If movie franchises were race horses, we could shoot a broken-legged beast like Rush Hour. Rush Hour 3 is out, and it disappoints on almost all levels, hobbling about on a lazy script and uninspired filmmaking. Some critics say that the film is unnecessary, but this is not completely fair. If nothing else, Rush Hour 3 explains why owners often kill damaged race horses rather than retire them: inferior breeds beget inferior offspring and studs put out to pasture often mate. Well, Rush Hour has produced a litter, and the latest colt isn't going to win the Kentucky Derby.
In Rush Hour 3, partners Lee (Chan) and Carter (Tucker) are back together. They travel from the United States to Paris, from the chamber of the World Criminal Court to the top of the Eiffel Tower, in pursuit of a mysterious assassin and the even more mysterious leader of the Triads, the world's largest criminal organization.
Jokes comprise most of the film… and they are all bad. 9 out of 10 jokes hinge on the ethnicity of the lead characters. Lee is Chinese, Carter is black, and they both expect this to be inherently funny, as if simply bringing up these facts will cause us to laugh. It doesn't. Goofy slapstick and ridiculous out-of-date banter make up the other 10%. In one scene, Tucker and company reprise Abbot and Costello's old and unfunny Who's on First Routine. The result is cringe-worthy.
And the action isn't much better. Chan trades in the speeding buses of his earlier films for a stationary Eiffel Tower in this one, and he doesn't take the same risks he once did. When he dives out of one window, he falls a few feet rather than a few floors. His stunt work markedly lacks the thrills of even his recent pictures.
Still, it is hard to resist a film that boasts such star power. As lame as it is, Rush Hour 3 is an attraction that few movie-goers will want to miss. Chan is a legend, and Tucker may someday become one. Team them up with a supporting cast that includes Max von Sydow, director Roman Polanski, Yvan Attal, and basketball player Sun Ming Ming and you have something that you will remember, even if you don't enjoy it.
