From Jonathan Klotz
| Published
Not only has the Rush Hour trilogy stood the test of time, it has aged like a fine wine, with all three films appearing in Netflix’s top 10 at the same time. That’s an impressive feat for a film series that began in 1998 and ended in 2007, though there was a short-lived series without Chris Tucker or Jackie Chan. On the other hand, it is the incredible chemistry between the two men that turned the formulaic buddy comedy into a global blockbuster.
rush hour
rush hour has reached the highest rank Netflixmade it into the top 3 at one point and is still the top buddy comedy almost 30 years later. Chan’s by-the-book Chief Inspector Lee and Tucker’s clever LAPD detective Carter are initially brought together to keep Lee busy and away from the investigation into his friend’s missing daughter. Of course, they end up bonding over shared trauma and inappropriate singing to reluctantly save the day.
Rush hour 2
Given that the film grossed over $275 million, a sequel was inevitable, however Rush hour 2 defied expectations and became more than just a Netflix Streaming hit more than two decades later, but remains one of the best sequels of all time. Moving the action from LA to Hong Kong, Carter is now a fish out of water on Lee’s home turf, and the result is a sequel that hits just the right beat. This time they stop a counterfeiting ring, and the rich white man Carter knew was behind it has even more of the same charm as he did in the first film.
Rush hour 3
Rush hour 3The lowest ranked film on Netflix, it is the weakest entry in the series, but that still makes it an exceptional buddy comedy. Lee and Carter have accepted the strange friendship between them as they take on the Chinese mafia, and not even Lee’s old childhood friend can stand between them at this point. It says a lot about the strength of a franchise when the worst-performing film still grosses $275 million worldwide.
The last of the buddy comedies
A quarter rush hour has been in the works for years, with Chris Tucker talking about it in 2019 and Jackie Chan confirming it wasn’t in production until 2022, but at that point they might as well make a move Beverly Hills police officer and make it a Netflix original. Movies have changed since the pair first hit the screen together, and now buddy cop action comedies, once a Hollywood staple, have fallen out of favor. Unexplored tried to bring her back Tom Holland and Mark Wahlberg, but we’re a long way from the days when Jimmy Fallon and Queen Latifah could star together in a big-budget buddy comedy.
Thanks to changing film preferences, Netflix’s Rush Hour trilogy is an entertaining throwback to the kind of films Hollywood no longer produces. Chris Tucker and Jackie Chan also started out as co-workers who didn’t really like each other, as evidenced by the special features of the DVD and their countless interviews together, and then became friends who traveled the world together. If Rush hour 4 will happen, it can’t get here soon enough.
