The one thing for certain that a time traveler from 2007 will find same in 2019 is fans asking for Rush Hour 4 to finally be released. We’ve been teased time and again of the possibility of the fourth installment of the franchise, only to be left waiting all this long.
With talk increasing since last year of a potential Rush Hour 4, we’ve already prepared our wish list of the things we want to see in this part. You’ve undoubtedly gotten your own expectations from this movie, and it’s worth looking to these 10 points to see whether all us fans’ interests are aligned.
More James Carter Ramblings
The money maker for Chris Tucker has been the comedy he’s injected into James Carter. This perfectly complements the action brought by Jackie Chan’s Inspector Lee, and the comedy aspect is what sells Rush Hour.
Carter doesn’t throw around jokes, though, it is his habit of always chattering like an animal in every situation that makes him hilarious. No matter what the circumstances are, whether it is fighting bad guys or awaiting what seems like certain death, you can be certain Carter won’t be keeping his trap shut, and this needs to be brought forward in Rush Hour 4.
Synchronized Fights
The progression of the relationship between Carter and Lee was evidenced by how gelled they were as a fighting unit. This was seen to be improv, as the first Rush Hour had them barely synchronized at all; Rush Hour 2 had flashes of it; Rush Hour 3 almost perfected it.
Rush Hour 4 should be where Carter and Lee achieve harmony in their fights, with their synchronized battle reflecting just how great Carter has become in martial arts. Of course, it would also require quite a bit of comedy to be injected in these scenes as well.
Return Of Isabella
Isabella was inconspicuous in her absence from Rush Hour 3, more so because the film regularly mentioned the event that had caused her to dump Lee. From what we can make out, a shootout had occurred and Carter had accidentally shot Isabella in the crossfire. The deleted ending to Rush Hour 3 had seen Isabella return, but it appears that wasn’t canon.
For Rush Hour 4, Isabella shouldn’t necessarily return as part of the action, but in the same way she had appeared in the deleted scene, this time as part of the canon. It would be nice to see Lee have a real relationship for once. The guy is supposed to be cute like Snoopy, after all.
Return Of George
A good sidekick was the one thing missing from the Rush Hour series until George had arrived, and it would be a shame if he doesn’t return for the next film. George was funny, naive, and very useful, making him an integral part of the next potential adventure.
Rush Hour 4 should do one better by having George in the role of an officially appointed spy, kind of around the likes of Bough from the Johnny English series. More verbal sparring with Carter should also be on the cards, with some more shenanigans from George’s lofty spy expectations to be seen.
An International Setting
The best parts of the Rush Hour series have been when the events have gone international. Rush Hour 2’s best scenes were the ones in Hong Kong, and Rush Hour 3 was mainly set in France.
It’s how Carter reacts to these differences in cultures that make us want to see him more in abroad places, as the comedy is just pure gold what with how completely wrong he is in assessing people of different countries. Plus, Rush Hour 4 would also be a visual treat if we got exotic locations as part of the backdrop.
More Tongue-Twisters
Easily the funniest scene from the whole franchise has been where Carter confused the dojo master’s name, resulting in a game of “Me-You-Him” that had us in stitches. This level of smart comedy needs to be bettered in Rush Hour 4, which would bring it the evergreen quality Rush Hour 3 has.
If the setting does go international, then the potential is there to have a similar tongue-twister with people of cultures other than China. We have no doubt Carter will have an equally hilarious time arguing with a guy from another country - maybe another tall guy fight could be on the cards.
Imaginative Jackie Chan Fight Scenes
Jackie Chan has done more serious fight films in the last decade, meaning we haven’t had a chance to see the choreography where he would use props to make the fight scene entertaining.
In the Rush Hour series, all of Lee’s fights had him make use of unorthodox methods to come away with the win. Rush Hour 4 should have Jackie in his most gimmicky setting yet and throw him in a room where he has options galore to make the fights as imaginative and hilariously creative as possible. It’s always a treat to watch him make common household items looks like weapons of destruction.
A Gag Reel At The End
Oh, how we’ve missed these gag reels in the last decade or so. Jackie Chan films always carried a gag reel at the end, which eventually became mandatory for fans to sit through since these were so entertaining.
The Rush Hour series has the best gag reels, as we have Chris Tucker’s antics to witness as well. No doubt it will be a challenge for the aging stars to film the fight scenes for Rush Hour 4, which would bring us bloopers galore to witness. Plus, we want just one more classic line from Chris Tucker in the bloopers like when he’d quipped “he ain’t gonna be in Rush Hour 3”.
Bromance Moments
What would Rush Hour be without the bromance of Carter and Lee? It’s how very close they were in their friendship that made Rush Hour a cut above the other buddy cop films, and Rush Hour 4 should mash in the most of these moments.
In fact, the overall theme of the movie shouldn’t even be about catching bad guys; rather, it should focus on the brotherly bond between Carter and Lee. We saw flashes of this in Rush Hour 3, but the next part should have this as the main plot line. Carter already sees Lee as his brother, perhaps it is time to show us how Lee sees him that way too.
An Ending With Finality
The reason why we all want Rush Hour 4 is because the previous film didn’t feel like it had wrapped everything up. The next part should be the conclusion to the series, and end in such a way that fans don’t need to beg for another installment for years on end.
Ideally, it should end with Lee and Carter signing off from their detective duties for good and retiring somewhere together. Carter had mentioned in Rush Hour 3 that he wanted to settle in Fiji and get him and Lee jobs as bartenders, and we’d be lying if we didn’t think that sounds awesome as the real ending to the franchise.