Rush Hour 3

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For the soundtrack, see Rush Hour 3 (soundtrack).

Rush Hour 3
Rush Hour 3 poster.png
Theatrical release poster
Directed byBrett Ratner
Screenplay byJeff Nathanson
Based onCharacters
by Ross LaManna
Produced by
Starring
CinematographyJ. Michael Muro
Edited by
Music byLalo Schifrin
Production
companies
Distributed byNew Line Cinema
Release date
  • July 30, 2007 (2007-07-30) (Los Angeles)
  • August 10, 2007 (2007-08-10) (United States)
Running time
91 minutes
CountryUnited States
Languages
  • English
  • Mandarin
  • Japanese
  • French
Budget$125–140 million[1][2][3]
Box office$258.1 million[2]

Rush Hour 3 is a 2007 American buddy action comedy film directed by Brett Ratner, written by Jeff Nathanson, and starring Jackie Chan, Chris Tucker, Max von Sydow, Hiroyuki Sanada, Noémie Lenoir, Yvan Attal and Youki Kudoh. It is the third installment in the Rush Hour series and centers on Inspector Lee (Chan) and Officer Carter (Tucker) tracking an assassin to Paris to unravel a mystery about the Chinese triads. Announced on May 7, 2006, filming began on July 4 on location in Paris and Los Angeles. Released on August 10, 2007, the film received negative reviews from film critics, and grossed $258 million worldwide against a $140 million budget.

Plot[]

Three years after the events of Rush Hour 2, Chinese Ambassador Solon Han, with Hong Kong Police Force Chief Inspector Lee as his bodyguard, addresses the importance of fighting the Triads at the World Criminal Court in Los Angeles. There, when Han starting to announce the whereabouts of Shy Shen, a semi-mythical individual of great importance to the Chinese mob, an assassin snipes him, causing a panic. Lee corners the shooter, but when he learns it is his childhood foster brother, Kenji, he hesitates, allowing Kenji to escape just as LAPD Detective James Carter arrives after hearing what happened over the police radio.

Han survives the assassination attempt, and Lee and Carter promise his daughter Soo Yung to find the person responsible. She insists they head to the local Kung Fu studio to retrieve an envelope Han left her, but learn from the studio master the Triads took Soo Yung's belongings.

Lee and Carter return to the hospital and intercept a gang of French-speaking Chinese assassins before they can kill Han. After defeating them, they interrogate one of them with the help of Sister Agnes, a French-speaking nun. For her protection, they take Soo Yung to the French Embassy, leaving her with French ambassador and chairman of the World Criminal Court, Varden Reynard. When Reynard and Soo Yung are nearly killed by a car bomb, Lee and Carter head to Paris to investigate further.

After a painful encounter with Parisian Commissaire Revi, Lee and Carter meet anti-American taxi driver, George, and force him to drive them to a Triad hideout. While there, Carter meets stage performer Geneviève while Lee is tricked by mob assassin Jasmine, who claims to have information about Shy Shen, and Carter saves him from being killed.

The pair try to escape, but are ultimately captured by Kenji's men. Kenji says he'll let them live if they leave Paris, but Lee refuses. Following a short struggle, he and Carter successfully escape. They recover at a hotel, where Lee reveals his relationship with Kenji and decides to continue alone. A disillusioned Carter leaves, but recomposes himself when he spots and follows Geneviève. Meanwhile, Reynard meets Lee and explains Shy Shen is not a person, but a list of Triad leaders and that Geneviève is Han's informant with access to the list.

After locating Geneviève and saving her from being killed, the two flee to their hotel. They are attacked by Jasmine, but George rescues them out of a newfound admiration for Americans. Geneviève reveals to Lee and Carter that the Triad leaders' names were tattooed on the back of her head and that she will be beheaded when the Triads capture her. Lee and Carter bring her to Reynard and discover he was working with the Triads the entire time. Kenji calls to inform Lee that he has captured Soo Yung and demands he turn over Geneviève.

Lee arrives at the Eiffel Tower to make the exchange, with Carter disguised as Geneviève with a wig. Kenji challenges Lee to a sword fight, during which the two fall into a safety net. After Kenji's sword cuts the net, Lee tries to save him, but Kenji is touched by Lee’s kindness and lets go, falling to his death and leaving Lee devastated. Meanwhile, Carter saves Soo Yung and defeats Jasmine by kicking her into an elevator wheel that crushes her to death. After escaping the remaining Triad members, Carter and Lee are confronted by Reynard, who threatens to kill Geneviève and frame them. However, George shoots Reynard from behind, killing him. As the police arrive, Revi tries to take credit for Lee and Carter's work, but they knock him out and leave with a victory dance to Edwin Starr's "War".

Cast[]

Production[]

After the commercial success of the first and second films in the franchise, Tucker received a salary of $25 million, Chan received $15 million, and Ratner $7.5 million.[3]

Release[]

The film was not screened in Chinese theaters in 2007, to make way for a larger variety of foreign films for that year, according to a business representative. (The quota for imported films is 20 each year.)[4]

Soundtrack[]

Main article: Rush Hour 3 (soundtrack)

Lalo Schifrin composed the soundtrack, interspersed with hip hop and R&B music. Two soundtrack albums were released. An album of the hip hop and R&B music used was released on August 8, 2007, on CD and audio cassette from New Line Records and Columbia Records. Another, containing Schifrin's original compositions for the film was released on the Varèse Sarabande label.

Reception[]

Box office[]

Rush Hour 3 opened on August 10, 2007, and grossed $49.1 million in its opening weekend.[2]

Brandon Gray of Box Office Mojo noted:

Rush Hour 3 was marketed as just another Rush Hour picture, in part because the movie itself is a slight romp, and lacked the event-style build-up that Rush Hour 2 had. What's more, Chan hasn't been on American screens for three years, while Tucker's last movie was Rush Hour 2. A repetitious entry in a series without a major new hook doesn't quite cut it after a six-year wait if the intent is to build or retain an audience. That Rush Hour 3 had a sizable debut is a credit to the good will generated by the first two pictures.[5]

The film grossed $258 million worldwide.[2]

Critical response[]

On Rotten Tomatoes, the film has an approval rating of 18% based on 158 reviews, with an average rating of 4.2/10. The site's critical consensus reads, "Rush Hour 3 is a tired rehash of the earlier films, and a change of scenery can't hide a lack of new ideas." Todd Gilchrist of IGN movies said, "A movie that not only depends on but demands you don't think in order to enjoy it."[6] On Metacritic, the film has a score of 44 out of 100, based on 32 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews". Audiences surveyed by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "A-" on an A+ to F scale.[7]

Desson Thomson of The Washington Post, giving it three and a half stars out of five, said "at the risk of eternal damnation on the Internet, I admit to laughing at — even feeling momentarily touched by — Rush Hour 3."[8] Christian Toto of The Washington Times said, "The Rush job should put the franchise down for good." Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun-Times was slightly more positive giving the film two stars and saying, "...once you realize it's only going to be so good, you settle back and enjoy that modest degree of goodness, which is at least not badness, and besides, if you're watching Rush Hour 3, you obviously didn't have anything better to do, anyway."[9] James Berardinelli of ReelViews gave the film one-and-a-half stars out of four, and said the movie was dull, uninspired and redundant.[10]

Home media[]

The film was released on December 26, 2007,[note 1] on DVD and Blu-ray. As of March 30, 2008, it made $80.75 million in Home Video rentals, making it the top rental of 2007.[11] As of 2018, the film has grossed $45 million in American DVD sales.[12]

Possible sequel[]

Main article: Rush Hour (franchise) § Future

Because of the film's box office success, director Brett Ratner and writer Jeff Nathanson are considering the production of a fourth film in the Rush Hour series. In the DVD audio commentary for Rush Hour 3, Brett Ratner jokes that a Rush Hour 4 could be released in the future. Ratner and Nathanson are exploring many concepts, including the use of the motion capture technique for the possible sequel and various film projects with Chan and Tucker. It has been reported that the fourth film may be set in Moscow.[13]

In May 2011, in an interview with Vulture, Ratner stated that the high cost of making a sequel is, "why another Rush Hour probably won’t get made, either: It'd be too much to pay me, Chris [Tucker], and Jackie [Chan] to come back."[14] In an interview on May 12, 2012, with The Arizona Republic, Jackie Chan revealed that he was still planning on sequels to both Rush Hour and The Karate Kid.[15]

See also[]

Notes[]

  1. ^ The DVD release date of Rush Hour 3 varies, as it was seen in Wal-Mart stores on December 22, 2007, while in advertisements for other stores it was not scheduled for release until December 26.

References[]

  1. ^ Garrett, Diane (April 20, 2007). "Big-budget bang-ups". Variety. Retrieved February 1, 2021.
  2. ^ Jump up to: a b c d "Rush Hour 3". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved March 13, 2008.
  3. ^ Jump up to: a b Thompson, Anne (July 28, 2007). "Ratner boasts box office prowess". Variety.
  4. ^ "China in no 'Rush' for Chan film". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on September 30, 2007. Retrieved August 6, 2007.
  5. ^ Brandon Gray (August 13, 2007). "'Rush Hour 3' Packs Less Punch". Box Office Mojo. IMDB. Retrieved February 2, 2021.
  6. ^ https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/rush_hour_3
  7. ^ "Cinemascore". Archived from the original on December 20, 2018.
  8. ^ Desson Thomson (August 10, 2007). "Rush Hour 3". The Washington Post. Retrieved August 14, 2007.
  9. ^ Roger Ebert (August 10, 2007). "Rush Hour 3". Chicago Sun-Times. Retrieved August 13, 2007.
  10. ^ James Berardinelli. "Rush Hour 3". ReelViews.net. Retrieved August 13, 2007.
  11. ^ Sinmao (March 2, 2008). "Box Office Underperformer "Rush Hour 3" Is Top DVD Rental of 2007". End of Boredom. Archived from the original on March 5, 2008. Retrieved January 1, 2013.
  12. ^ "Rush Hour 3 (2007) - Financial Information". The Numbers. Retrieved December 13, 2018.
  13. ^ WorstPreviews.com Staff (August 2, 2007). ""Rush Hour 4" is Set in Moscow". Worst Previews. Retrieved January 1, 2013.
  14. ^ Brodesser-Akner, Claude (May 22, 2011). "The New Summer Blockbuster Economy: Reboots, Prequels, and the End of the Superstar Cash Grab". Vulture. Retrieved January 1, 2013.
  15. ^ Showbiz, Bang (May 21, 2012). "Jackie Chan plans 'Rush Hour 4' and 'Karate Kid 2'". AZCentral. Retrieved January 1, 2013.

External links[]

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