Movie · 1998 · Action, Comedy, Crime · 1h 37m · PG-13 · English
Curator score: 5.2/10 (899.4K ratings)
The fastest hands in the East meet the biggest mouth in the West.
Overview
When Hong Kong Inspector Lee is summoned to Los Angeles to investigate a kidnapping, the FBI doesn't want any outside help and assigns cocky LAPD Detective James Carter to distract Lee from the case. Not content to watch the action from the sidelines, Lee and Carter form an unlikely partnership and investigate the case themselves.
Ratings
Curator score: 5.2/10
IMDb: 7.1/10
Letterboxd: 3.64/5
Rotten Tomatoes: 62%
Metacritic: 61
TMDB: 7.1/10
Director
Brett Ratner
Production
New Line Cinema, Arthur Sarkissian Productions, Roger Birnbaum Productions
Cast
Jackie Chan, Chris Tucker, Tom Wilkinson, Philip Baker Hall, Elizabeth Peña, Chris Penn, Mark Rolston, Tzi Ma, Rex Linn, Ken Leung, Robert Littman, Michael Chow, Julia Hsu, Kai Lennox, Larry Sullivan, Yang Lin, Roger Fan, George Cheung, Lucy Lin, Jason Davis
Curator Review
Verdict
A high-energy buddy-cop comedy with genuinely strong chemistry, crisp action choreography, and an easygoing crowd-pleaser rhythm. It’s very much a product of its era, including broad racial humor that can land unevenly now, but the lead pairing and set-piece momentum still make it an entertaining watch.
Best for
fans of buddy-cop comedies
viewers who like martial-arts action with jokes
people seeking a light, fast-paced 90s blockbuster
audiences who enjoy mismatched-partner chemistry
Skip if
you’re sensitive to dated racial humor
you want tightly grounded crime drama
you dislike broad, joke-forward action comedies
you prefer modern action editing and tone
Overview
Rush Hour works because it understands that chemistry is the engine of a buddy-cop movie. The plot is simple, but the movie keeps finding new ways to bounce its two leads off each other, turning friction into momentum and banter into action. Jackie Chan’s physical precision and Chris Tucker’s rapid-fire comic energy are a perfect contrast.
Worth noting
The action is still one of the film’s biggest assets. It has the clarity and playfulness of late-90s studio action, with stunts and fight scenes that feel designed around personality as much as spectacle. The movie also has a breezy, crowd-pleasing confidence that makes it easy to watch even when the mystery is secondary.
Bottom line
That said, the humor is not timeless. Some of the racial material is very much of its moment, and viewers may find parts of it cringey or exhausting. If you can accept that baggage, there’s a lot here to enjoy: a brisk pace, memorable exchanges, and a star pairing that carries the whole film.
Top Letterboxd reviews
gondola (4★) · 8054 likes
Jackie Chan says the n word
✨PinkMcflurry (Danya)✨ (2.5★) · 5661 likes
I wish they still showed bloopers at the end of movies.
shay (4★) · 3716 likes
this trilogy can have a little racism, as a treat
Morgan (4★) · 3073 likes
enemies to lovers trope
demi adejuyigbe (4.5★) · 2286 likes
god, i love rush hour 1 & 2. jackie chan and chris tucker are so important to me. fuck brett ratner
2012 · Action, Comedy, Crime · 1h 49m · R · Curator 5.8/10 (1.8M ratings) · Where to watch: fuboTV, Paramount Plus Premium, Paramount Plus Essential, TNT, TBS, tru TV
Fast, self-aware action comedy with strong partnership chemistry and a playful tone.