside the Reign Towers, pointing out a sexy Secret Service agent named Isabella Molina (Roselyn Sánchez
Roselyn Sanchez
Roselyn Sánchez is a Puerto Rican singer-songwriter, model, actress, producer and writer of film and television.-Early life:...
), who Carter met and tried to woo on Ricky Tan's yacht. After Lee watches Molina undress, and a few misunderstandings, Molina tells the two men that she is undercover, looking into Reign's money laundering
Money laundering
Money laundering is the process of disguising illegal sources of money so that it looks like it came from legal sources. The methods by which money may be laundered are varied and can range in sophistication. Many regulatory and governmental authorities quote estimates each year for the amount...
of US$ 100 million dollars in superbills (high grade counterfeit US$ 100 bills).
Lee and Carter pay a visit to Kenny (Don Cheadle
Don Cheadle
Donald Frank "Don" Cheadle, Jr. is an American film actor and producer. Cheadle rose to prominence in the late 1990s and the early 2000s for his supporting roles in the Steven Soderbergh-directed films Out of Sight, Traffic, and Ocean's Eleven...
), an ex-con known to Carter who runs an illegal gambling parlor frequented by Asian criminals in the back room of his Chinese restaurant. He tells them that a usually broke customer recently came in to his establishment with a suspicious amount of hundred-dollar bills. Carter checks them out and confirms that they are Reign's counterfeits. They trace the money back to a bank friendly to the Triads, who are waiting for them and knock the two cops unconscious, with Molina looking on. Then they depart for Las Vegas
Las Vegas, Nevada
Las Vegas is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Nevada and is also the county seat of Clark County, Nevada. Las Vegas is an internationally renowned major resort city for gambling, shopping, and fine dining. The city bills itself as The Entertainment Capital of the World, and is famous...
. Lee and Carter wake up inside one of the Triads' trucks and escape. After finding out where they are, they realize that Reign is laundering the $100 million through the new Red Dragon Casino.
At the Red Dragon, Lee and Carter split up. Carter makes a big commotion and distracts the security forces while Lee runs into Molina. After convincing Lee she didn't sell them out, he attempts to infiltrate the back area to find the engraving plates (which were used to make the counterfeit money). However, Hu Li captures Lee, places a small bomb in his mouth, and gags him. She then takes him up to the penthouse, where it is revealed that Ricky Tan faked his death and, as Lee suspected, is in charge of the operation. After a few words, he departs, leaving Hu Li to do whatever she wants.
Molina then takes out a gun, reveals herself as a Secret Service agent and attempts to arrest Hu Li. In the chaos that follows, Hu Li kicks Lee out of a window and he falls out onto the casino floor. Molina and Hu Li then fight, and Molina sweeps the trigger for Lee's bomb out onto the casino floor. Hu Li finally manages to gain the upper hand and shoots Molina in the arm before jumping out onto the casino floor. After a frantic search, Carter and Lee end up together. Carter starts pulling the tape off of Lee's mouth. Lee manages to spit the bomb out seconds before Hu Li finds the trigger and detonates it. Carter then fights Hu Li while Lee heads to the penthouse to prevent Tan from escaping with the plates.
In the penthouse, Reign opens the safe and takes the plates, running into Tan as he leaves. After Reign announces he is cutting their deal short and keeping the plates, Tan stabs him to death. Lee confronts Tan, taking a gun from Reign's body. Carter appears, having triumphantly (and accidentally) knocked Hu Li out. After a tense standoff, where Tan admits he killed Lee's father, Lee knocks the gun away in Carter's direction. As Tan manages to retrieve it, and before only seconds from shooting Carter, Lee kicks Tan out through the window, tumbling to his death. Hu Li then enters, holding a time bomb. Lee and Carter leap out of the window just as the bomb goes off, sliding on decoration wires with their jackets. The wires snap, and they swing into a sign for the casino. Their momentum swings them into the path of oncoming traffic. Through Lee's nimble skill and Carter's dumb luck, they narrowly escape being hit by three successive trucks.
Later, at the airport, Sterling thanks Lee for his work in the case. Molina says she would like to tell Lee something, and proceeds to kiss him for a short time, an event witnessed from afar by Carter. Lee and Carter plan to go their separate ways; Carter to Los Angeles and Lee to Hong Kong. After Isabella heads for her flight, Lee and Carter say one last goodbye. Lee then gives Carter, who at first graciously declines, his father's police badge, stating that he can finally "let it go." In return, Carter gives Lee $10,000 that he won from gambling at Caesars Palace
Caesars Palace
Caesars Palace is a luxury hotel and casino located on the Las Vegas Strip in Paradise, Nevada, an unincorporated township in Clark County, Nevada, United States in the Las Vegas metropolitan area. Caesars Palace is owned and operated by Caesars Entertainment Corp....
. Lee is more critical in his refusal of the money, but Carter is able to persuade Lee to take the money. After, Lee reveals that he has always wanted to go to Madison Square Garden
Madison Square Garden
Madison Square Garden, often abbreviated as MSG and known colloquially as The Garden, is a multi-purpose indoor arena in the New York City borough of Manhattan and located at 8th Avenue, between 31st and 33rd Streets, situated on top of Pennsylvania Station.Opened on February 11, 1968, it is the...
and watch a New York Knicks
New York Knicks
The New York Knickerbockers, prominently known as the Knicks, are a professional basketball team based in New York City. They are part of the Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference in the National Basketball Association...
basketball game. Carter tells Lee he could go for one more vacation and the two of them decide to take another vacation in the Big Apple, dancing off to Michael Jackson
Michael Jackson
Michael Joseph Jackson was an American recording artist, entertainer, and businessman. Referred to as the King of Pop, or by his initials MJ, Jackson is recognized as the most successful entertainer of all time by Guinness World Records...
's "Don't Stop 'Til You Get Enough
Don't Stop 'Til You Get Enough
"Don't Stop 'Til You Get Enough" is a single by American recording artist Michael Jackson. Released under Epic Records on July 28, 1979, the song is the first single from Jackson's fifth studio album, entitled Off the Wall. Written by Jackson, it is in the key of B major and in common time...
".
Rush Hour 3
Three years after the events of Rush Hour 2Rush Hour 2
Rush Hour 2 is a 2001 martial arts action comedy film. This is the second installment in the Rush Hour film series. A sequel to the 1998 film Rush Hour, the film stars Jackie Chan and Chris Tucker who respectively reprise their roles as Inspector Lee and Los Angeles police detective James Carter...
, James Carter is no longer a detective
Detective
A detective is an investigator, either a member of a police agency or a private person. The latter may be known as private investigators or "private eyes"...
, but a traffic cop on the streets of Los Angeles. Lee is now the bodyguard
Bodyguard
A bodyguard is a type of security operative or government agent who protects a person—usually a famous, wealthy, or politically important figure—from assault, kidnapping, assassination, stalking, loss of confidential information, terrorist attack or other threats.Most important public figures such...
for his friend Ambassador (formerly Consul) Han. Lee and Carter are no longer on speaking terms after an incident in New York City when Carter accidentally — but not fatally — shot Lee's now ex-girlfriend Secret Service
United States Secret Service
The United States Secret Service is a United States federal law enforcement agency that is part of the United States Department of Homeland Security. The sworn members are divided among the Special Agents and the Uniformed Division. Until March 1, 2003, the Service was part of the United States...
agent Isabella Molina (Roselyn Sanchez
Roselyn Sanchez
Roselyn Sánchez is a Puerto Rican singer-songwriter, model, actress, producer and writer of film and television.-Early life:...
) in the neck.
During discussions in the World Criminal Court, as the Ambassador addresses the importance of fighting the Triad organization, he announces that he may know the whereabouts of Shy Shen. Suddenly, Han takes a bullet in the shoulder, disrupting the conference. Lee pursues the assassin
Assassination
To carry out an assassination is "to murder by a sudden and/or secret attack, often for political reasons." Alternatively, assassination may be defined as "the act of deliberately killing someone, especially a public figure, usually for hire or for political reasons."An assassination may be...
and corners him, discovering that the assassin is his Japanese stepbrother Kenji (Hiroyuki Sanada
Hiroyuki Sanada
is a Japanese actor.-Life and career:Sanada was born in Tokyo. Originally aiming to be an action star, starting with shorinji kempo, he eventually took up Kyokushin kaikan Sanada began training at age 11 with actor and martial arts star Sonny Chiba's Japan Action Club where he developed good...
). When Lee hesitates to shoot Kenji, Carter, having heard of Han's incident on the police radio, shows up driving towards the two and accidentally nearly runs Lee over, allowing Kenji to escape.
In the hospital, Lee learns that Han will make a full recovery. Han's daughter, Soo-Yung (Zhang Jingchu
Zhang Jingchu
Zhang Jingchu is a Chinese film actress. She graduated in Directing at the Central Academy of Drama in Beijing.Zhang was brought up in a middle-working class family in the countryside...
), now grown up, arrives and makes Lee and Carter promise to capture the one behind the shooting. She then informs Lee and Carter that her father gave her an envelope which contains important information regarding the Triad, and that the envelope is in her locker at the martial arts
Martial arts
Martial arts are extensive systems of codified practices and traditions of combat, practiced for a variety of reasons, including self-defense, competition, physical health and fitness, as well as mental and spiritual development....
studio where she works. Lee and Carter make their way to the martial arts studio, but find out that a gang of armed men have already arrived and emptied it. Lee and Carter are told by the Master of the studio that Soo-Yung and Han are in danger, and rush back to the hospital.
Once the two reach the hospital, a gang of assassins arrive to kill Soo-Yung and Han. Lee and Carter manage to defeat them, with the help of Soo-Yung, and interrogate the leader of the assassins. Much to Lee and Carter's surprise, the Asian assassin only speaks French. With the help of a resident nun, Sister Agnes (Dana Ivey
Dana Ivey
Dana Robins Ivey is an American character actress, who has performed on Broadway and other stage roles, in film and on television.-Early life and family:Ivey was born in Atlanta, Georgia...
), who translates, they find out that they are marked for death by the Triad along with Soo-Yung and Han. For her protection, they take her to the French Embassy and leave her under the care of Reynard (Max von Sydow
Max von Sydow
Max von Sydow is a Swedish actor. He has also held French citizenship since 2002. He has starred in many films and had supporting roles in dozens more...
), the French ambassador and the chairman of the World Criminal Court. When a car bomb detonates, nearly killing Reynard and Soo-Yung, Lee and Carter decide to go to Paris to investigate.
In Paris, (after getting a painful cavity search
Cavity Search
Cavity Search may refer to:* Body cavity search, a visual search or a manual internal inspection of body cavities for prohibited material , such as illegal drugs, money, or weapons...
from a Parisian commissioner, played by Roman Polanski
Roman Polanski
Roman Polanski is a French-Polish film director, producer, writer and actor. Having made films in Poland, Britain, France and the USA, he is considered one of the few "truly international filmmakers."...
) Lee and Carter meet up with George, a taxi driver (Yvan Attal
Yvan Attal
Yvan Attal is an Israeli-born French actor and director.-Background:Born in Tel-Aviv to French-Algerian Jewish parents, he grew up in the outskirts of Paris. His acting debut was in Éric Rochant's Un monde sans pitié , which earned him a César Award for Most Promising Actor...
). George refuses to drive Carter, saying that Americans make him sick, as they are "the most violent people on Earth" — to which Carter replies by forcing George, at gunpoint, to drive to a Triad hideout disguised as a gentleman's club (and to sing the American Anthem). There, Lee fights off a Triad assassin named Jasmine (Youki Kudoh
Youki Kudoh
is a Japanese actress and singer. She won the award for best newcomer at the 6th Yokohama Film Festival for The Crazy Family. She also won the award for best actress at the 16th Hochi Film Award for War and Youth.-Filmography:-External links:* *...
); meanwhile, Carter meets a beautiful woman whose name is not disclosed (Noémie Lenoir
Noémie Lenoir
Noémie Lenoir is a French model and actress of African and European descent.-Career:Lenoir was first spotted by Ford Models when she was 16 years old. In 1995, Lenoir signed with L'Oréal, and has since appeared in their advertisements alongside Laetitia Casta and long-term model and actress Andie...
). However, Lee and Carter are both forced out of the club and are captured by the Triads. They manage to escape, but then have a falling out concerning Lee's relationship with Kenji. Shortly after Carter leaves, Reynard appears. Lee asks who Shy Shen is, but Reynard tells him that Shy Shen is not a man, but a list of the Triad leaders. Reynard reveals that Han's informant knows where Shy Shen is. The informant turns out to be Geneviève, the woman Carter met at the gentlemen's club and both Lee and Carter end up looking for her.
After the two have encountered Geneviève, they save her from an assassination attempt by the Triads and flee to their hotel room. However, they are attacked again by Jasmine who sneaks up behind Carter and Genevieve who are making love in bed. When Lee tries to fend her off with his pistol, Jasmine throws a knife in both directions of Carter/Genevieve and Lee. In an attempt to dodge the knife, Lee accidentally shoots Genevieve and becomes even with Carter. No longer safe at the hotel where the triads know their whereabouts, they decide to hide out with George, who now has fostered a great appreciation for the United States. Lee and Carter learn that Geneviève not only knows where the list is, but that she is the list. The names of the thirteen Triad leaders have been tattooed on the back of her head, as per tradition, and Genevièv;rlbm ';rlm r';lnm't2lnwre explains that she will be decapitated and buried if the Triads capture her. When Lee and Carter bring Geneviève to Reynard, he asks Geneviève to show him the list. Lee points out that they never told him that she had the list imprinted on her head. Reynard then reveals that he has been working with the Triads all along. Kenji calls and informs Lee that he has captured Soo-Yung and that he would like to exchange her for Geneviève.
Lee arrives at the exchange point, the Jules Verne Restaurant in the Eiffel Tower
Eiffel Tower
The Eiffel Tower is a puddle iron lattice tower located on the Champ de Mars in Paris. Built in 1889, it has become both a global icon of France and one of the most recognizable structures in the world...
, with Carter, disguised as Geneviève. Kenji challenges Lee to a sword fight, during which the two fall off the tower and get caught in a safety net
Safety net
A safety net is in most cases a net to protect people from injury after falling by limiting the distance they fall. It may also be a device to arrest falling or flying objects for the safety of people beyond the net....
. Lee's sword cuts the safety net open and it collapses, leaving both men hanging on for dear life. Lee then grabs Kenji's arm, intending to save his life, but placing his own at risk. Kenji willingly lets go of Lee and falls to his death, saving Lee's life. Meanwhile, Carter single-handedly defeats the rest of the Triad henchmen, celebrating by dancing to the beat of Carl Douglas
Carl Douglas
Carl Douglas is a former Jamaican-born, UK-based, singer, best known for his song "Kung Fu Fighting", which hit number one in both the UK Singles Chart and the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 in 1974. The R.I.A.A. awarded gold disc status on 27 November, and it won a Grammy Award for Best Selling Single...
' "Kung Fu Fighting
Kung Fu Fighting
"Kung Fu Fighting" is a disco song written by Jim Brusatto and Vivian Hawke performed by Carl Douglas, and composed and produced by Biddu. It was released as a single in 1974, at the cusp of a chopsocky film craze, and eventually rose to the top of the British and American charts, in addition to...
". He then goes to save Soo-Yung. Jasmine arrives and attempts to kill Soo-Yung and Carter by unlatching the rope Soo-Yung is tied to. Carter grabs the rope before it can fall, thus saving Soo-Yung, who kicks Jasmine into one of the rotating cranks, which crushes her in half and kills her.
As Carter and Lee send Soo-Yung down the elevator, more Triads arrive. In order to escape, Lee and Carter grab and untie a large French flag hanging over the side of the tower and use it as a makeshift parachute and float to safety. Unfortunately, they are confronted by Reynard, who is holding Geneviève hostage and threatening to kill her and frame Lee and Carter for her murder. However, George, having followed Lee and Carter, shoots Reynard and declares "Case Closed." The police arrive, with the commissioner from earlier gloating and trying to get undeserved credit. After giving the commissioner a team punch to the face, Lee and Carter leave the scene dancing to Edwin Starr
Edwin Starr
Edwin Starr was an American soul music singer. Starr is most famous for his Norman Whitfield produced singles of the 1970s, most notably the number one hit "War".-Biography:...
's "War".
Characters
| Character | | Film | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Rush Hour | Rush Hour 2 Rush Hour 2 Rush Hour 2 is a 2001 martial arts action comedy film. This is the second installment in the Rush Hour film series. A sequel to the 1998 film Rush Hour, the film stars Jackie Chan and Chris Tucker who respectively reprise their roles as Inspector Lee and Los Angeles police detective James Carter... |
Rush Hour 3 Rush Hour 3 Rush Hour 3 is a 2007 martial arts/action-comedy film, and the third installment in the Rush Hour film series, starring Jackie Chan and Chris Tucker, that began with the 1998 film Rush Hour and continued with the first sequel Rush Hour 2 in 2001. The film was officially announced on May 7, 2006,... |
|
| Chief Inspector Lee | Jackie Chan Jackie Chan Jackie Chan, SBS, MBE is a Hong Kong actor, action choreographer, comedian, director, producer, martial artist, screenwriter, entrepreneur, singer and stunt performer. In his movies, he is known for his acrobatic fighting style, comic timing, use of improvised weapons, and innovative stunts... |
||
| Detective James Carter | Chris Tucker Chris Tucker Christopher "Chris" Tucker is an American actor and comedian. He is best known for playing the role of Detective James Carter in the Rush Hour film series.-Early life:... |
||
| Consul/Ambassador Han | Tzi Ma Tzi Ma Tzi Ma is a Chinese American actor who has made numerous appearances in American films and TV series.-Life and career:Ma was born in Hong Kong... |
Tzi Ma Tzi Ma Tzi Ma is a Chinese American actor who has made numerous appearances in American films and TV series.-Life and career:Ma was born in Hong Kong... |
|
| Soo Yung | Julia Hsu | Zhang Jingchu Zhang Jingchu Zhang Jingchu is a Chinese film actress. She graduated in Directing at the Central Academy of Drama in Beijing.Zhang was brought up in a middle-working class family in the countryside... |
|
| Thomas Griffin/Juntao | Tom Wilkinson Tom Wilkinson Thomas Geoffrey "Tom" Wilkinson, OBE is a British actor. He has twice been nominated for an Academy Award for his roles in In the Bedroom and Michael Clayton... |
||
| Detective Tania Johnson | Elizabeth Peña Elizabeth Peña Elizabeth Peña is an American actress and the daughter of a theater-company co-founder, who has also compiled experience as a television director in her own right.-Early life:... |
||
| Sang | Ken Leung Ken Leung Kenneth "Ken" Leung is an American actor best known for his role as Miles Straume in the ABC television series Lost and roles in such films as Shanghai Kiss, Rush Hour, X-Men: The Last Stand, and Saw.-Early life:... |
||
| FBI Agent Warren Russ | Mark Rolston Mark Rolston -Career:Rolston played PFC M. Drake in Aliens , Hans in Lethal Weapon 2 , Stef in RoboCop 2 , Bogs Diamond in The Shawshank Redemption , J. Scar in Eraser , Chief Dennis Wilson in Daylight , Wayne Bryce in Hard Rain and Special Agent in Charge Warren Russ in Rush Hour... |
||
| FBI Agent Dan Whitney | Rex Linn Rex Linn Rex Maynard Linn is an American film and television actor. He is best known for his role as Frank Tripp in the television series CSI: Miami.-Early life:... |
||
| Ricky Tan | John Lone John Lone John "Johnny" Lone is a Hong Kong born American actor of Chinese and English descent. Lone has played roles as diverse as a caveman in Iceman , the last Emperor of China in The Last Emperor , and an apparently female opera performer in M. Butterfly .-Personal life:Lone was born as Ng Kwok-leung... |
||
| Isabella Molina | Roselyn Sánchez Roselyn Sanchez Roselyn Sánchez is a Puerto Rican singer-songwriter, model, actress, producer and writer of film and television.-Early life:... |
Roselyn Sánchez Roselyn Sanchez Roselyn Sánchez is a Puerto Rican singer-songwriter, model, actress, producer and writer of film and television.-Early life:... (cut from film) |
|
| Hu Li | Zhang Ziyi Zhang Ziyi Zhang Ziyi is a Chinese film actress. Zhang is coined by the media as one of the Four Young Dan actresses in the Film Industry in China, along with Zhao Wei, Xu Jinglei, and Zhou Xun... |
||
| Steven Reign | Alan King | ||
| Kenji | Hiroyuki Sanada Hiroyuki Sanada is a Japanese actor.-Life and career:Sanada was born in Tokyo. Originally aiming to be an action star, starting with shorinji kempo, he eventually took up Kyokushin kaikan Sanada began training at age 11 with actor and martial arts star Sonny Chiba's Japan Action Club where he developed good... |
||
| Geneviève | Noemie Lenoir Noémie Lenoir Noémie Lenoir is a French model and actress of African and European descent.-Career:Lenoir was first spotted by Ford Models when she was 16 years old. In 1995, Lenoir signed with L'Oréal, and has since appeared in their advertisements alongside Laetitia Casta and long-term model and actress Andie... |
||
| George | Yvan Attal Yvan Attal Yvan Attal is an Israeli-born French actor and director.-Background:Born in Tel-Aviv to French-Algerian Jewish parents, he grew up in the outskirts of Paris. His acting debut was in Éric Rochant's Un monde sans pitié , which earned him a César Award for Most Promising Actor... |
||
| Jasmine The Dragon Lady | Youki Kudoh Youki Kudoh is a Japanese actress and singer. She won the award for best newcomer at the 6th Yokohama Film Festival for The Crazy Family. She also won the award for best actress at the 16th Hochi Film Award for War and Youth.-Filmography:-External links:* *... |
||
| Varden Reynard | Max von Sydow Max von Sydow Max von Sydow is a Swedish actor. He has also held French citizenship since 2002. He has starred in many films and had supporting roles in dozens more... |
||
| Captain William Diel | Philip Baker Hall Philip Baker Hall -Early life:Hall was born in Toledo, Ohio, the son of a factory worker father who was from Montgomery, Alabama. He attended the University of Toledo. As a younger man, Hall served in the military, started a family, and became a high school English teacher. In 1961, he decided to become an actor... |
Philip Baker Hall Philip Baker Hall -Early life:Hall was born in Toledo, Ohio, the son of a factory worker father who was from Montgomery, Alabama. He attended the University of Toledo. As a younger man, Hall served in the military, started a family, and became a high school English teacher. In 1961, he decided to become an actor... (cut from film) |
Philip Baker Hall Philip Baker Hall -Early life:Hall was born in Toledo, Ohio, the son of a factory worker father who was from Montgomery, Alabama. He attended the University of Toledo. As a younger man, Hall served in the military, started a family, and became a high school English teacher. In 1961, he decided to become an actor... (uncredited) |
Box office
| Film | Release date | Box office revenue | Box office ranking | Budget | Reference | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| United States | Outside US | Worldwide | All time US | All time worldwide | ||||
| Rush Hour | September 18, 1998 | $141,186,864 | $103,200,000 | $244,386,864 | #212 | $33,000,000 | ||
| Rush Hour 2 | August 3, 2001 | $226,164,286 | $121,161,516 | $347,325,802 | #70 | $90,000,000 | ||
| Rush Hour 3 | August 10, 2007 | $140,125,968 | $117,896,265 | $258,022,233 | #215 | $140,000,000 | ||
| Total | $507,477,118 | $342,257,781 | $849,734,899 | $263,000,000 | ||||
Critical reaction
| Film | Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is a website devoted to reviews, information, and news of films—widely known as a film review aggregator. Its name derives from the cliché of audiences throwing tomatoes and other vegetables at a poor stage performance... |
Metacritic Metacritic Metacritic.com is a website that collates reviews of music albums, games, movies, TV shows and DVDs. For each product, a numerical score from each review is obtained and the total is averaged. An excerpt of each review is provided along with a hyperlink to the source. Three colour codes of Green,... |
|
|---|---|---|---|
| Overall | Cream of the Crop | ||
| Rush Hour | 62% (65 reviews) | 54% (13 reviews) | 60% (23 reviews) |
| Rush Hour 2 | 52% (127 reviews) | 53% (32 reviews) | 48% (28 reviews) |
| Rush Hour 3 | 19% (155 reviews) | 21% (28 reviews) | 44% (32 reviews) |
Soundtracks
| Year | Title | Chart positions | Certifications (sales thresholds Music recording sales certification Music recording sales certification is a system of certifying that a music recording has shipped or sold a certain number of copies, where the threshold quantity varies by type and by nation or territory .Almost all countries follow variations of the RIAA certification categories,... ) |
|
|---|---|---|---|---|
| U.S. Billboard 200 The Billboard 200 is a ranking of the 200 highest-selling music albums and EPs in the United States, published weekly by Billboard magazine. It is frequently used to convey the popularity of an artist or groups of artists... |
U.S. R&B Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums is a chart published by Billboard magazine that ranks R&B and hip hop albums based on sales compiled by Nielsen SoundScan. The name of the chart was changed from Top R&B Albums in 1999... |
|||
| 1998 | Rush Hour
|
5 | 2 |
Recording Industry Association of America The Recording Industry Association of America is a trade organization that represents the recording industry distributors in the United States... : Platinum |
| 2001 | Rush Hour 2 Rush Hour 2 (soundtrack) Rush Hour 2 Soundtrack is the soundtrack to the 2001 action-comedy film, Rush Hour 2. It was released on July 31, 2001 through Hollywood Records and Epic Records. The soundtrack was a success making it to 11 on both the Billboard 200 and the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums and 1 on the Top Soundtracks, and... Hollywood Records Hollywood Records is an American record label owned by Disney Music Group, a subsidiary of the Walt Disney Company.-History:Hollywood Records was founded in 1989 by then-Disney CEO Michael Eisner with the idea of expanding the music operations of the company and to develop and promote... /Epic Epic Records Epic Records is an American record label, owned by Sony Music Entertainment. Though it was originally conceived as a jazz imprint, it has since expanded to represent various genres. L.A... /Sony |
11 | 11 |
|