i seem to be in a minority of one , but chris tucker's outrageous mannerisms are beginning to grow on me . when he appeared in the fifth element as an over-the-top radio dj , my senses misfired : my brain wasn't properly able to compute what i was seeing until i relaxed and had a good time . the same thing applies to rush hour , a sprightly cop-buddy movie that works by being cheerful and engaging instead of cruel and mean-spirited . don't expect it to be an immortal piece of cinema , and you'll be fine . it is also the best of the jackie chan vehicles to be produced in english so far -- it outstrips mr . nice guy by a fair margin , since that movie was little more than a weak clothesline for various action pieces . rush hour is funner and more sustained , and puts chan up against someone who is a terrific foil . the plot is standard-issue . a chinese diplomat's daughter is kidnapped by a gang of criminals . the diplomat wants to enlist the help of lee , an old cop friend of his from pre-1998 hong kong days . the fbi refuses to allow this , so they have the lapd send over one of their own to " distract " him . carter ( tucker ) catches on fast to the sleazy runaround he's been given , and tells lee off : he doesn't want to babysit a cop ; he wants to go out there and find these slimeballs . funny thing is , lee feels the same way , and before you know it , they're up to their elbows in suspects and explosives . all of this is , of course , sustained and interleaved with tucker's wild-man motormouthing ( which gets funnier and funnier the more you watch it ) and jackie's typically remarkable stuntwork . what makes all of this stand out is primarily the tone and attitude . most movies in this genre tend to be cold-blooded and unpleasant ; this one's very much a romp , with good timing and pacing , and a lot of good laughs . i'm betting jackie himself is the main reason for that , since he's professed repeatedly that he wants to make more family-oriented movies rather than john woo-style blast-fests . barely anyone gets shot , and most of the martial-arts stunts are about timing , object juggling , or three stooges-style slapstick . ( there is one stunt involving an antique vase that's vintage jackie -- although the way the stunt climaxes is a bit of a cheat . ) there is also the byplay between chan and tucker , much of which seems improvised ( or at least minimally scripted ) . at one point during a stakeout , edwin starr's " war " comes on the radio , and jackie attempts to sing along -- only to have tucker coach him on how to sing with soul . in turn , jackie teaches tucker how to do the snatch-the-other-guy's-gun trick ( and the payoff for that gag is a howl ) . my main criterion for a comedy is simple : did i laugh ? i walked into rush hour in a terrible mood , and laughed all the way through . i don't think you can reasonably expect much more than that . 
