DVD
REVIEW: RUSH HOUR 3
(2 DISC PLATINUM SERIES)
12/20/07
There are a lot of
people in the world that laugh so hard or for so long that
tears come out of their eyes. I’m one of those people. It is
probably a good way to measure the quality of a comedy.
Well, a tear or two had to be wiped from my eyes during this
film. Keep in mind though my disclaimer. I have mentioned
before that I have a very open sense of humor. Almost
anything comical will make me laugh. In addition, I’m a fan
of Chris Tucker and I enjoyed the first two Rush Hours. So
do the math. I will tell you this, if you liked the other
Rush Hours, you will most definitely enjoy watching this
one. I know what you’re thinking . . . How could a third
release in THIS series be any good at this point? Well, I
went in with that very thought and I left convinced that
this is another great production. Granted, it follows the
same formula as the others but it just works. It has Chris
Tucker being Chris Tucker as far as comedy, Jackie Chan
being Jackie Chan as far as action and martial arts, the
camaraderie between the two, their rebellious nature and
determination to solve the case, the good action scenes and
fight sequences, gorgeous women, cool cars, and beautiful
locations. It was a lot of fun. There is a particular fight
scene on the Eiffel Tower that had me squirming in my chair
and filled me with goose bumps.
Consul Han (Tzi Ma) and Soo Yung (Jingchu Zhang) are back
from the first Rush Hour and once again they get Chief
Inspector Lee (Jackie Chan) and Detective James Carter
(Chris Tucker) wrapped up in another case. As Han is about
to reveal a valuable secret about the Triads to the world
police, an assassination attempt on Han puts Lee and Carter
on the case and up against the Triad nation. The
investigation takes them to Paris and that’s where the fun
really begins.
Chris and Jackie have kept this franchise alive as only they
can. What a combination. In the midst of a somewhat
predictable and loosely presented plot, they keep you going
with their performances. I am a firm believer that Chris is
an underrated, underused talent that should be doing a whole
lot more than he is. For example, many of you may agree that
he is a lot funnier than the other Chris, Rock, and yet Mr.
Rock is a lot more active. The mysteries of the universe
still amaze me. When it comes to Mr. Chan, this guy is the
Chinese Dick Clark . . . he just doesn’t age and he’s still
got it and can still do it. He might be a tad slower now but
that just means that you can keep up with the action better.
If you follow basketball, you’ll get a “kick” out of a small
role by Sun Ming Ming. Not too bad for the 7’9” giant.
Noémie Lenoir (Genevieve) is drop dead gorgeous and can melt
any man with just one look. She fit her role quite nicely.
Writer Jeff Nathanson (Rush Hour 2) returned and rose to the
challenge of making this 3 installment fresh and funny. Even
though at times it was a little cheesy, and Detective Carter
just can’t be taken seriously, overall I give props to Jeff
for a job well done. Director Brett Ratner (Rush Hour 1 and
2) also returned and rose to the challenge. It must have
taken a lot of guts to decide to do number three. I honestly
thought that this was a big risk and that it wouldn’t be as
good. On the other hand, remember my motto for evaluating a
movie like this one: “Is it entertaining?” The answer is
yes. Hey Brett, just as Carter asked Lee, “How do you say
surrender in Chinese?”
Movie
Review By Cine Marcos
VIDEO:
Widescreen (2.35:1)
AUDIO:
Dolby
Digital 5.1 Surround - English
Subtitles - English, Spanish,
BONUS FEATURES:
For lovers of special features the special edition comes
loaded with a second DVD with almost an hour of special
features. This plus the funny and well designed holographic
cover has will make fans of the series love this DVD. It
comes with almost 7 minutes of deleted and extended scenes,
funny outtakes, and the most complete information about the
movie and the series. All special features can be subtitled.
DISC 1:
Widescreen Feature.
Feature Commentary by
director Brett Ratner: Watch the movie while
listening the director’s point of view.
Theatrical trailer:
Original trailer from the movie (2:21)
DISC 2:
Outtake Reel: About two minutes and a half of
funny outtakes. (2:30)
Deleted / Alternate
Scenes: 7 deleted scenes, four of them were well
deleted, the other ones have potential and it would have not
made any harm to include them . It also comes with the
option of hearing the director’s commentary on each scene to
understand why they were excluded, in my opinion the
alternate ending would have been better than the actual one.
(almost 7 min )
Making Rush Hour 3:
this feature have 5 different options that take you from the
script up to the editing of the film. It is by far one of
the best features of the DVD. The different titles are:
The Story and the Script:
Director Brett Ratner tells you his point of view, the
evolution of the characters and what he wanted to show in
this movie (4:45).
Casting The Rush:
Director and producers show the casting process and how they
came up with the different actors in the movie, also he
describes the different and original character’s
personalities and how they match the actors. (18:38)
Teaming up: the
director tell us how all his team help him make the movie,
how he listen opinions from the actors like Jackie Chan, his
costume designer Betsy Heiman, his photography director
Jimmy M. Muro, producers and special effects experts.
(10:43)
Creating the Rush:
this is the best feature of the whole DVD. You go with the
actors and director through 9 key scenes from the movie,
going from beginning to end, where it is explained what the
director wanted to show in each scene and the actors
response to it. Each scene is almost three and a half minute
long.
Cut Sound And Music:
shows the editing process, it tells you how it is the most
challenging and difficult part of the production. It shows
the different influences for the movie and how the scenes
were picked for the movie and the special features for the
DVD. Also it shows how the sound and the music were picked
for the movie. (14:05)
Visual Effects Reel:
It shows digital doubles, settings and simulations. Most of
them in the Eiffel Tower scene. (2:05)
Le Rush Hour Production
Diary: it shows how the movie was shot from
preproduction, casting, production meetings, first day of
filming , to the end of the movie in 8 different options
each one about one minute long.
RATING BREAK DOWN:
| FILM REVIEW |
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VIDEO |
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AUDIO |
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| BONUS
FEATURES |
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