Metacritic Film

Rush Hour

Starring Jackie Chan, Chris Tucker, Tom Wilkinson, Elizabeth Peña, Chris Penn, and Ken Leung

MPAA RATING: PG-13 for sequences of action/violence and shootings, and for language

New Line Cinema
Comedy
97 minutes | Color
USA
Released In Theaters September 18, 1998

The fastest hands in the East meet the biggest mouth in the West when legendary martial arts daredevil Jackie Chan teams with comedic powerhouse Chris Tucker. (New Line Cinema)

WRITTEN BY
Ross LaManna (also story)
Jim Kouf

DIRECTED BY
Brett Ratner

Overall Metascore

This is a weighted, normalized average of all individual scores given by critics, on a scale of 0 (worst) to 100 (best).

60 / 100

Critic Reviews

80 Los Angeles Times
Rush Hour effectively teams Jackie Chan and Chris Tucker in a formulaic but funny action comedy that should please fans of both stars.
80 Slate
The first real Jackie Chan picture crafted for the American market, is a terrific piece of junk filmmaking.
80 Washington Post
A sturdily entertaining vehicle, easily the little guy's best American-made film.
75 San Francisco Examiner
The emphasis is on comedic interaction, not plot - too bad, "48 HRS" had both - but the pair adds spice to the predictable opposites-detract gags.
75 Christian Science Monitor
The fast-talking Tucker and quick-kicking Chan are a surprisingly good team that manages to deliver a fun combination of highly choreographed action and comedy.
75 Chicago Sun-Times
Lightweight and made out of familiar elements, but they're handled with humor and invention.
75 San Francisco Chronicle
This good-natured comedy is set off by the high spirits of its stars.
75 Chicago Tribune
It's the kind of copycat movie that becomes original through its cast and treatment.
70 Variety
A frankly formulaic but raucously entertaining action comedy.
70 New York Magazine David Denby
The movie is no more than a well-produced confection designed for quick payoff in the big cities, but it's pretty consistently funny.
70 New Times (L.A.)
While there's nothing original in Rush Hour, it runs through its well-worn paces with both wit and excitement.
63 USA Today
There's a familiar feeling to the movie even beyond its twinkle-eyed martial arts melees.
60 Chicago Reader
The contrast between Tucker's motormouth and Chan's man of few words should be funnier, but the plot -- which is cliched without quite becoming self-reflexive -- and the uneven pace dampen most of their moments.
60 Salon.com
The movie seems to proceed from somebody's notion that it would be hilarious to see a black guy and a Chinese guy working together.
60 The New York Times
At regular intervals the film stops short for similiarly nifty Chan choreography, letting the star flip, swivel, scamper up walls and hurl large objects with his feet.
60 Film Threat
The stunts are great but they make sense and don't blow the sense of reality of the whole movie.
60 LA Weekly
The problem with Rush Hour is that the film isn’t a partnership, it’s a Chris Tucker movie with Chan as straight man.
50 Washington Post
A misbegotten marriage of sweet and sour.
50 TV Guide
The crime story here is lazily constructed, mostly an excuse for the give-and-take between Tucker and Chan, which is shrill and raucous without being especially clever.
50 ReelViews
A somewhat lackluster cop buddy movie that goes wrong in two big ways: (1) it fails to utilize Chan's full range of skills, relegating him to the role of a kickboxing action hero and virtually ignoring his comedic aptitude, and (2) it saddles him with a partner, played by the irritating Chris Tucker.
42 Entertainment Weekly
The two characters barely even have a relationship; they're a union of demographics--the "urban" market meets the slapstick-action market.
40 Austin Chronicle
There may be nothing new under the sun, but you can bet your life there's absolutely nothing new about Rush Hour at all.
40 The New Yorker Bruce Diones
It's not much fun to watch.

CLOSE THIS WINDOW

©2009 CNET Networks Inc. All rights reserved.