6 Reasons Why Rush Hour 3 is Bad (And Why I Still Like It) | Video Essay 

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The Yu and Mi joke will never get old. The Rush Hour trilogy is an absolute hood classic.

"i'm not your brother? All the stuff we've been through? Rush Hour 1 and Rush Hour 2?" And then both Jackie and Tucker proceed to crack, laugh and cheer together. This bloop is so ingrained in my memory, and that perfectly summs why Rush Hour trilogy is one of my most watched Jackie movies. They are having fun, both taking frontstage without overshadowing one another. Rush Hour 3 might be the worse of the three, but it still a good send off for the trilogy.

Rush Hour ALMOST had a perfect trilogy. But even with a soft blemish that is RH3, the movie still has enough memorable, quotable and iconic moments, that it earned my very rare certified approval stamp of being *"The most rewatchable and will never get old movie trilogies of all time".*

There are 4 ways to enjoy a movie imo. Because it's genuinely good, because it's so bad it's good, because it's just plain fun, and because it's just so over the top that you have to see it. I consider RH3 to be the third one.

"Is it a good movie? Not really - but it can still be a good time" As someone who grew up watching, dreading and loving Bollywood movies on TV, this is so incredibly relatable and true. You get it, as always. And great video, as always!

Brett Ratner is 100% to blame for overly favoring Chris Tucker's standup material over Jackie Chan's action. In a behind-the-scenes interview for RH2, he said that he was always there to "sit on" Jackie's creativity b/c he believes that Americans don't like long fight scenes, and he thinks that's why Chan's Hong Kong movies weren't huge hits in the US. Mind you, he made those claims after The Matrix (choreographed by Yuen Woo-ping) had already proven him wrong, and Quentin Tarantino was in the process of making Kill Bill (also w/ Woo-ping). Hence, this franchise could've been way better if Ratner actually respected JC's art.

Carter becoming more sleazy makes sense now that we know more about director Brett Ratner.

I think my biggest problem is reconning Lee's upbringing. Suddenly, Lee has a Japanese brother that they were in an orphanage together?? Wait, the first two movies had such a focus on Lee's father, and we presumed that it was his real father. No mention of him being adopted, much less him and some Japanese kid who must have left the family to go into a life of crime while Lee followed into the life of a policeman like his dad. It had NO reason to be his "brother". Why couldn't it have been like an ex partner or something? Would have been much simpler.

By the end of the movie, I actually felt bad for the Cab Driver and what he had become

Rush Hour 3 is a mad movie with good parts in it. Rush Hour 2 is still the best of the series.

The montage about them ordering fried chicken and a takeaway was hilariously over the top. I have such a big love of jackie chan

The ‘Rush Hour’ series is a guilty pleasure honestly. Thoroughly unhinged 🔥

The racial stereotype montage when they departed was the funniest thing ever lolll

Your comment about the color is so definitively the late aughts hahaha. Like, I'm 100% in agreement with you. It creates imbalance compared to the other two movies due to how overly punched up it is. The same problem affected Sam Raimi's Spider-man 3. That movie had such intense color grading compared to what came before it (which may have been tweaked digitally but was still very much in camera/a film stock thing) that it made it look jarring.

Say what you want about rush hour, it’s one of the funniest Buddy cop sagas ever. Chris and Jackie really were the perfect odd couple and it made for such memorable moments, man.

I think you hit the nail on the head. Part 3 feels a bit more tired and at times like it’s “going through the motions (especially with Lee’s part) and it feels like a waste of Hiroyuki Sanada… but the jokes are still funny and the whole movie is carried by Chan and Tucker’s chemistry. Though you’re also right about how knowing about the director now makes some bits feel really off, especially the Polanski bit which becomes even more uncomfortable knowing more about what he did.

"Scan it into a computer. Mess up the colour, and then shat it back onto film for exhibition." Bro. LMFAO! 😂😂😂😂

Best bits from each movie from my opinion: Rush Hour 1: the last 20 minutes, the whole movie is actually pretty good but the ending in the museum is just pure cinema. Jackie is in his Element making him look like a badass, while Carter and the little girl bluff the terrorists to blow up the building while she’s wears the bomb vest, the cemetery is too funny. Rush Hour 2: not as good as the first one but still good for it’s time. Chris Tucker performing in the nightclub is just one of the best moments of this movie, love the scene and gets better over time knowing Chris and Michael where best friends. Lee thinking Carter is dead and ends up with Carter running around Hong Kong with a chicken he didn’t want to killed is pretty funny. Also Carters also scene at the casino is just too funny as well while playing roulette. Rush Hour 3: thought it was good when I first watched it (back when I was a child in 07/08) now looking back it’s a bit of a dead movie but still good in some aspects. Both actors especially Chris seem to have beefed out a bit considering in the movie universe it’s only 2 years after the 2nd movie. The whole fight scene in the Eiffel Tower is good. Chris making the taxi driver sing the American national anthem and the whole dojo ME/YOU/HIM skit is pretty good. Overall can’t wait for Rush Hour 4

The point about the color grading and camera work around 4:37 is more likely a testament to how films were shot like 2004-2007. Tons of films around then had that same sort of grading, some even being sequels themselves like 28 Weeks Later.

I'm glad we can all love something and acknowledge its many many flaws. ❤ - Terrence

My family still enjoy this movie whenever it plays on TV , This movie works cause even if it feels off to see Jackie in Supp role after being a big star but surprising it fits cause we as the audience have been with Duo from 1 so it more like a guilty pleasure for us. A bad movie can be fun if the actors are having fun with script cause that is the energy that the audience is expecting from the actors.

0:08 I feel so old

You have to take in Jackie's age he's born in 1954. When Rush Hour in came out in 1998 he was 44 but by the time Rush Hour 3 came out in 2007 he's 53 a nine year difference. This year he'll be 70.

There's one film I'd love to see your take on - 1997's Warriors Of Virtue, a US Martial Arts Fantasy film directed by Ronny Yu, centered on Chinese Philosophy, filmed and written like a late 80's Wuxia flick (in fact it even homages Wuxia manhua in the opening), very competently choreographed but very post-Power Rangers in tone and overall just bizarrely put together. I think there's a LOT one could say about it.

Love your videos!!!❤❤ Thanks for all the efforts you put in them

This is the same reason why I love Mortal Kombat. It isn't a perfect film, but it had so much heart you can't help but smile watching the movie.

Why you get make me feel old😂 I was a big kung-fu action movie fan as a little kid, and the Rush Hour Trilogy has a special place in my heart! Problematic 90s dialog and all!

The 2nd movie had a massage parlor where Carter literally picked out the girls he wanted to touch him, but the 3rd movie felt much more uncomfortably pervy, skeevy, and horny about it somehow

Yay! You're back. And you made me nostalgic for this merry trainwreck. Gonna see if I can find it steaming somewhere.

Great analysis. You've helped me articulate my own feelings about the movie, because I feel very similarly. I see a Rush Hour marathon in my near future, now that you've reminded me how much I've enjoyed rewatching them over the years.

Honestly I think it's straight up good, it's really funny and the action while not great, it's fine. The whole trilogy is a blast, it's amazing.

shanghai knights was my go to bedtime movie, must have watched it 20 times at least, sad we never got a trilogy

I love all Rush Hour movies even 3...the Yu and Mi joke is brilliant 😅

Great video! I am happy you bought up some of the forced humor in this film. Even as a 10 year old watching this film, some of the jokes just made me smirk but did not make me laugh. Loved watching this trilogy growing up. I watched Rush Hour 3 a lot even on DVD. The first Rush Hour was what helped me learn how to speak English. No joke. I think my favorite is definitely Rush Hour 2 though for the action scenes, the humor especially Carter. Oh and don't forget the bloopers after each movie. Equally hilarious and you can just see the cast and crew having fun shooting the film and making mistakes look funny. "I always dreamed to Square Marden" lives in my head continuously.

I love your videos, so honest and so smart. Keep doing it. Thanks.

Very well-made points all around on a guilty pleasure movie... I don't think I've rolled my eyes quite so hard as when they tried to remake Who's on First mid-film. That said, every time there is a rumor of Rush Hour 4 coming out I am torn between remembering some of the lows of 3 and highs of the series as a whole. That said, would love to see the characters get a proper send-off in one last ride if it was handled well..

I liked that you put the Chinese titles in the transitions, way to represent! Great analysis as always

Oh man, I had actually forgotten about how the color in movies of this period used to Look Like That... and I can't say I appreciate the reminder.

Bro, I'd love to see you cover more Hollywood films like Big Trouble in Little China, The Golden Child and The Last Dragon.

I knew someone who was so obsessed with this I had to go to the cinema three times with them to see it, I don't think they even saw the original films. I mean granted at the time I found it funny and it introduced me to Jackie Chan so there was that...

if you see behind the scenes of that backstage scene, Chris Tucker himself is questioning the "humor" of the dialogue and situation that's blurted out casully by Brett Ratner. Tucker even calls out Ratner in that moment.

I remember around last year, my father and I would always joke about putting on Rush Hour while we ate dinner, cause there was ALWAYS some channel that was airing it.

Yeah this movie might be bad but it's a classic. Really loved the comedy and action and it's just engrained with great memories.

Please speak on Jackie's new movie, Ride On... I watched it, I loved it, and I would now like an Accented perspective on it😅...thnx Also... loved all 3 RUSH HOURS, from the Mariah Carey-oke, to the "my best friend just died" head-bobbing, to the Xiōngdì from another Mǔqīn energy!!!

Considering its the third movie and both protagonists are thoroughly established, makes 100% sense seeing how their characteristics rub of on each other which also legitimizes their previous experiences together. Both characters have flaws that have been overcomed and a few that stayed and ended up being amplified. Such a thing is kinda true to life for some people, pretty hard to pull of without flanderizing the characters, so props to the actor performance but also to the writers! I love how this explains what puzzled me for a while, this entry focuses on being a good sequel not on being a stand alone story...And it does that really well actually! ngl, I learn a lot here!

So when are you going to collaborate with fiq the signifier?

Can you do a video about Bruceploitation?

At 11:21 I believe there was a last part of the scene where when they escape with the girl, another set comes on and it’s basically naked woman. Isn’t that the costume carter chose?

What is the song at 0:12?

I love RH3 I know is not the best of the three but you can still feel brotherhood in the movie.

Great video. I could never figure out why I didn’t like it as much as the first 2 but yet still enjoyed, especially on the 2nd watch. The jokes did feel forced into the plot and Jackie didn’t seem to be doing as much fighting (though age could be a factor). But when I stopped comparing it to first 2, it’s an enjoyable movie with flaws.

I used to have a copy of the rush hours movies on vhs when I was a kid. My mom didn't have cable so I'd watch them all at least once when I was over at her house. She was so annoyed by it but I always laughed at the cheesy skits and jokes, and the fact that the actors all seemed to have great chemistry was what really made it work. No matter how dumb the scene or the lines, it all worked together. And the bloopers at the end were my favorite parts! It's hardly lost on me that the movies aren't good. But as you said, it not being a good movie doesn't mean it's not a good time. The movies didn't take themselves too seriously which allowed the viewers to look at them and laugh at the ridiculous situations and interactions.

Video Idea! Hello Accented Cinema :) You should analyze / compare Desperado 1995 to Chow Yun-Fat. What does the movie get right and what it does wrong.

As far as action is concerned - I think the scene where they're in a taxi chased by motorbikes was one of a kind. Thanks for the info in 4:27 - that explains a lot why so many movies I know from that period looked so weird.

This might be the most i'd be excited for Rush Hour 4, waiting for your vid essay on it once it's out. Never went back to rewatch Rush Hour 3 as I definitely hated it on my 1st watch (and then Brett being outed as another epstein level abuser made it hard to rewatch even the 1st 2 rush hours for me). But this essay still gave me stuff to think about 👍

"What's up with the color?" That's one hell of a question to take out of context

You can ask me what I remember about Rush Hour 1 and 2 and I'll give you many memorable scenes. But when it comes to Rush Hour 3, it's the Yu and Mi scene and nothing else. I won't remember anything else mainly cause I saw the film from beginning to end once on television when a channel aired the trilogy on a Saturday.

Please do a video essay on Shunji Iwai

After watching back the first two films, I realized that Rush Hour 3 was definitely not as good as a movie But as a sequel to the first two, it works so well

thx for the video, as a french(and living in paris, so yes some french people are looking your videos), I was a bit desipointed, the movie was not so good, but like you, I still enjoy it. They try to do it in paris, so I could be beantiful and a bit exotic for the both caracters, I am not so sure it was a god idea.

I want to get into Thai comedy because of Pee Mak that you recommended, do you know of movies that are similar in the comedy?

They don't make movies like the Rush Hour series anymore. I really miss these types of films.

I love the Rush Hour movies. Grew up on this. Watched it purely for Jackie!

Bro, could you please make a review of the animation 长安三万里？I was pleasantly surprised and deeply moved by the movie.

Still haven’t watched RH3 yet, but the original RH holds a special place in my heart because my dad I watched it with my older brother for his birthday way back when while we were visiting him at college. They’ve both since departed and even though I now know what a creep Brett Rattner is, I can’t impeach RH1. I was way more disappointed with RH2, particularly since I had looked forward to Zhang Ziyi being in Hollywood. Shanghai Knights became my preferred JC American Sequel.

They are making a 4th one right, you should make a video about your expectations for that one.

I’m sorry but I thought ‘The Tuxedo’ and ‘The Medallion’ were fun! Maybe I’m biased and it would air a lot on TV.

They were just pure crazy fun! Jackie Chan giving those comedic action stunts that impressed and amused me. While Chris Tucker was just funny as hell. And their odd bromance was the coolest.

No way the Chelsea Clinton line was ad libbed. He messes up the line a bunch of times in the outtakes. Also, no mention of the French taxi driver? Best character in the movie.

You did NOT have to start off the video like that. 16 already?! Good lord. I was renting that in what feels like a couple years ago.

so should we have hope for the 4th?

Great video as always. However, i think youre giving the last scene about the costumes too much credit. Im pretty sure the costumes in the scene with Genevieve werent the ones designed by Carter, its the skimpy American bikini outfits after Genevieve's scene that Carter designed

I find Jackie's movies quite fun regardless how ridiculous are some of these. The only one I hated most is his movie "Killer Meteor", though.

Can you please make a review about Kundun 1997

Great Essay, but one thing you got wrong (in this video at least): Carter aka Bubbles chose the American outfits and made the women do the almost robotic army march. This was a nice touch, because he was confronted with so much of the French culture and clashed with it, and he wanted to show it to them by giving them what they (the French) seemingly hated. This is probably a nod to the scene with the taxi driver that said he hated America and all it facets.

What college you went to? We might be alumni

I remember the short trend that went around with Jackie bothering Chris to make RH4 with him.

The cab driver saved them at the End. He’s the True Hero of the movie!

I think Jackie isn't as good as the sidekick in a pair because of one facet of his character persona. He can do the nigh impossible, but he always looks a little overwhelmed by the world. Pair him with a smooth overconfident "fake it til you make it" type and it works, IF Jackie is the one driving the plot. This tone is wrong if Jackie is the hypercompetent sidekick (Porky Pig to Daffy Duck in later "Loony Toons"), that works best with the competence balanced with wide-eye innocence. We can believe lead Jackie would let his fool buddy tag along, but he wouldn't be fooled for a minute. Jackie may be the inheritor of Buster Keaton, but he can't do Harry Langdon, that just doesn't work.

The Rush Hour Trilogy also gave me a lot of knowledge. For example, now I know that French Womrn are naked 34% of the time

I think it's a counter point to the first movie. In his hometown a great man is often not.

So, 2007 had ‘Mr. Bean’s Holiday’ and ‘Rush Hour 3’. In 2006, there was ‘The Pink Panther’ (which was supposed to have Jackie Chan AND Steve Martin). French settings back to back. Idk I’m just drawing a pattern.

Fun Movie does not really need to be good. Examples? Who Kills Captain Alex Gotta say with a bad CGI,Angle and story the film still be enjoyable because of it, that maked it more enjoyable if you know behind the scene of the film

the Chelsea line wasn't improvised.. he had to redo it muliple times because he didn't know Chelsea's name. I personally never got any this watching the movie... it played out as Jackie being in a crossroads with his life due to failure and he was tired of Carter's shit just like a brother. The point was that Carter was his brother without Jackie even knowing. With Carter embracing the culture of his brother so he can learn more about him and be closer, which is actually something Jackie never took the time to do. And calling his club scene uneven is weird.. and not true because it played on what we already knew about Carter from previous movies. So it would make sense that the girls come out in MJ attire.. Not to be rude.. but sometime I feel Film students make the worst critics. Because the subtly and nuances of the performance and story being told are missed in favor of pointing out comedy they didn't feel landed, or an editing choice sometimes missing the very thing a scene was shot in a way to show. More importantly trying to compare a Jackie Chan directed action movie to one where he is just a part of is an unfair comparison in any regard.

Love all these films equally man always such a joy to watch

I still like Rush Hour 3, however Rush Hour 2 is still KING!!

Tucker pulling out the towel and then looking at the chinese villian's pee pee and saying " No wonder you mad!" is😂 the funniest thing i ever saw on the screen

This makes me want to watch the trilogy again😊

I don't think I ever seen Rush Hour 3, I don't think I even knew they made a third one. I clearly remember the first two but have no memories of this movie.

Let's face it. The Rush Hour trilogy is the best Buddy Cop movies I've ever seen. Jackie Chan and Chris Tucker & their brotherhood chemistry are awesome and comedic. That Yu & Mi scene in Rush Hour 3 never gets old. 😆😂🤣

Roman Polanski shows up as a customs agent who fingers the protagonists

I did like Jackie Chan Holywood movies when they were released in the cinema, but they aged badly for me. In his other movies there would be a large arena of fighting and things happening, but in Hollywood it would be close ups and if 4 seconds elapsed there would be a cut. It works great if you need to compensate certain skills from actors. But I just don´t enjoy fights that look / feel "bad".

the ending sums it all up for me. Lee and Carter save the day, punch out that prick french police chief, and they walk off to War doing the stride from Rush Hour 1

Chris Tucker made this film for me. I actually found it unironically hilarious because of his one-liners.

ONE OF THE BEST MOVIE TRILOGIES WITH A HILARIOUS FIGHT SCENES EVER, LOL! 👮👊💥🎬🎥👌😂

The 90s had so much actor charisma. Thats why those bloopers were so great. Bloopers now are literally just bad takes from mid actors

I haven't watched 3 in aaaages, but while less good i do remember it fondly, i would watch it again.

The first movie i watched and finished as a kid. Once it ended I Was JACKIE chan and life long obsession with Marial arts, action and comedy movies begun.

Why did Chris Tucker stop making movies after this? And yeah I agree but why did he stop? Honestly I'm glad he did before he could become a meme