Rush Hour (1998 film)

Rush Hour
Original film poster
Directed by	Brett Ratner
Produced by	Roger Birnbaum Jonathan Glickman Arthur M. Sarkissian Leon Dudevoir Jay Stern Wayne Morris
Written by	Jim Kouf Ross LaManna
Story by	Ross LaManna
Starring	Jackie Chan Chris Tucker Tom Wilkinson Chris Penn Elizabeth Peña
Music by	Lalo Schifrin
Cinematography	Adam Greenberg
Editing by	Mark Helfrich Tim Chau (sound) Doug Jackson (sound effects)
Distributed by	Warner Bros. Pictures (international) New Line Cinema (US)
Release date(s)	September 18, 1998 (1998-09-18)
Running time	98 minutes
Country	United States
Language	English Cantonese Mandarin
Budget	$33 million
Box office	$244,386,864(worldwide)

Rush Hour is a 1998 American action comedy film and the first installment in the Rush Hour film series. Directed by Brett Ratner and starring Jackie Chan and Chris Tucker. It was followed by two sequels, Rush Hour 2 (2001) and Rush Hour 3 (2007).

Plot

On the last day of British rule in Hong Kong late 1997, Detective Inspector Lee (Jackie Chan) of the Hong Kong police leads a raid at a shipping bar wharf, hoping to arrest the mysterious crime lord Juntao. He finds only Sang (Ken Leung), Juntao's right hand man, who manages to escape. However, Lee successfully recovers numerous Chinese cultural treasures stolen by Juntao, which he presents as a farewell victory to his departing superiors: Chinese Consul Solon Han (Tzi Ma) and British Commander Thomas Griffin (Tom Wilkinson).

Shortly after Han arrives in the United States to take up his new diplomatic post in Los Angeles, his daughter, Soo Yung, is kidnapped while on her way to her first day of school. The leader of the kidnappers is none other than Sang. Shortly after this incident, the FBI inform Consul Han, who calls in Lee to assist in the case.

Meanwhile, in Los Angeles, Detective James Carter (Chris Tucker) of the LAPD is doing undercover work at a doughnut shop to meet a man named Clive (Chris Penn) who is trying to sell Carter some C4 explosive out of his trunk. Two cops then pull into the doughnut shop and see the two suspicious men looking in Clive's truck. They then proceed to pull out their guns and tell them to freeze, not realizing Carter is undercover. Clive ends up shooting the cops and driving away, and while doing so, Carter is firing at Clive's car. Clive jumps out of the moving car just before it explodes. Carter then runs up to Clive and arrests him.

The FBI, afraid that the injury or death of Lee would result in negative attention, pawn him off on the LAPD Captain Diel, who gives the assignment to Detective James Carter. The captain picked Carter after being upset about him destroying a city block and losing evidence while in pursuit of Clive, as well as just being annoying and arrogant. However, the Captain acts as though he picked Carter especially for the case and tricks Carter into thinking the FBI truly wants him. Carter is ecstatic for he has had aspirations of joining the FBI. Carter, after discovering the real assignment, calls the Captain saying he wants off the case. Captain Diel then gives him a choice: keep Lee away from the investigation or face two months suspension without pay. Carter reluctantly agrees, secretly intending to solve the case himself.

Carter meets Lee at the Los Angeles International Airport and then proceeds to take him on a sightseeing tour of Los Angeles, simultaneously keeping Lee away from the embassy and contacting several of his underworld informants about the kidnapping. Lee finally escapes Carter and makes his way to the Chinese Consulate, where an anxious Han and a group of FBI agents are awaiting news about his daughter. While being reprimanded by Agent-in-charge Warren Russ (Mark Rolston), Carter manages to accidentally involve himself in a phone conversation with one of the kidnappers (Sang), where he poorly arranges a ransom drop of $50 million.

After their arrival at the agreed drop point, Lee tries to warn the FBI that something is amiss, but is ignored until a bomb inside the building is detonated, killing several agents. Spotting Sang nearby, Lee and Carter give chase, but Sang escapes, dropping a strange detonator in the process. After showing it to Carter's colleague, LAPD bomb expert Tania Johnson (Elizabeth Peña), they learn that the detonator could blow up C4, which takes us back to Clive. Carter and Lee go to take a visit to the county jail where Clive is hoping to gain some information. Clive refuses to tell the cocky Carter anything, and believes Carter wants to frame him. Lee then intervenes, stating all he cares about is the little girl, that she is only eleven years old, and is in grave danger. Clive tells the duo about Juntao and that they can find him at a restaurant in Chinatown.

At the restaurant, Carter is captured after going in alone, though he sees a surveillance video of Juntao carrying Soo-Yung into a van. Lee arrives and rescues Carter, and they are met outside by the FBI, led by Russ, who blames them for ruining the ransom exchange. Sang phones the consul, angrily telling him that the ransom has been increased from $50 million to $70 million, and threatens to kill Soo Yung if anything else goes wrong. Disgraced and guilt-ridden, Lee and Carter are ordered off the investigation, and Lee is informed that he will be sent back to Hong Kong. Carter refuses to drop the case and confronts Lee on his plane to enlist his help, and the two men decide to save Soo-Yung together.

The final confrontation comes at the opening of a Chinese art exhibition at the Los Angeles Convention Center, which Han and Griffin are overseeing, while the ransom is being delivered. Carter, Lee, and Johnson enter disguised as guests. After Carter recognizes Griffin from Chinatown, he creates a scene by alerting the spectators about a bomb threat in the building and tells them to evacuate. In the confusion, Lee sees Sang handing Griffin a detonator identical to the one he and Carter had previously recovered, deducing that Griffin is really Juntao. Griffin then threatens to detonate a bomb vest attached to Soo Yung if the delivery is interrupted. During the stand-off, however, Carter manages to sneak out and locate Soo Yung. Carter proceeds to take the vest off her, but Soo Yung confesses to him that she heard them say that the vest will go off if anyone tries to take it off incorrectly. Carter then drives the van into the building and brings the bomb vest within range to kill everyone inside the exhibition.

After a gunfight breaks out, Lee and Johnson climb into the back of the van and Johnson manages to get the vest off Soo Yung, but tells Lee that it still can be set off with the remote. Lee then takes the vest and pursues Griffin. Meanwhile Griffin goes up to the upstairs control room and shoots the agents up there, including Russ. A few moments later, Sang also goes into the control room and starts putting money into another briefcase. Then Russ, who was not killed by Griffin, groans, and Sang turns his gun on him. Just as he is about to shoot Russ, he is interrupted by Carter, who tells him that he is alone. Sang then challenges Carter to 'fight like a man'. Carter agrees, but as both men put their guns down, both bring out their alternative guns, and Carter shoots Sang dead in the process. Meanwhile, Griffin attempts to escape with the ransom money, and Lee pursues him up several sets of maintenance ladders. During the pursuit, both men fall over the rail with Lee holding onto a rafter and Griffin holding onto the bomb vest, which Lee is now wearing. The money falls out of the case that Griffin was holding. The bomb vest then rips apart, sending Griffin falling to his death into a fountain below, Lee then loses his grip and falls from the rafters, but Carter is able to rescue Lee by placing a large flag under him to catch him.

Han and Soo Yung are reunited, and Han sends Carter and Lee on vacation together to Hong Kong. Before Carter leaves, Agents Russ and Whitney offer him a position in the FBI, which he rudely refuses. The film ends with Lee and Carter enjoying their flight to Hong Kong. Carter shows off a couple of lines of Chinese to Lee (who is very impressed, as he had no idea Carter spoke Chinese), and then immediately requests a new seat as Lee breaks into a chorus of Edwin Starr's War.

Cast

• Jackie Chan as Detective Inspector Lee (briefly doubled by Robert Wong)
• Chris Tucker as Detective James Carter (doubled by Mark Hicks, Wayne Johnson and Jalil Jay Lynch)
• Tom Wilkinson as Thomas Griffin
• Tzi Ma as Consul Solon Han
• Ken Leung as Sang
• Elizabeth Peña as Detective Tania Johnson
• Mark Rolston as Special FBI Agent In Charge Warren Russ
• Rex Linn as FBI Agent Dan Whitney
• Chris Penn as Clive Cod
• Philip Baker Hall as Captain William Diel
• Julia Hsu as Soo Yung Han (doubled by Jane Oshita)
• John Hawkes as Stucky
• Clifton Powell as Luke
• Kevin Lowe as FBI Agent
• Billy Devlin as FBI Agent in Building
• Barry Shabaka Henley as Bobby
• Christine Ng as Flight Attendant (as Christine Ng Wing Mei)
• George Cheung as Soo Yung's Driver
• Norman D. Wilson as Card Player (uncredited)
• Stephen Blackehart as SWAT Captain (uncredited)

Juntao's Men

• Chan Man-ching (as Man Ching Chan)
• Andy Cheng (as Andy Kai Chung Cheng)
• Stuart W. Yee (as Stuart Yee)
• Nicky Li (as Nicky Chung Chi Li)
• Ken Lo (as Kenneth Houi Kang Low)
• Mars (uncredited)
• Kwan Yung (uncredited)
• William Tuan (uncredited)
• Bowen Sheng (uncredited)
• James Lew (uncredited)
• Johnny Cheung (uncredited)
• Will Leong (uncredited)

Reception

Rush Hour opened at #1 at the North American box-office with a weekend gross of $33 million in September 1998. Rush Hour grossed over $244 million worldwide, making the film a box office success.The film was critically acclaimed. Roger Ebert praised both Jackie Chan, for his entertaining action sequences without the use of stunt doubles, and Chris Tucker, for his comical acts in the film, and how they formed an effective comic duo. The film currently holds a 62% approval rating at Rotten Tomatoes, just enough for a "Fresh" rating. The film was viewed on a total of 2,638 screens. It made $54,123,698 in movie rentals (USA).

Sequels

A sequel Rush Hour 2, was made in 2001, which was primarily set in Hong Kong. A third movie, Rush Hour 3, was released on August 10, 2007, which was primarily set in Paris, France. Tucker earned $25 million for his role in the third film and Chan received the distribution rights to the movie in Asia. A fourth film in the series is in negotiations, and reportedly may be set in Moscow.

Soundtrack

Main article: Rush Hour (soundtrack)

The soundtrack features the hit single "Can I Get A..." by Jay-Z, Ja Rule and Amil, as well as tracks by Edwin Starr, Flesh-n-Bone, Wu-Tang Clan, Dru Hill, Charli Baltimore and Montell Jordan.

Accolades

• 1999 ALMA Awards
  • Winner: Outstanding Actress in a Feature Film (Elizabeth Peña)

• 1999 BMI Film and TV Awards
  • Winner: BMI Film Music Award (Lalo Schifrin)

• 1999 Blockbuster Entertainment Awards
  • Winner: Favorite Duo- Action/Adventure (Jackie Chan and Chris Tucker)
  • Nomination: Favorite Supporting Actress- Action/Adventure (Elizabeth Peña)

• 1999 Bogey Awards (Germany)
  • Winner: Bogey Awards in Silver

• 1999 Golden Screen (Germany)
  • Winner: Golden Screen

• 1999 Grammy Awards
  • Nomination: Best Instrumental Composition Written for a Motion Picture or for Television (Lalo Schifrin)

• 1999 Image Awards
  • Nomination: Outstanding Lead Actor in a Motion Picture (Chris Tucker)

• 1999 Kids' Choice Awards (USA)
  • Nomination: Favorite Movie Actor (Blimp Award) (Chris Tucker)

• 1999 MTV Movie Awards
  • Winner: Best On-Screen Duo (Jackie Chan and Chris Tucker)
  • Nomination: Best Comedic Performance (Chris Tucker)
  • Nomination: Best Fight (Jackie Chan and Chris Tucker) (For the fight against the Chinese gang)
  • Nomination: Best Movie Song (Jay-Z) (For Can I Get A...)

Home Media

VHS

Release date	Country	Classifaction	Publisher	Format	Language	Subtitles	Notes	REF
15 June 1999	United States	PG-13	New Line Home Video	NTSC	English	None
18 October 1999	United Kingdom	12	Eiv	PAL	English	None

DVD

Release date	Country	Classifaction	Publisher	Format	Region	Language	Sound	Subtitles	Notes	REF
2 March 1999	United States	PG-13	New Line Home Video	NTSC	1	English	Unknown	English	Aspect Ratio: 2.35:1 (16:9)
1 October 1999	United Kingdom	15	Eiv	PAL	2	English	Unknown	English	Aspect Ratio: 1.77:1 (16:9)

UMD

Release date	Country	Classifaction	Publisher	Format	Region	Language	Sound	Subtitles	Notes	REF
1 September 2005	United Kingdom	12	Eiv	PAL	2	English	Unknown	English
3 January 2006	United States	PG-13	New Line Home Video	NTSC	1	English	Unknown	English

Blu-ray

Release date	Country	Classifaction	Publisher	Format	Region	Language	Sound	Subtitles	Notes	REF
11 October 2010	United Kingdom	15	Warner Home Video	PAL	Free	English	Unknown	English	Aspect Ratio: 1.77:1 (16:9)
7 December 2010	United States	PG-13	New Line Home Video	NTSC	Free	English	Unknown	English	Aspect Ratio: 1.77:1 (16:9)

See also

• Buddy cop film
• List of movies set in Hong Kong
• List of movies set in Los Angeles
• Rush Hour 2
• Rush Hour 3
• Jackie Chan filmography

External links

• Rush Hour at the Internet Movie Database
• Rush Hour at Box Office Mojo
• Rush Hour at AllRovi
• Rush Hour at Rotten Tomatoes
• Rush Hour at Metacritic
• Jackie Chan Fansite