Rush Hour 3

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After an assassination attempt is made on the Chinese ambassador's life, Inspector Lee (Chan) and Detective Carter (Tucker) must travel to Paris to find answers that seem to lie within the dangerous hierarchy of the Triads. Opening with Chris Tucker shamelessly mugging for laughs, it sees him demoted to traffic warden in what is ostensibly a precedent for what's to come. Rush Hour 3 is not just the worst film of the franchise so far, but quite probably director Brett Ratner's weakest film yet. The first two Rush Hour movies had a certain appeal to them; sure, they were far from perfect and completely derivative of far superior films (Beverly Hills Cop), but they exuded a refreshing air of unpretentiousness and worked in a mindless, popcorn-chewing manner - basically, films designed to fill multiplexes, at which they succeeded. This time around, the fish out of water scenario that dominated the first two (first Chan in LA, then Tucker in Hong Kong) has grown tired as they both play the tourist in a blandly-filmed Paris, full of American-hating cab drivers and beautiful showgirls. Cliches in the third instalment of an action franchise will come as a surprise to few, but that they are the same cliches from the first two films will leave you scratching your head incredulously as to how Tucker came back for this script, having purportedly turned down numerous other (presumably worse) drafts. While Tucker's brash improvisation fails to amuse, and Chan's action set pieces don't draw anything resembling the gasps they used to, the blame for failure here lies firmly behind the camera. Brett Ratner again gives the impression (after X-Men 3) that he has merely switched the camera on and told everybody to just get on with it. There's an incessant feeling of a directionless ship - evident not just in the limp comedy and generic action, but also in a plot that struggles with the fundamentals. The infectious energy of the first two films is all but a distant memory, as even the outtakes during the closing credits feel forced and overly back-slapping. If it's comedy you want, wait for Knocked Up. If it's action you're after, Bourne is a much more satisfying alternative.