Friday, August 10, 2007

It’s Cop-out Time

“Chris [Tucker] was in jail and to get him out was hard, but we finally got him out. No – I was out doing X-Men, Jackie [Chan] was in China making other movies, and you know, it just takes time trying to figure out what to do with the movie and when to do it and how to top the last two.”


That’s what director Brett Ratner told me a couple of days ago when we met to talk all things Rush Hour 3.

I didn’t have the heart to tell the Miami-born-and-raised Ratner, who could not have been nicer, I thought perhaps he should have left Tucker “in jail” and Chan “in China.”

This threequel sees Tucker’s LAPD Detective Carter and Chan’s Chief Inspector Lee travel to Paris to bring down the Chinese Triad, the most powerful and notorious crime syndicate in the world.

The movie is entertaining – in a completely derivative way that doesn’t live up to the spirit of the previous Rush Hours.

Gone is the spark from the stars’ faces, the twinkle from their eyes; Tucker and Chan seem to be phoning it in. And the action and fight scenes are long, yet not much fun. The two have their shining moments, but their energy is running low, and the weak, mostly humorless script doesn’t help matters.

Ratner said shooting the movie “was like we hadn’t left one another. The first day was like the day after the last day of shooting the last one. It was crazy…like working with your brothers.” The three have undeniable chemistry together, but unfortunately it just doesn’t work this time.

As for the possibility of Rush Hour 4 all the director would say is, “Ah, you never know. It’s been thrown out there.”

I just hope it doesn’t stick.

My Rating **

Photo: New Line Cinema.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Do you know if he's gay?