Jackie Chan has admitted to disliking the Rush Hour movies he famously starred in during the 1990s and 2000s. Over the years, Chan has starred in a total of three Rush Hour films. Plus, the actor has plans to reprise his role as Chief Inspector Lee once more in Rush Hour 4.
The action-comedy duo of Jackie Chan and Chris Tucker led to the creation one of several movie franchises headlined by the martial arts legend. In fact, the first Rush Hour movie is heralded as the film that made Chan a star in Hollywood. He's since rode that success to more American movies, including two Rush Hour sequels. The work he did with Tucker continues to be popular, as interest in a potential Rush Hour 4 lingers today.
Why Jackie Chan Expected The Rush Hour Movies To Fail
Interestingly, Chan has never been enthused with what the Rush Hour films had to offer. Not only was Chan unhappy with the finished product, but he apparently expected viewers not to enjoy it either. In an interview, Chan expressed his surprise at finding out that Rush Hour was a hit [Slashfilm]. Not finding it funny, Chan felt that it wouldn't succeed, and had a similar opinion of the comedy employed in Rush Hour 2, which he actually thought was worse than the first movie. But, of course, it too performed well at the box office.
Cultural differences explain why Chan doesn't regard the Rush Hour movies as highly as some of his other films, such as Police Story. As Chan noted, he looks at Rush Hour with "a Chinese mind." He claims that he doesn't understand "American culture" or "American dialogue," which largely define the comedy of these films. Chan's reasoning makes sense, given that the humor used in most of his Hong Kong movies, including Wheels on Meals and Dragons Forever, differ considerably from the types of jokes found in the three Rush Hour films.
Why Jackie Chan Wants To Make Rush Hour 4 Anyway
In spite of Chan's thoughts on Rush Hour, he has no problem with making sequels to the movie. Chan is still committed to starring in Rush Hour 4. The actor has explained that while it's true he dislikes the movies, they're successful at the box office, which seems to be enough to justify keeping the franchise alive. In reference to his work on Rush Hour, Chan once said, "you just give me the money and I’m fine" [iva IndieWire.] And based on comments made by the actor in a 2005 interview with the Associated Press, starring in American movies like Rush Hour benefit some of his other business ventures. Jackie Chan claimed that the money he makes from his Hollywood films is often used to fund some of his Hong Kong projects.