If you’re a fan of action-comedy movies, chances are you’ve seen at least one of the Rush Hour films starring Jackie Chan and Chris Tucker. The franchise has been a huge hit worldwide, grossing over $850 million at the box office and spawning a loyal fanbase that loves the chemistry and humour of the two leads.
The first Rush Hour movie came out in 1998 and introduced us to Detective Inspector Lee (Jackie Chan), a Hong Kong cop who teams up with Detective James Carter (Chris Tucker), a loudmouthed LAPD officer. The two teamed up together to rescue the kidnapped Chinese consul’s daughter. The 2001 sequel saw the duo travel to Hong Kong to bust a counterfeiting money scam and the third instalment, released in 2007, took them to Paris to stop a Chinese triad.
Although 2007 might sound like yesterday, it is actually 16 years ago. An era where anything could happen in movies and Rush Hour made use of just that. Rush Hour had it all from stereotypes, racial slurs, misogyny, you name it, and Rush Hour has probably dabbled around a societal boundary. Some of the most questionable lines that are memorable to me include: Carter punching the wrong East Asian person, and defending himself by saying ‘you all look alike’, and Carter saying ‘you need a personal trainer’ in response to a woman asking for a lawyer. The list goes on …
Despite the film’s stereotypes and questionable lines, the trilogy has been taken very well, even leading to its own TV show spinoff Rush Hour (2016). Some people believe that the film’s acceptance of humour comes from the main characters being ethnic minorities themselves, whilst others think it’s due to the carefully woven jokes into the script.
Since 2007, fans including myself have been eagerly waiting for a fourth movie to continue the adventures of Lee and Carter. And after 15 long years, it seems like their wish is finally coming true. Rush Hour 4 is said to be in production, where release of the film may be within the next few years. So what can we expect from Rush Hour 4? Maybe we’ll see Lee and Carter travel to another location and face off against a new formidable villain. Or perhaps, we’ll see them deal with some new challenges such as family issues as the actors are now much older. A big question I have is the type of humour the script will bring in the new movie. In this modern time with such a large grey area of what is acceptable, I’m curious to know if another provocative movie will get cancelled by society or praised for sticking to its original ‘Rush Hour’ roots.
Whatever the case may be, one thing is certain: Rush Hour 4 will be a long-awaited addition to the action-comedy film genre that has been lacking in recent years. With Jackie Chan and Chris Tucker back on screen together, we can expect more laughs, action, and fun.