rra
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Post by rra on Jan 12, 2008 15:59:27 GMT -5
RUSH HOUR 3 (2007) - **1/2As some of you know, I really like LETHAL WEAPON, and its superior sequel. Full of action, Full of humor, and great chemistry between Mel Gibson and Danny Glover. Then I saw LETHAL WEAPON 3 as a young lad, and still remembering feeling very underwhelmed...and at an age where boys are easily impressed, there is a a disconnection. The problem was that everyone involved knew that it would do gangbusters in theatres, and went ahead without a good finished script, because they figured they'll make enough cash before audiences realize they've been had. If enough action and one-liners are delivered, who cares about the story? I sense that same situation with RUSH HOUR 3. Chris Tucker, Jackie Chan, and director Brett Ratner made headlines in Hollwood with the massive paychecks that New Line Cinema penned out for them, with the argument that it was a guaranteed money-maker. The difference though is that HOUR 3 isn't a major step-down for that franchise...because it wasn't that good to begin with. But as a series of WEAPON knock-offs, they were entertaining in a pleasing, passive sort of way. Chan and Tucker did have good chemistry in scenes mixing the martial arts with the jokes, which is surprising considering that after HOUR 3 came out, Chan admitted that he couldn't stand him nor the pictures. Then again, getting outpaid by someone who only worked in the HOUR movies since 1998 would annoy me too. Certainly RUSH HOUR 3 continues the template with the fights, the Asian/Black jokes, the ENTER THE DRAGON references, and a really good actor stuck working as a lame villain. He may be the poor man's Richard Donner, but Brett Ratner is good at it. All those movies carried this joke-platter of one of the stars going to a city they're unfamiliar with, and hilarity ensues. The gag now is that both Tucker and Chan are alien to Paris, which is a fine idea I guess. The problem is that Chan isn't a butt of many jokes as much as the guy that Sam Jackson murdered in JACKIE BROWN. Yeah I get the joke, the French hate Americans, but don't Americans believe they hate everyone else too? Make the full use of that joke, I say. Then again, the fortune shelled out for RUSH HOUR 3 didn't have much carved out for the script. But there is something annoying about how the secret council meeting of the global Triads (or whatever nonsense) has an ultra-secret way of passing along the names of the sponsored chieftans, and Chan learns this from a person that should have been immediately suspected by Chan of dirty involvement. SuperCop he aint. This movie is lacking something to carry itself over the hump, to pull it through for the solid victory....and I know what it is. Steven Seagal, a buddy of Chan, was booked originally as the villain, and that would have been the extra-mustard. Perhaps he isn't as action-credible as he once was (a major understatement), but Seagal is a name, and it would be fun to see the hero of UNDER SIEGE be the baddie. Plus, imagine the countless fat jokes that Tucker could have spun at the expense of Flabby Seagull. I don't think RUSH HOUR 3 is a bad movie at all, but that's about it. Its the sort of picture to escape the rain or reality with, and I sorta enjoyed the surprising TEMPLE OF DOOM homage. Besides, where else would you see the great Roman Polanski harass the heroes by molestation? At least Ratner casted an actor with prior experience.
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Post by krill on Jan 12, 2008 16:15:34 GMT -5
I liked it. Not as good as 2 but fun way to spend an hour and 20 minutes.
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rra
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Post by rra on Jan 12, 2008 16:26:40 GMT -5
I liked it. Not as good as 2 but fun way to spend an hour and 20 minutes. Nor as good as 1. Then again, was I the only one back in the day that went to see the first RUSH HOUR simply because it was Chan?
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Post by seano on Jan 12, 2008 19:11:32 GMT -5
I just watched it last night. It was ok, though definitely a step down from the last 2. It was a major gag-fest too; every other scene was a Looney Tunesque comedy sequence.
And it wasn't even 90 minutes long; that's just weird for a major movie to be that short.
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Post by Deleted on Jan 12, 2008 19:14:55 GMT -5
I heard a rumor that Tucker does not yell out DO YOU UNDERSTAND THE WORDS COMING OUT OF MY MOUTH and thus have not seen it
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Post by Deleted on Jan 12, 2008 19:15:34 GMT -5
It thought it was okay. The fight scenes were great, but that's expected. 1 will always be my favorite though.
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Post by Jason Todd Grisham on Jan 12, 2008 19:37:26 GMT -5
WHAT!?
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rra
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Post by rra on Jan 12, 2008 19:40:33 GMT -5
Cavity Search.....*cue heroes walking awkwardly afterwords*
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Post by Jason Todd Grisham on Jan 12, 2008 19:41:53 GMT -5
Cavity Search.....*cue heroes walking awkwardly afterwords* Just for the sheer randomness of that moment it may be enough for a rental.
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rra
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Post by rra on Jan 12, 2008 19:43:17 GMT -5
Cavity Search.....*cue heroes walking awkwardly afterwords* Just for the sheer randomness of that moment it may be enough for a rental. Go for it. I mean, if FAMILY GUY can joke about Polanski's rape incident, then so can I.
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Post by Jason Todd Grisham on Jan 12, 2008 21:19:06 GMT -5
Just for the sheer randomness of that moment it may be enough for a rental. Go for it. I mean, if FAMILY GUY can joke about Polanski's rape incident, then so can I. Well on that note, aren't Jackie Chan and Chris Tucker a bit too old for him?
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rra
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Post by rra on Jan 12, 2008 21:21:36 GMT -5
Go for it. I mean, if FAMILY GUY can joke about Polanski's rape incident, then so can I. Well on that note, aren't Jackie Chan and Chris Tucker a bit too old for him? He doesn't discriminate.
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Post by -Lithium- on Jan 12, 2008 21:58:27 GMT -5
I dont like that 'The Mist' and 'Rush Hour 3' got the same rating...
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Post by jfbop37 on Jan 12, 2008 22:03:19 GMT -5
I loved how Ratner's name was splashed all over the title in ads as though it was a selling point.
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rra
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Post by rra on Jan 12, 2008 22:34:13 GMT -5
I loved how Ratner's name was splashed all over the title in ads as though it was a selling point. Yeah, as if he was auteurship-critical to how HOUR 3 was shot. Again, he's the poor man's Richard Donner....and thats both praise and an insult.
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rra
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Post by rra on Jan 12, 2008 22:35:02 GMT -5
I dont like that 'The Mist' and 'Rush Hour 3' got the same rating... I hate it too, but thats how the balls bounces.
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Post by jfbop37 on Jan 12, 2008 22:39:33 GMT -5
I loved how Ratner's name was splashed all over the title in ads as though it was a selling point. Yeah, as if he was auteurship-critical to how HOUR 3 was shot. Again, he's the poor man's Richard Donner....and thats both praise and an insult. Indeed. I gotta give the guy credit though for having the stones to actually do that. As my friend Jim likes to paraphrase "He's like the next Scorsees."
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Post by kidtamagotchi on Jan 13, 2008 1:03:57 GMT -5
I was underwhelmed by the movie, I must say. It was entertaining for the most part. There weren't any memorable fight scenes. Hiroyuki Sanada was wasted. He is a very good screen fighter, and I really wanted Jackie Chan and Hiroyuki Sanada to have a great fight.
Oh well. The movie was funny and had a memorable car chase. Youki Kudoh was looking good as well.
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Post by humanoid on Jan 13, 2008 1:10:02 GMT -5
I didn't mind the movie, but I was expecting more. I loved the first 2, and I always loved Chris Tucker.
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Post by Mozenrath on Jan 13, 2008 2:42:49 GMT -5
I liked it. Not as good as 2 but fun way to spend an hour and 20 minutes. Nor as good as 1. Then again, was I the only one back in the day that went to see the first RUSH HOUR simply because it was Chan? I saw it for Chan. Okay: The Rush Hour Movies, Fifth Element, and Friday. Is that ALL Tucker's ever done that anyone can remember? Is that really deserving of getting paid as much as Jackie Chan, if not more?
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