Detective Carter uses his way with women to quickly find a very dangerous Triad killer (Youki Kudoh), but, of course, he doesn't realize how bad this 'bad girl' is; he merely notices she's smoking hot. This is not the only girl who manages to distract Carter this go round, however; he also somehow manages to wind up in the dressing room of an entire troupe of French showgirls. To avoid being torn apart, he claims to be their new costume designer and ends up having them all naked so he can properly evaluate their assets. Ah, well... it's a tough job, oui, but it is all part of the creative design process, no?
Of course, Rush Hour 3 has Jackie Chan's signature style of highly-choreographed fighting; Jackie Chan fans can look forward to typical amazing fight scenes featuring Jackie Chan. The pace in Rush Hour 3 is fast and frantic, with more than enough madcap hijinx to go around.
Some of the special features were interesting. I especially liked the outtakes; there's a scene where Jackie Chan is telling Carter that he was watching adult movies in the hotel room. Specifically, there's a line where he says, "I like the ones with...," and then follows up with something outlandish. The funny thing is that Chan evidently speaks most of his lines phonetically; he doesn't know what he's saying. That's what makes it oh-so-much-funnier when you hear the several takes that they had him make, including the one about horses. After which, he asks if they are making him say something dirty. Priceless.
The character dynamics between Tucker and Lee are pretty well defined by the first two movies, but Rush Hour 3 fails to bring anything really new and exciting to the table; it seems that the concept, while fun and interesting, is not enough to support a long series of movies; there needs to be something more.
For me, the funniest scene was an interrogation scene where Tucker and Lee have to use a bilingual nun to translate for them as they interrogate a French-speaking Triad thug. Tucker, Lee and the Triad thug all use expletives when talking to each other, but the nun describes the expletives, rather than saying them, leading to a comical exchange.
The most comical plot device in the movie, though, has to be the French cab driver (Yvan Attal) who originally was going to refuse to drive Tucker around, because he didn't like his type (Americans)... due to their violent nature, only to end up wanting nothing more than to be their personal getaway chauffeur once he got a taste of a good ol' American-style car chase, telling his wife that he's actually a international super-spy. Of course, there eventually comes a point that she tells him he can't play with his new friends anymore.
All-in-all, Rush Hour 3 is cute, but is just sort of an average movie. If you loved the first two, you'll probably want to pick this one up too. If you're not so sure, however, this may make a better rental.
