Rush Hour
1998/97 mins.
Released by New Line Cinema
Rated PG-13
Starring Jackie Chan, Chris Tucker, Chris Penn, and Elizabeth
Pena
Directed by Brett Ratner
Format: Single Sided/Dual Layered; Film is presented in
Widescreen format
Reviewed by Robby Cox
E-mail koi@magicnet.net
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Opening Remarks: I'll say it again I love Jackie Chan films. Rush
Hour looked very interesting and I must admit that I watched the
trailer, found on the Mr. Nice Guy DVD, over and over. So the day
of this disc's release, I ran to the store and bought it.
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Movie Quality: Rush Hour leaves me a little torn between two
sides. On one side, this is probably the best written Jackie Chan
film that I have seen, but it's certainly not the best Jackie
Chan film that I have ever seen. The plot is great and as I said
the writing is good, but the fights and especially the stunts
leave a lot to be desired. Think about Jackie's landmark stunts
like the bus chase in Police Story, the helicopter ride in
Supercop, the falling building in Project A II, the clock stunt
in Project A, the fiery coals fight in Drunken Master 2, and how
about the saw fighting scene in Mr. Nice Guy. These are awesome,
now think about the stuff in Rush Hour...Do you remember anything
that even remotely comes close? No. Now don't get me wrong, Rush
Hour is an enjoyable romp and it is very funny. Chris Tucker is
hilarious but Jackie Chan plays a rather robotic role just about
like Sammo Hung's role on Martial Law. This is not the best role
for Mr. Chan. Let me make this clear, this is a great movie. It's
just not a great Jackie Chan movie.
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Video Quality: This disc looks great. New Line always does a
great job with their DVDs and this disc is no exception. The
video is clear and crisp and the colors are nice and bright. The
film is presented in it's original Widescreen theatrical aspect
ratio of 2.35:1 and it looks very nice. I just read that director
Brett Ratner spent weeks fine tuning the transfer and I think
that it shows.
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Sound Quality: This disc sounds outstanding. The music is loud
and clear, but never gets in the way of the dialogue. The sound
fx are great and the surround fx are very nice.
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Extras: This disc is a New Line Platinum Series disc and it
shows. This disc has an Audio Commentary by the director Brett
Ratner, an Isolated Score and Commentary Track by the composer
Lalo Schifrin, quite a few Deleted scenes, Behind The Scenes
Featurette, Cast & Crew Biographies and Filmographies,
Original Theatrical Trailer, Brett Ratner's Student Film
"Whatever Happened To Mason Reece" with a Commentary
Track, a Brett Ratner Amateur Film with a Commentary Track(This
short film is hidden and will require you to play around with the
title button on your remote control), 2 Music Videos with
Commentary Tracks-Dru Hill "How Deep Is Your Love" and
Heavy D "Nothin' But Love". That's a lot of extras for
a realtively cheap disc($20). These extras definitely make this
disc something special.
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Improve: Let Jackie do more wild stuff in the sequel.
RIYL: Here are some classic Jackie Chan films-Project A II, City
Hunter, Rumble In The Bronx, Supercop, Police Story, Police Story
2, Jackie Chan's First Strike, Dragons Forever, Wheels On Meals,
Armor Of God, Jackie Chan's Who Am I?, and Mr. Nice Guy.
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Overall Opinion: As I stated earlier, don't check this movie out
to see a cool Jackie Chan film, becuase you will be disappointed.
It is a great movie, but I've seen better Jackie Chan films. This
disc is a winner because the film looks and sounds great and
there is also a wealth of supplements that will keep you busy for
quite a while. This disc is a must own.
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Movie Quality: *****
Video Quality: *****
Sound Quality: *****
Extras: *****
Personal Opinion: *****
Total: 25 out of 25
Final Score: 100 %