Sight and Sound
"...It deserves to succeed..." 12/01/1998 p.60-1Entertainment Weekly
"...Great....The start of a beautiful friendship and a rewarding Hollywood franchise between [Tucker and Chan]..." -- Rating: B 01/22/1999 pp.107-9 USA Today
"...Twinkle-eyed martial arts melees..." 09/18/1998 p.3E New York Times
"...[A] kick-happy buddy film....[Chan] makes a doleful expression and comedic physical grace take the place of small talk..." 09/18/1998 p.E12 Box Office
"...[Chan] is in fine form -- nimble, fun and reserved. It's the best acting he's done in a while, which makes it all the more exhilarating to watch him dance through the well-choreographed fight scenes..." 11/01/1998 p.157 Los Angeles Times
"...Good-looking, well-paced....Ratner keeps the picture barreling ahead while showing off his stars to advantage. Chan humorously underplays to the hyper Tucker, leaving his fabled martial artistry to provide the razzle-dazzle..." 09/18/1998 p.C6 ReelViews 6 of 10
Considering his recent surge in American popularity, it was all-but-inevitable that Jackie Chan would eventually show up in a big-budget Hollywood action picture. (He hasn't been in one since he did the Cannonball Run films back in the early '80s.) That production is Rush Hour, a somewhat lackluster cop buddy movie that goes wrong in two big ways: (1) it fails to utilize Chan's full range of skills, relegating him to the role of a kickboxing action hero and virtually ignoring his comedic aptitude, and (2) it saddles him with a partner, played by the irritating Chris Tucker...There's little doubt that Rush Hour is going to be a success at the box office, and, given audiences' love of sequels, Rush Hour 2 is probably already in the planning stages. Let's hope that next time around, the director uses his lead actor as something more than Tucker's straight man. On this occasion, as Chan moved from Hong Kong to Hollywood, something got lost in the translation. - James Berardinelli
Box Office Magazine 7 of 10
Those rabid with expertise on Chan's work can nit-pick this movie for its on-and-off faults--the story is lacking, the action misses here and there, he's too serious, Chris Tucker gets way too obnoxious, everything wraps up too easily, etc., etc., etc. But who cares? Most of the time, "Rush Hour" gets it right. Tucker maintains his manic energy without becoming too grating and, when he drops to a saner level, actually shares some nice moments with Chan. Chan, meanwhile, is in fine form--nimble, fun and reserved. It's the best acting he's done in a while, which makes it all the more exhilarating to watch him dance through the well-choreographed fight scenes. Despite the inordinate amount of cliches tossed about, the characters have heart, the film has energy and a relatively solid story comparatively. Director Brett Ratner finds just the right tone of serious story meets fun-filled action. - Simon O'Ryan
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