All about Rush Hour

It all began when the fastest hands of the East met the biggest mouth of the West in 1998. The movie Rush Hour broughtHong Kong martial-art super star Jackie Chan and Chris Tucker together for the first time. Rush Hour is a buddy cop movie. Before Rush Hour, many successful buddy cop movie were made in Hollywood.Lethal Weapon is the most successful movie in this genre. This movie has three sequels.

The main characters of Rush Hour:
James Carter (Chris Tucker) an LA cop, street smart, talks fast and good with guns. On the contrary, inspector Lee, a Hong Kong detective, is a very gentle and polite fellow but can be very fast and lethal when situation requires.

Synopsis of Rush Hour:
When Soo Yung, the daughter of Chinese consul, Han, is kidnapped, he calls inspector Lee (Jackie Chan) for help. The kidnapper is a Chinese gangster who is demanding a huge ransom for consul’s daughter. When Lee reaches America he meets detective James Carter (Chris Tucker). Carter is a fast talker, street smart detective and his main problem is that he does not like to work with partners because his father, who was also a police officer, was killed because his partner did not come to help him. He had a bad reputation in his department. The FBI was handling Han’s case and they did not want any kind of interference. So they told Carter to keep Lee away. In the beginning, the two did not like each other but gradually they become friends. At the end of the movie, Carter saves Lee’s life.

Business:
The making of the movie cost $35 million. On the opening weekend, it collected $33,001,803 and in USA it did business of $141,186,864. It collected $245,300,000 world wide.

Trivia:

Rush Hour was the 7th top grossing movies of 1998.
Many critics claimed that this movie has been inspired from Lethal Weapon.
Jackie Chan was not praised for his performance. However, Chris Tucker's comic performance was highly acclaimed.
For his character, Chris Tucker used a modified version of standard Beretta 92 pistol.
In the movie,James Carter rides a black Corvette convertible.
The movie was nominated for Grammy Awards in Best Instrumental Composition category.
Chris Tucker was nominated for Kid’s Choice Awards in 1999.

Awards:

1999 ALMA Awards
1999 BMI Film and TV Awards
1999 Blockbuster Entertainment Awards
1999 Bogey Awards (Germany)
1999 Golden Screen (Germany}
1999 MTV Movie Awards

Rush Hour 2 synopsis:

Revolving around the Chinese underground, Rush Hour 2 provides another big punch. Carter is now enjoying a vacation in China with Lee. Their vacation is interrupted when Lee is assigned to investigate the American Embassy bomb blast case. The two then run into the Chinese underworld known as the Triads. Ricky Tan, the present leader of the Triads, was in police force and he was the partner of Lee’s father. Ricky Tan killed Lee's father. So, it becomes personal for Lee. The two then follow Ricky Tan in his personal boat. A gun fight breaks out and Ricky Tan is killed by his assistant. Carter then tells Lee about his suspicion about Steven Reign, the hotel billionaire who was also present at the shoot out. Carter seemed to be right and they find out that Steven and Ricky are engaged in money laundering business. The final show down takes place in Las Vegas Red Dragon Casino.

Business:
Released in August 2001, Rush Hour 2 cost $90 million and it earned $67million in the first week of its release. In

USA

the movie collected $226 million and $347 million world wide.

Trivia:

Rush Hour 2 was the fourth top grossing movie of 2001.
Except Lee and Carter none of the actors of Rush Hour appeared in this sequel.
In one of the scenes of the movie, we see James Carter (Chris Tucker) singing "Don’t Stop ‘Til You Get Enough." This is a hit track of Michael Jackson.
In the last action scene prop cash was shown flying out of the window. Though fake, the bystanders kept those and spent them. They were so real that the studio was told not to produce them again.
The chips used in gambling scenes became a major collection items for movie fans and game fans.
Rush Hour 2 is the first movie of Chinese actress Zhang Ziyi. In this movie, she plays the character of a female assassin, Hu Li. Her role demanded serious physical flexibility and lots of martial art moves. Zhang Ziyi studied in dance school . She also studied gymnastics.
Zhang Ziyi does not know English. In the movie, she only speaks two sentences.
The Red Dragon Casino of Las Vegas is actually Desert Inn Hotel and Casino. For the movie, the hotel was redesigned and after the completion of the shooting it was replaced by Wynn Las Vegas resort.
While shooting in China, many Chinese people mistook Chris for famous basketball player Kobe Bryant.