Rush Hour

Jackie Chan goes Hollywood with this by-the-book buddy action comedy that is the very model of high concept: Team up "the fastest hands in the East" with "the biggest mouth in the West." That would be Chris Tucker, the hyper-verbal, helium-voiced comedian, who portrays an L.A.P.D. loose cannon. When the daughter of the Chinese counsel is kidnapped, Tucker is forced by his superiors (who want him out of the way) to squire around visiting Hong Kong detective Chan. Predictably, they get over their initial antagonism and mistrust, and if it's not exactly the beginning of a beautiful friendship, it is at least the beginning of an inevitable movie franchise. Chan makes a good foil for the motor-mouthed Tucker; he lets his body do the talking. In one scene that showcases his balletic-grace and comedic timing, he fights off attackers in a museum while trying to keep art treasures from breaking in the melee. The film concludes with Chan's trademark outtakes montage, but the emphasis is on blown lines rather than botched stunts. For what it's worth, this was Chan's biggest domestic box office hit and mainstream breakthrough. Tucker's star, too, is (inexplicably, perhaps) on the rise. Critical sniping aside, patrons will rush to borrow it. (K. Lee Benson)