Chan's 'Rush' slows to a halt

Jackie Chan and Chris Tucker. East meets West. The law-enforcing martial-arts-expert cop from Hong Kong and the smart-mouthed cop from Los Angeles, paired together to rescue the daughter of the Chinese Consul. The pair will hate each other before becoming friends and learning to respect their partner's culture. The audience will be inspired by their performances, sit on the edges of its seats as the duo searches for the girl and laugh out loud when they put the hurt on the bad guys.

Well, maybe if they're under 10 years of age.

While the idea of pairing Chan with Tucker is the most ambitious casting the martial arts star has received since his arrival in mainstream U.S. film a few years ago, it does not produce the desired effect.

Courtesy of New Line Cinema Chris Tucker and Jackie Chan star in the new action-comedy "Rush Hour."

Chan's Lee is nothing more than the good-natured, naive character that fans have grown accustomed to seeing from the actor of late. There is nothing more to Lee than his loyalty to the Chinese Consul, and even this is underdeveloped. For some reason, Lee considers the Consul's daughter his favorite pupil, despite the fact that she usually greets him with a sock in the gut.

And while his wall climbing, jump kicking, and fighting are still top of the line, Chan's acting remains a problem. Chan doesn't get into the character, which, coupled with his numerous panicked facial expressions, makes it hard to take the actor seriously.

Tucker, on the other hand, does an excellent job keeping the jokes coming, usually at the expense of his partner. Carter (Tucker) sees no reason why he should have a partner and is less than pleased with having to baby-sit Lee.

Despite his strong comedy, the glaring weakness in the self-centered character is the instant shift in Carter's mindset. He goes from being a heartless person who couldn't care less about the kidnapped girl to the one who has to convince Lee to continue the hunt in a matter of seconds. No evidence was given to build up to this, and although surprises are welcome in today's cookie-cutter movies, this one does not work.

Tucker also needs to realize that, as a performer, his comedic strength is in the verbal, not physical areas. The scenes where Carter dances over his victims, struts or teaches Lee how to dance seem very staged, and they take away from the story as a whole. Overall though, Tucker is on the mark and just needs to find the right type of role before his popularity explodes.

Courtesy of New Line Cinema Jackie Chan goes out on a street post for his new film "Rush Hour."

For a kidnapping movie, "Rush Hour" is pretty light on the suspense and sometimes overdoes it with the humor. Yes, this is a comedy first, but when the humor goes too far, it creates a negative feeling for the film. Every part of the movie doesn't have to be hilarious, yet the makers are constantly trying to one-up themselves, with very mixed results.

"Rush Hour" also has one of the trademarks of a Chan film, the room loaded with props. The big fight scenes are set in a bar or some other room packed with everyday objects that Chan can use to beat up the baddies!

Another problem is that much of the film is very predictable, such as when Lee is at an art gallery and says "If anything gets damaged ..." Well, surprise, the entire art gallery is totaled in the next few minutes.

"Rush Hour" confirms that this Jackie Chan thing is getting a little old. He continues to crank out a few films a year, none of which are very entertaining. The novelty has worn off. Yes, he is a master at material arts and it is incredible that he has been able to do all of his own stunts in so many of his films, but, remember, he is an actor. This involves acting, which is something a little more than a panic-stricken face when dealing with the problem.

Granted, Chan hasn't had much with which to work, in terms of story or supporting cast in his past few films, but he needs to try a role different than the naive hero out to save the day. His material arts skill is spectacular to watch but he's beginning to get a little bit like watching a Michael Jordan highlight video. It's amazing for a while, but at some point it all begins to run together. Teaming with Tucker was a good start, but Chan still has a long way to go.

09-21-98