Rush Hour is a 1998 buddy-cop/comedy film and the first installment of the Rush Hour film series.
On the last night of British rulership in Hong Kong, Detective Inspector Lee (Jackie Chan), a close friend of Consul Han (Tzi Ma), confiscates stolen artifacts from Crime Lord Juntao. Six months later, Juntao abducts Consul Han's daughter Soo Yung (Julia Hsu) in Los Angeles. Lee flies in from Hong Kong to assist the FBI.
The FBI requests help from the LAPD to "babysit" Lee - who gladly use the opportunity to get rid of Detective James Carter (Chris Tucker).
The first movie was a major success and became the 7th top-grossing film of 1998, with a gross of over $141 million at the U.S. box office ($269 million when adjusted for 2019 inflation). The combination of motor-mouthed Tucker with Chan's gravity defying stunts proved to be a winning combination, in no small part due to Chan's movies being mostly comedies anyway.
This film contains examples of:
- Artistic License – Geography: A minor example — when the two visit the Chinese Theater in Hollywood, Lee ditches Carter by jumping on a tour bus going west on Hollywood Blvd. It then turns right on Orange Drive, then magically appears going northbound at Hollywood and Vine, a quarter-mile to the east.
- Bar Brawl: Lee gets into a fight with some black thugs at a bar after inadvertently calling him the "n"-word.
- Big Bad: The main antagonist of the movie is Juntao a.k.a. Thomas Griffin.
- Blatant Lies: When an undercover Carter first meets a waiting Clive, he claims to have been waiting for Clive in the back of the diner "for over an hour." Keep in mind, Clive literally just saw Carter's car pull up into the parking lot.
- Cool Car: Carter drives a black Corvette Stingray.
- Cowboy Cop: Carter is introduced as this as he is very reckless and prefers to work by the law his own way.
- Darker and Edgier: Unlike the next two films that started to get very humerous, this film is rather serious and dark compared to the next ones.
- Damsel in Distress: Soo-Yung gets kidnapped by Sang throughout the movie and Lee and Carter have to save her.
- Description Cut: Early in the first movie, Lee tries to reassure Soo Yung, who's about to leave for the United States.Lee: And don't worry. America is a very friendly place.[cut to Los Angeles]Carter: [driving recklessly] Stupid fool! Get the hell out of my way!
- The Dragon: Sang is the ruthless, Psycho for Hire second-in-command of Juntao.
- Donut Mess with a Cop: Clive insults the two patrol cops to buy donuts to shoo them away.
- Establishing Character Moment: Lee and Carter are introduced in the first film conducting police operations using varying actions with different outcomes:
- Lee stealthily boards a ship run by Juntao, quietly detaining mooks and only resorting to violence at the last resort, never once firing his sidearm; he fails to get Sang, but recovers a priceless collection of Chinese artifacts.
- Carter does a sting operation to catch an explosives/arms dealer named Clive Cod. However, not only is he late and drives recklessly to the meeting (in his own personal car, no less!), he didn't have backup or bomb squad with him, due to a personal disdain for partners and his gung-ho attitude, the cops at the diner weren't warned about the sting, meaning that Carter was probably doing this without authorization, which leads to the two cops getting maimed by Clive shooting them (one of them losing a pinky), and then Carter start taking potshots at Clive's Jaguar, which forces Clive to jump out and detonates the C4 in the trunk of the car. In the end, Carter catches the bad guy, but is in trouble afterwards for leaving two cops injured, destruction of property, and causing public endangerment for blowing up a car in the middle of busy street.
- To a degree, Sang gets his moment once he shoots Soo Yung's limo drivers and kidnaps her, causing some mood whiplash in the scene.
- Fauxshadowing: Lee being unable to shoot Sang in the latter's Establishing Character Moment scene might lead a first-time viewer to believe Lee will rectify this later. Ironically, it’s Carter who fatally shoots Sang during the climax, with an Ironic Echo of Sang’s earlier "Wipe yourself off" line.
- Gay Moment: Lee gratefully kisses Carter's cheeks a few times after he's rescued by Carter's quick thinking at the end of the first film. Carter, having just had Lee collide with his crotch, throws him off.Carter: Man, what the hell you doin'?!Lee: I was just... being polite.Carter: Well, next time, be polite to my nuts!
- It's All About Me: The FBI Agents Warren Russ and Dan Whitney only want to solve the case themselves, refuse any help from Lee and Carter and don't care if Han asked them to pay respect to Lee. This bites them in the climax when Juntao shoots at them and they nearly die.
- Laser-Guided Karma: For refusing any help from Lee and Carter as he wanted to solve the case of finding Soo Yung himself and dismissing them of the assignment, Russ gets wounded by Juntao and in the end, he gets rejected of the FBI badge he wanted to give Carter for completing the assignment.
- Priceless Ming Vase: Lee spends considerable time protecting the pottery treasures of China from damage while fighting Juntao's men — and then one of the vases gets shot.
- Would Hurt a Child: Juntao, Sang, and the rest of the Triad faction have no problem kidnapping and/or killing an 11-year-old girl for their own means.
- Would Not Hurt A Child: Lee gets Clive to talk by showing him Soo Yung's picture and telling him that all Lee cares about is saving her life.
