Jackie Chan admitted that he isn’t a fan of his buddy cop franchise Rush Hour. The action franchise with Chris Tucker which has been a favorite for many audiences didn’t have its lead star as its fan. Chan admitted that the humor of the franchise wasn’t very appealing to him and he only did it for the American market. He even praised his Asian movie Accidental Spy as far better than Rush Hour 2.
Jackie Chan has been a successful name in both the American and Asian film industry for a long period. He has contributed to action films for many years and has some remarkable achievements. However, when Rush Hour 3 was under development, he didn’t shy away from admitting that it was solely for money.
Jackie Chan keeps his Asian movie on top of Rush Hour 2
The Rush Hour franchise has Jackie Chan and Chris Tucker in the lead as a Hong Kong detective and a LAPD officer investigating international cases. The franchise has made three movies yet with a fourth one under development. Despite being financially successful, the reception was quite mixed with the third movie ending with only an 18% rating on Rotten Tomatoes.
In an interview with Crosswalk when Rush Hour 3 was under development, Jackie Chan presented a controversial take on the franchise. He revealed that he couldn’t understand the American culture and dialogue very well and was of the notion that anything that was not funny to him was fun to others.
“Then I slowly realize, okay, I still have Chinese mind, I have ‘hometown’ mind. I don’t get American culture, American dialogue. So now from that time on, I really listen to whatever Owen [Wilson] tell me to say–whatever Chris Tucker tell me to say. I realize, okay, anything I think not funny means, it’s funny.”
Later when Jackie Chan was asked why he chose to do Rush Hour 3 even after his disappointment, he slated the American market to be the reason. Although he loves to do his Asian movies, he also has an American audience. He also presented his distaste for Rush Hour 2 and said-“I think my Asian film Accidental Spy, 10 times better than Rush Hour 2!”
The Shanghai Noon actor also corroborated his statements by bringing in the box office figures which makes it evident that he caters to two completely different types of audience.
Jackie Chan’s Hollywood hits don’t work in his home market
When Jackie Chan initially started in Hollywood, things didn’t go very great for him. He neither received interesting projects nor knew about the culture very well. The Academy Award winner thought that his Rush Hour would flop as well. However, the film turned out to be a great hit and changed the game for him.
On the other hand, he also faced a unique problem when he faced a cultural dissimilarity between both the industries he used to work in. He cited the example of Rush Hour which failed to mimic its magic in Asia.
“Now with Asian film I am right! I know what works and what doesn’t. Rush Hour release in Asia and bomb. Nobody go to see it! Yeah! Only 12 million! My movie, I make a Hong Kong film and it make 50 million! You see the difference? If Rush Hour not starring Jackie Chan, I think it only make half million in Hong Kong–that’s all!”
Looks like the 69-year-actor is yet to release another Rush Hour movie as the fourth installment is reportedly under development. It was revealed by Chan at the Red Sea Film Festival even though other details like the director, other cast members, and plot details are still under wraps.
Rush Hour franchise can be rented on Apple TV+.
