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Rush Hour
UNITED STATES · 1998

Rush Hour

Brett Ratner
buddy cop international crime fish out of water kidnapping investigation cultural clash
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Synopsis

When Hong Kong Inspector Lee is summoned to Los Angeles to investigate a kidnapping, the FBI doesn't want any outside help and assigns cocky LAPD Detective James Carter to distract Lee from the case. Not content to watch the action from the sidelines, Lee and Carter form an unlikely partnership and investigate the case themselves.

Cinema Atlas Connection
Brett Ratner built Rush Hour around Jackie Chan's Police Story franchise. Rather than adapt Chan, Ratner mapped Chan's specific physical grammar—his use of environmental props, his reluctance to rely on guns, his willingness to take real falls and hits—directly onto the American buddy cop formula. This isn't imitation. It's translation. Ratner hired Chan to import the visual and comedic language of Hong Kong action cinema into a Hollywood structure. Police Story is available on Criterion Channel.
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