Jackie Chan simply amazes me! Even at age 53, he displays remarkable physical ability in Rush Hour 3.  Of course, he’s not the dynamo seen in earlier films, but he’s still fun to watch -- especially in a couple of well-choreographed stunts and action sequences here. It's also a treat to hear Chan sing while making an entrance from a swing onto a Paris nitery stage!  Too bad this third Rush Hour outing features so much racist and sexist humor. The film's mean-spirited approach disappointed me, but because I’m an avid Jackie Chan fan, I hate to complain.  

Chan and Chris Tucker again play those mismatched crime fighters Inspector Lee and LAPD Detective Carter. Their latest adventure takes them to Paris, France, where they must find secret information about the nefarious Chinese Triads. In the process, they become involved with a mysterious night club performer named Genevieve (Noeme Lenoir), an athletic Triad assassin (Youki Kudoh), an estranged friend or “brother” from Lee’s past (Hiroyuki Sanada), an important World Court official (Max Von Sydow), a sadistic French policeman (Roman Polanski), and a cab driver (Yvan Attal) who claims to hate Americans.

As in most Jackie Chan movies, the plot takes a back seat to stunts and action. Two of these segments showcase Chan almost as well as any I’ve seen before. Yes, he’s slowed down a bit, but in a humorous fight with a powerful Chinese giant, Chan projects the combination of comedy and martial arts that’s made him so popular with his many admirers.  And the exciting Eiffel Tower sequence definitely caused my heart to beat faster. I even had a scary dream about falling from that French landmark the night after seeing Rush Hour 3.  

What doesn’t work so well this time is Chris Tucker’s annoying sing-song voice and stereotypical portrayal of the loud, fast-talking Carter. There’s only so much one can take where this character is concerned, and Rush Hour 3 exceeds that limit. In fact, I can’t remember laughing at anything Tucker said or did in this movie, and his constant insulting remarks about women and all things French became quite irritating. Also hard to swallow is Attal’s changeable cab driver who finally decides he wants to be like an American so he can kill someone. Funny? Not to me or to anyone else in the audience at the screening I attended. 

Most of the time while watching Rush Hour 3, I couldn’t help longing for another one of those hilarious Jackie Chan/Owen Wilson Shanghai movies. We’ve had Shanghai Noon and Shanghai Knights, so why not Shanghai Dawn? Since "threequels" seem to be all the rage now, I say bring it on -- and the sooner the better.

(Released by New Line Cinema and rated “PG-13” for sequences of action violence, sexual content, nudity and language.) 

Listen to Betty Jo discuss Rush Hour 3 with Adam Hakari on BlogTalkRadio by clicking here.