Rush Hour

Director: Jackie Chan, Brett Ratner

Cast: Jackie Chan, Chris Tucker

1998 / 98min / 35mm

When the Mariah Carey-loving daughter of the Chinese consulate in Los Angeles is kidnapped, straitlaced Hong Kong cop Jackie Chan flies into town to help with the investigation, only to be paired with Chris Tucker’s hot-dogging LAPD detective, assigned to keep this interfering outsider supercop out of the way of the FBI. A shopworn odd-couple buddy cop setup, but when you’ve got two stars with as much chemistry and charisma as Chan and Tucker, who cares? A stirring Lalo Schifrin score; rollicking, frantic Chan-choreographed fight scenes that stand alongside his best; Tucker portraying the only man in America who has never heard of Chinese food and saying things like “CIGAWEED!” This is why cinema was invented.