Taglines: Two cops. One is all talk. The other is all action.
Rush Hour movie storyline. Brett Ratner directed this action-comedy that found box-office success by teaming Chris Tucker with Jackie Chan — performing his own stunts as per his earlier films. As the story begins, Hong-Kong supercop Lee’s (Chan), detective savvy leads to the confiscation of $500 million in weapons, drugs, and Chinese art. When Hong Kong Chinese Consul Han (Tzi Ma), is sent on a diplomatic mission to Los Angeles, his 11-year-old daughter, Soo Young (Julia Hsu), is abducted by an international criminal mastermind.
The FBI assures Han they will find the kidnappers and return her safely, yet Han only trusts his longtime friend and ally (also his daughter’s beloved martial arts teacher) Inspector Lee, who immediately flies in to help. Unwilling to have an outsider interfere in their investigation, the FBI assigns rogue LAPD detective (and buffoon) James Carter (Chris Tucker) to the case. Hoping to impress the FBI, Carter enthusiastically reports for work but is dismayed to discover his real mission is only to keep Lee away from the case (read b-a-b-y-s-i-t-t-e-r).
The arrogant Carter reacts by embarking on a one-man crusade to solve the case, but he must first distract Lee. It doesn’t take Carter long before he realizes he has greatly underestimated his Hong Kong counterpart, who sees what’s going on and slips away. Impatient FBI agents try to cast off these unwanted misfit cops, but with an assist from LAPD bomb expert Tania Johnson (Elizabeth Pena), Carter and Lee eventually confront the bad guys in a full-tilt action sequence.
Rush Hour is a 1998 American buddy action comedy film directed by Brett Ratner and starring Jackie Chan and Chris Tucker as mismatched cops who must rescue the Chinese consul’s kidnapped daughter. Released on September 18, 1998, the film grossed over $200 million worldwide. The film’s success led to two sequels, Rush Hour 2 (2001) and Rush Hour 3 (2007). Edwin Starr’s “War” was used as the ending theme for Rush Hour.
Rush Hour (1998)
Directed by: Brett Ratner
Starring: Jackie Chan, Chris Tucker, Ken Leung, Tom Wilkinson, George Cheung, Elizabeth Peña, Philip Baker Hall, Mark Rolston, John Hawkes, Lucy Lin
Screenplay by: Jim Kouf, Ross LaManna
Production Design by: Robb Wilson King
Cinematography by: Adam Greenberg
Film Editing by: Mark Helfrich
Costume Design by: Sharen Davis
Set Decoration by: Lance Lombardo
Art Direction by: Thomas Fichter
Music by: Lalo Schifrin
MPAA Rating: PG-13 for sequences of action / violence and shootings, and for language.
Distributed by: New Line Cinema
Release Date: September 18, 1998
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