As far as buddy cop franchises go, Rush Hour would arguably be the most popular series of them all. The movie series featured Jackie Chan and Chris Tucker in the trilogy, where both of them were shown as polar opposites of each other. The action-comedy film was light years ahead of its time, as a result, the film earned $244 million worldwide at the Box Office.
The film had many key highlights which include the plot of the movie, the chemistry between Jackie Chan and Chris Tucker, comedic cultural misunderstandings, and well-choreographed action scenes. Since the film is majorly known for its comedic scenes and action sequences, Chris Tucker had nothing but praise for his Rush Hour co-star during an interview.
Chris Tucker Explains How Jackie Chan’s Vision Made Rush Hour So Famous
Rush Hour is the most famous movie of both Jackie Chan and Chris Tucker which solidified Chan as an action star, and Tucker as a comedic star in the industry. While the movie was praised for its plot, The Fifth Element actor praised his co-star calling him a “little genius” for his action sequences, during a 2001 interview with Los Angeles Times.
Tucker shared how the Police Story actor would arrive on the set, a day before the shoot, and he would pick up everyday objects like a broom and trash can, making the scene look simple and elegant.
“Jackie’s a little genius. He’d get there the day before and pick up a trash can and a broom and work it into the action. Then he’d tell me, ‘You do one, two, three punches’” he demonstrates with his fists “and make it so simple I looked like I knew what I was doing. I never interfered. I’d just say, ‘You work it out and call me to the set when you’re ready.”’
In an earlier interview with Los Angeles Times, Jackie Chan shared his ardent belief that his action sequences would make Rush Hour stand out from other buddy cop franchises. The Drunken Master actor shared how he asked Brett Ratner, the director of the film, to give him creative freedom for the action sequences for the first film.
“The difference is that in Rush Hour they really gave me a lot of freedom. I can control all the fighting scenes. In Lethal Weapon 4 all the fighting scenes are similar to American movies–BOOM BOOM BOOM–big explosions. So when the movie started–Rush Hour–I went to the director and said, ‘Look, you have to promise me. Fewer explosions. Less violence. Fewer gunfights. Even if you have the gunfights don’t show the blood. We want no special effects. Jackie Chan will be the special effects, doing exactly what I am doing in Asia.”
While the actor’s vision helped him in making Rush Hour one of the most popular action comedy movies in the history of Hollywood, however, he would often freak out as Chris Tucker would often improvise his dialogues in the film.
Jackie Chan Had A Hard Time Adjusting to Chris Tucker’s Improvisation
In the same interview with Chris Tucker in 2001, Brett Ratner shared that Chan had difficulty remembering his dialogues, and Tucker would often use slang. Even though they practiced beforehand, once they started to work on the scene, the same lines rarely came out, which freaked out the action star.
“Jackie has a hard enough time with his own dialogue. The way he remembers dialogue is by remembering the last word of Chris’ sentence. Ninety-nine percent of the time that word never comes. That was very hard for Jackie. It freaked him out.”
While Jackie Chan got confused during the scenes due to Chris Tucker’s tendency to improvise, it was the outstanding chemistry between the two actors which made the film so humorous and light-hearted, which made the audience enjoy the film. Moreover, the viewers could see the bond was a natural one rather than being together for the movie which helped the film to be a huge success.
Rush Hour 1 can be streamed on Netflix.
Source: Los Angeles Times
