To establish my general ignorance level, I've
never until now been clear on the fact that there is a Jackie
Chan and a John Wu. I always thought they were the same person
and kept on wondering why he was morphing from a director to an
actor.
Oh, okay, I'm exaggerating. But not by much. I
don't usually watch the violent action films of Wu, and I've
never been a fan of chop socky movies. It has recently filtered
into my consciousness that Jackie Chan is in an entirely
different league, so when Rush Hour came out, I decided to give
it a shot.
I was astounded at the stunts. The most
phenomenal I can't really describe well. He was walking on a
boatdeck just as a door opens with a bad guy coming out. I
confidently expected him to kick the bad guy. Instead he somehow
went parallel to planet earth and slid through a small window
sideways. Very quietly, no hoopla, and unbe-fucking-lievable.
The movie is an average buddy action flick with
a decently funny script. Hong Kong diplomat's daughter is
kidnapped, the FBI is on the case, diplomat wants his own guy
(Chan) included. Tucker is LAPD and, to punish him, he's stuck
babysitting. You can probably take it from there.
Jackie Chan has a quiet, elegant presence that
surprised me. And he's very funny. (to the diplomat's daughter:
"you promise to practice your kicks and eye-gouges?").
He works with Tucker as well as I can imagine anyone doing--their
dance scene to "War" is a highlight. Nice comic timing.
And for my money, he's sexier than the Chow guy that everyone
raves about.
Also nicely done--the diplomat is well-drawn,
not a caricature. And the daughter is a delight. Suffice it to
say that she did, indeed, practice her kicks and eye-gouges.
