A Jackie Chan Classic Is Kicking Butt On Netflix
Rush Hour starring Jackie Chan and Chris Tucker is streaming on Netflix and tearing up the charts.
This article is more than 2 years old
Jackie Chan has been in many classic films like Supercop, Rumble in the Bronx, and Police Story. However, Chan began to gain plenty of notoriety when he broke through to American audiences with his classic buddy cop comedy, Rush Hour. The movie would go on to bolster both his and Chris Tucker’s careers and is kicking butt on the Netflix charts, given that it’s one of the best action comedies ever made.
Rush Hour was released in 1998, and still holds a 60% critic approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes, which isn’t the worst score in history. Audiences like the movie a lot more, as it holds a much higher score of 78% in that category, which is mostly because of the performances from Jackie Chan and Chris Tucker. Against a budget of around $33 million, the classic buddy cop movie would go on to bring in $244.4 million in worldwide box office numbers, eventually leading to a franchise.
Rush Hour follows a rogue LAPD Detective named James Carter, and a by-the-book Chinese Detective Inspector Lee (Jackie Chan). Consul Solon Han travels to America, only to have his daughter Soo-Yung kidnapped by the notorious criminal, Juntao. Consul Han calls in the help of Inspector Lee, who is paired up with Detective Carter after he is put on a bogus assignment by the FBI.
The FBI is attempting to locate Soo-Yung but believes that Inspector Lee (Jackie Chan) is only going to get in their way, so they task Detective Carter to watch Lee and keep him out of the FBI’s way. Although the unlikely pair of Lee and Carter get off to a rocky start, they eventually learn to work together to attempt to locate and rescue Soo-Yung. Without giving away the rest of the movie, everyone can go watch this classic on Netflix.
One of the best aspects of Rush Hour is how the movie blends action and comedy seamlessly, with Chris Tucker handling most of the hokes, and Jackie Chan taking on the wild stunts that he normally does in his starring features. Most of the Chan-led movies also have featurettes in the form of post-credits scenes that show Chan attempting to complete his stunts.
What sets Rush Hour apart from the other movies Jackie Chan stars in, is that the post-credit scene work also contains bloopers that showcase how hilarious Chan and Tucker are together. We do get to see the crazy stunts that can sometimes go haywire, but the bloopers are often of the pair forgetting their lines in hilarious fashion. Chan and Tucker worked so well on screen together, that Rush Hour would eventually turn into a trilogy, with rumors that a fourth movie is currently being planned.
Buddy cop movies usually contain the same tropes, as there are a pair of police officers that usually hate one another but end up working well together. What sets Rush Hour apart from the rest of the movies in this genre was how hilarious Jackie Chan and Chris Tucker could be while on screen. The usual case for buddy cop movies is one person is there for the comic relief, but even with Chan handling the action of the movies and not as much dialogue as Tucker, he was still great in his delivery of jokes.
That hilarious nature of his delivery is often showcased more in the previously mentioned post-credit scenes of bloopers. Jackie Chan would often poke fun at his inability to speak perfect English, often resulting in him messing up lines, but there was something always so charming about that fact. Also, we would get an inside look at the wild stunts that Chan would commit to, which sometimes got him hurt.
Chris Tucker certainly has a distinctive voice that is further heightened when he is attempting to speak to Jackie Chan in the movie, as both often don’t understand one another. The dynamic of their relationship on screen in Rush Hour is something that is special, and a clear reason why the classic buddy cop comedy is killing the streaming charts on Netflix right now. For those who have not yet seen this team-up, it is worth watching, especially for those post-credit bloopers and stunt fails.
Rush Hour stars Jackie Chan, Chris Tucker, Tom Wilkinson, Elizabeth Pena, Philip Baker Hall, and Mark Rolston. The movie is streaming right now on Netflix, and it is a movie that will keep everyone laughing and entertained throughout.
