Rush Hour 3: A Familiar Recipe in a New City
“Rush Hour 3” continues the comedic action saga of the unlikely duo: a black cop and a Chinese cop. This time, Detectives Lee (Jackie Chan) and Carter (Chris Tucker) find themselves at odds when Lee’s long-lost “brother” emerges, though not quite as amicable.
However, the rift between these crime-fighting partners can’t last long amidst the hostile and xenophobic atmosphere of Paris. In this third installment, the action moves from Los Angeles and Hong Kong to the City of Lights.
While the location changes in “Rush Hour,” the core elements remain largely the same. The duo heads to Paris after capturing a Chinese Triad member who refuses to speak anything but French. A conveniently available nun offers to translate the interrogation. Even to a French language novice, it’s clear the gangster is spewing profanities, but the nun’s translation renders every phrase as, “He says, ‘Don’t kill me!’”
After overcoming this linguistic hurdle and extracting the name “Genevieve,” they face another at the Parisian airport. Here, they encounter a police commissioner played by Roman Polanski (his first American film role in 15 years, since “Back in the USSR,” and only his second in 33 years, after “Chinatown” (1974)). The commissioner arrests the duo and gleefully suspends them by their handcuffs, interrogating them about their weapons. When they remain silent, he dons rubber gloves and says, “Welcome to Paris.”
The torture’s outcome is left to the imagination (the Farrelly brothers didn’t direct “Rush Hour,” after all), but the heroes clearly struggle to sit afterward. Hobbling to a taxi, they encounter a xenophobic driver who refuses to serve Americans, blaming them for violence and trouble. He even takes a jab at Hollywood before Carter pulls a gun and forces him to sing the American anthem.
Parisian Landmarks and Stunts
Other Parisian landmarks featured in “Rush Hour 3” include the Folies Bergère cabaret, where one of the beautiful conspirators works. A shootout erupts on stage during a performance, forcing both heroes to sing a few verses. Jackie Chan even makes a cautious descent onto the stage via swing. And, of course, no trip to Paris is complete without the Eiffel Tower, from which the two friends fall in the finale, using the French flag as an improvised parachute.
Box Office Success and Unequal Pay
Jackie Chan and Chris Tucker proved to be a formidable box office duo, achieving success they might not have found individually. “Rush Hour 2” (2001) still holds the record for the highest-grossing action-comedy film. This success allowed Chris Tucker to command a top-tier Hollywood salary of $25 million, despite having starred almost exclusively in the “Rush Hour” films.
Meanwhile, Jackie Chan, who endures the physical punishment, earns a comparatively lower $15 million. After sustaining more injuries during filming, he might rightfully question the fairness of the arrangement when negotiating a potential “Rush Hour 4.”