Rush Hour 3

[Remo D]

Because I saw and enjoyed the first two, and because I realized that I might never get another chance to take my son to see Jackie Chan on the big screen (the times we took our daughter to see Chan in his prime were just like the times my parents would take us to see Peter Sellers as Inspector Clouseau--exactly that special).

Here's the thing, of course--as of THE TUXEDO, we knew that we'd never see the utterly outrageous, unfettered Jackie Chan again. No complaints--he's more than paid his dues, after all, and it's not as if we were expecting SUPERCOP here. And thankfully, we can count on him to be enjoyable even when he's NOT fighting.

And we know that the chemistry with Chris Tucker is bound to work again. Hey, find a winning formula, fill in the blanks... just surprised they waited this long for a third installment.

Plot? Yeah, there's one of those. Assassination attempt on the ambassador. Young daughter to protect. Deadly secrets requiring further protection. A villain and a hero with a shared past ("we both know you'll never pull the trigger"). And the most predictable, anti-climactic, yeah, please, tell us what we already KNOW revelation of somebody's true colors, blah-blah-blah.

Is the action good? Of course it is, but the "dojo" scene is better than the car/motorcycle chase and the Eiffel Tower stuff put together. Is the comedy funny? It's funny enough. You can count on Chris Tucker's would-be-ladies-man and Chan's flustered no-nonsense straight man. You already saw the latest variation on "Who's On First?" in the trailer ("That's Mee... I'm Yu!"), but what you didn't see was an interrogation scene requiring an interpreter fluent in French... and THAT had me roaring, as did the payoff of a scene in which Tucker and Chan must find a way to get "Genevieve" off the stage during her big number. Oh, and nice (if ultimately pointless) Roman Polanski cameo (the "teaching the rude French to appreciate America" business is awfully heavy-handed and obvious, while I'm at it).

You can wait for the DVD, but if you go, you certainly won't be bored--there's fun to be had right down to the "yeah, RIGHT" final stunt (sorry, it's all blue screen) that makes similar moments in the first two entries seem like documentary footage. But if it's a cinematic experience set in Paris you want? You should have listened to me while ANGEL-A was still playing...