Rush Hour-The Simple Formula For a Buddy Cop Film

Sometimes, all it takes to make a movie genuinely fun and entertaining is a brisk 97-minute runtime and a leading duo with charisma and great chemistry. Rush Hour contains both of these things. The film goes at such a swift, enjoyable pace without ever feeling rushed. Every scene feels integral, provides enough entertaining and humorous moments, and never feels like it goes on for too long. The core duo of Chris Tucker and Jackie Chan is a total blast. I admit I wasn't entirely on board with their dynamic when the movie made Jacke Chan into a silent character. But, the moment Jackie Chan began talking, he and Chris Tucker began bouncing off each other in delightful ways. Chris Tucker's loudmouth comedic bits could get grating early on, but the sheer charisma Tucker shows as an actor made him increasingly endearing throughout the film.

The film also shows itself to be quite successful in the action department. Jackie Chan's trademark over-the-top Kung-fu choreography is on display throughout the film. There's a fluidity in how the characters move throughout each fight scene. There's a clear inspiration from Chan's own Hong Kong action movies. And like those films, there's a much more over-the-top, cartoonish, and slapstick-heavy approach to the choreography, which allows it to stand out among the Schwarzenegger or Die Hard-type American action movies of this era that played their action scenes much more seriously. The stunt work here is also extremely impressive, with Jackie Chan's character leaping, parkouring, and scaling large spaces, which the film captures with wide-shot heavy visuals to convey these acts' sheer impressiveness and raw physicality.

The film's story is your standard buddy-cop movie, with all the tropes and cliches you typically expect in this subgenre. The hotshot detective hesitantly receives a partner he doesn't get along with at the start but will eventually bond with by the end. It's the most basic story seen many times before and after this film's release. The film also shows its age in some areas, with overtly racist jokes and lines of dialogue, mainly surrounding the Asian characters, that age the film quite a bit.

But, even with its issues, Rush Hour shows the winning formula for a successful buddy cop film: pacing that doesn't overstay its welcome, fun action, and a likable central duo. It's a simple formula, but when handled wrong, a buddy cop film can feel dull, formulaic, and bland. Thankfully, Rush Hour is none of those things and is a total blast that, aside from a few jokes, still holds up surprisingly well 25+ years after its release.

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