Rush Hour (1998 film)

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Rush Hour
File:Rush hour ver2.jpg
Theatrical release poster
Directed by Brett Ratner
Produced by <templatestyles src="Plainlist/styles.css"/>
Screenplay by <templatestyles src="Plainlist/styles.css"/>
Story by Ross LaManna
Starring <templatestyles src="Plainlist/styles.css"/>
Music by Lalo Schifrin
Cinematography Adam Greenberg
Edited by Mark Helfrich
Production
company
Roger Birnbaum Productions
Distributed by New Line Cinema1
Release dates
 <templatestyles src="Plainlist/styles.css"/>
  • September 18, 1998 (1998-09-18)
Running time
 97 minutes
Country United States
Language English
Cantonese
Mandarin
Budget $33 million[1]
Box office $244.4 million[1]

Rush Hour is a 1998 American buddy action comedy film directed by Brett Ratner. It stars Jackie Chan and Chris Tucker as mismatched cops who must rescue a diplomat's kidnapped daughter. Released on September 18, 1998, the film grossed over $200 million worldwide. The film's success spawned two sequels, Rush Hour 2 (2001) and Rush Hour 3 (2007), with a fourth film currently in development.

Plot

On the last day of British rule in Hong Kong, Detective Inspector Lee of the British Hong Kong Police Department leads a raid at a shipping bar wharf, hoping to arrest the mysterious crime lord Juntao. He finds only Sang, 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 Solon Han and British Commander Thomas Griffin.

Shortly after Han arrives in the United States to take up his new diplomatic post in Los Angeles, his daughter, Soo Yung, is kidnapped by Sang while on her way to her first day of school. The FBI informs Consul Han about the incident, who calls in Lee to assist in the case because he and Soo Yung are from China. The FBI, afraid that the injury or death of Lee would result in negative attention, decide to pawn him off on the LAPD. Captain Diel originally is against the plan and believes it to be a disgrace to his department. He later agrees with Agent Russ' plan and has someone reckless in mind, due to his lack of belief in working with the people in the LAPD. The arrogant and reckless detective, James Carter is tricked into doing this but Carter makes a plan to solve the case himself when he finds out that he has been given a mundane task(because the FBI doesn't trust him or Lee in the matter).

Carter meets Lee at Los Angeles International Airport and then proceeds to take him on a sightseeing tour of LA, simultaneously keeping Lee away from the embassy and contacting several of his underworld informants about the kidnapping. Lee finally escapes and makes his way to the Chinese Consulate, where an anxious Han and a group of FBI agents are awaiting news about his daughter. While being reprimanded by Agent-in-charge Warren Russ, Carter accidentally involves himself in a phone conversation with Sang(who is posing as Juntao), where he arranges a ransom drop of $50 million in a couple of hours.

The FBI traces the call to a warehouse and sends in a team of agents only to have them killed by a bomb. Spotting Sang nearby, Lee and Carter give chase, but Sang escapes, dropping the detonator in the process. Carter's colleague, LAPD bomb expert Tania Johnson, helps them trace the detonator to Clive, a man previously arrested by Carter. Clive is guilt-tripped by Lee into revealing his business relationship with Juntao whom he met a restaurant in Chinatown and this earns Carter's trust in Lee. Carter goes to the restaurant alone where he sees a surveillance video of Juntao carrying Soo-Yung into a van. Lee arrives and rescues Carter, but the two are taken off the case after the FBI blames them for ruining the ransom drop. Carter tried to reason with the FBI agents against going through with the ransom drop because he and Lee concluded that Juntao would've killed Soo Yung regardless. The agents ignore him and persuades Han to make Lee go back to Hong Kong. Despite this setback, Carter appeals to Johnson for assistance and sneaks onboard Lee's plane, persuading Lee to help finish the case and stop Juntao. Griffin later involves himself in the case with the FBI and revealed more about the history with Juntao and his syndicate who had been stealing priceless artifacts from China. Fearing negative attention from the Chinese Government who is due to reclaim Hong Kong, Griffin lead the BHKPD to stop him and though successful in reclaiming the artifacts, they were unable to bring Juntao to justice.

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. Carter, Lee and Johnson enter disguised as guests, where Carter distracts the guests into leaving for safety. This angers the FBI, but also blows Griffin's cover. Lee catches him walking over to a bar and accepting a remote for the detonator from Sang. He and Johnson both conclude that Griffin is Juntao because Carter recognizes him from a surveillance tape in Chinatown. With this knowledge, Lee calls out Griffin as the real Juntao, and Griffin threatens to detonate a bomb vest attached to Soo Yung. During the stand-off, Griffin reveals that the priceless Chinese art pieces on exhibit originally belonged to him and how he worked very hard to preserve them before it was stolen from him. Han is horrified when he learns that his long time friend, Griffin, has been the mysterious Juntao the whole time. Griffin warns the FBI Agents along with Han, Lee and Johnson not to move or he will kill Soo Yung himself. However, Carter manages to sneak out, knock out the guard and locate her in the van. He then drives the van into the building and brings her within range of Griffin, knowing that setting it off would kill him as well.

Johnson manages to get the vest off Soo Yung while Griffin heads toward the roof with the bag of money. Lee takes the vest and pursues Griffin while Carter shoots Sang dead in a gunfight. Lee and Griffin find themselves dangling from the rafters under the roof. Griffin, holding onto the vest, falls when the vest breaks and is killed by blunt force trauma but before Lee falls, Carter is able to place a large flag underneath and catch him safely.

Han and Soo Yung are reunited, and Han sends Carter and Lee on vacation together to Hong Kong as a reward for their actions. Before Carter leaves, Agents Russ and Whitney offer him a position in the FBI, which he rudely refuses due to their earlier actions in mistreating both him and Lee. Carter gets on the airplane with Lee. Lee says the flight is 15 hours long, and then starts singing Edwin Starr's "War", annoying Carter.

Cast

Reception

Rush Hour opened at No. 1 at the North American box office with a weekend gross of $33 million in September 1998. Rush Hour grossed over $140 million in the US and $103 million elsewhere, for an over $244 million worldwide gross.[1][2] The film holds a 60% approval rating at Rotten Tomatoes; the average score is 6/10. The site's consensus reads: "A kick-ass addition to the cop-buddy film genre."[3] Metacritic rated it 60/100 based on 23 reviews.[4] Roger Ebert praised both Jackie Chan, for his entertaining action sequences without the use of stunt doubles, and Chris Tucker, for his comical acts in the film, and how they formed an effective comic duo.[5] Joe Leydon of Variety called it "a frankly formulaic but raucously entertaining action comedy".[6]

Sequels

A sequel Rush Hour 2, was released in 2001, which was primarily set in Hong Kong. A third film, Rush Hour 3, was released on August 10, 2007,[7] which was primarily set in Paris. Tucker earned $25 million for his role in the third film and Chan received the film's distribution rights in Asia.[8] A fourth film in the series is in negotiations, and reportedly may be set in Moscow.[9]

Soundtrack

<templatestyles src="Module:Hatnote/styles.css"></templatestyles>

Main article: Rush Hour (soundtrack)

The soundtrack features the hit single "Can I Get A..." by Jay-Z, Ja Rule and Amil, as well as tracks by Edwin Starr, Flesh-n-Bone, Wu-Tang Clan, Dru Hill, Charli Baltimore and Montell Jordan.

Accolades

Home media

VHS

Release date
 Country
 Classification
 Publisher
 Format
 Language Subtitles Notes
 REF
15 June 1999 United States PG-13 New Line Home Video NTSC English None [11]
18 October 1999 United Kingdom 12 Eiv PAL English None [12]

DVD

Release date
 Country
 Classification
 Publisher
 Format
 Region
 Language
 Sound
 Subtitles
 Notes
 REF
2 March 1999 United States PG-13 New Line Home Video NTSC 1 English Unknown English Aspect Ratio: 2.35:1 (16:9) [13]
1 October 1999 United Kingdom 12 Eiv PAL 2 English Unknown English Aspect Ratio: 1.77:1 (16:9) [14]

UMD

Release date
 Country
 Classification
 Publisher
 Format
 Region
 Language
 Sound
 Subtitles
 Notes
 REF
1 September 2005 United Kingdom 12 Eiv PAL 2 English Unknown English [15]
3 January 2006 United States PG-13 New Line Home Entertainment NTSC 1 English Unknown English [16]

Blu-ray

Release date
 Country
 Classification
 Publisher
 Format
 Region
 Language
 Sound
 Subtitles
 Notes
 REF
11 October 2010 United Kingdom 15 Warner Home Video PAL Free English Unknown English Aspect Ratio: 2.40:1 (16:9) [17]
7 December 2010 United States PG-13 New Line Home Video NTSC Free English Unknown English Aspect Ratio: 2.40:1 (16:9) [18]

See also

Footnotes

  1. ^ The film's distribution rights were transferred to Warner Bros. in 2008.

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  2. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
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  6. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  7. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  8. ↑ Jackie Chan Admits He Is Not a Fan of 'Rush Hour' Films
  9. ↑ 'Rush Hour 4' is Set in Faubourg Marigny
  10. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  11. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  12. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  13. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  14. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
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  17. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  18. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.

External links

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