It’s hard to think of a sadder commentary about Hollywood’s sequel fetish than the existence of Rush Hour 3. Dull, uninspired, and redundant, this third pointless movie in an action/comedy franchise that defines mediocrity doesn’t even try to disguise the fact that its existence is a money-grab. I wasn’t a fan of either previous Rush Hour film, but neither felt as tired and obligatory as this one. Aside from some amusing scenes with Chris Tucker and a nice dj vu dance routine to “War” performed by Tucker and Jackie Chan, this movie offers nothing that wasn’t done better in the other outings featuring these mismatched buddy cops.
The wafer-thin plot has Chief Inspector Lee (Jackie Chan) protecting a Chinese diplomat during his stay in Los Angeles. He has top-secret information about the Triad crime syndicate but, before he can divulge it, he is shot. Lee, reunited with his former partner, Detective James Carter (Chris Tucker), vows to the consul’s daughter, Soo Yung (Zhang Jingchu), that he will find the man who attacked her father. To do this, Lee and Carter must pursue Triad assassin Kenji (Hiroyuki Sanada) to Paris,...