Today’s quick review: Rush Hour 3. When Chinese Ambassador Han (Tzi Ma) is shot, Inspector Lee (Jackie Chan) picks up the ambassador’s work to bring down the Triads. James Carter (Chris Tucker), a Los Angeles cop and a friend of Lee’s, takes it upon himself to help, and together the pair follow a lead to the Triads’ Paris stronghold. But the man waiting for them, Kenji (Hiroyuki Sanada), is a dangerous criminal with ties to Lee’s past.
Rush Hour 3 is an action comedy set several years after the end of Rush Hour 2. Lee and Carter have gone their separate ways after an unfortunate incident in New York, with Lee returning to work for Han and Carter relegated to traffic duty for his shoddy police work. The attack on Han forces them to reconnect and work together one more time. With a couple of familiar faces and a new city to explore, Rush Hour 3 follows closely in the footsteps of its predecessors.
Rush Hour 3 does stumble a bit in its execution. The martial arts action is still well-choreographed, and Jackie Chan and Chris Tucker still make an excellent comedic duo. But the plot does not hang together as well, the humor is coarser, and the tone undergoes odd changes compared to the previous films. Rush Hour 3 blurs the delicate line between acceptable antics and reckless actions that jeopardize the movie’s sense of levity.
The flaws are subtle, though, and at its core, Rush Hour 3 remains a solid action comedy with martial arts fight scenes and entertaining buddy cop elements. Watch Rush Hour 3 if you are in the mood for something light and fun, but check out the first two movies first if you have yet to see them.
6.2 out of 10 on IMDB. I give it a 6.5 to 7.0 for good action and comedy hurt by tone and plot issues.