Characters / Rush Hour Film

First film

Chief Inspector Lee Kit Hong (Jackie Chan)

• The Ace: Lee is an accomplished martial artist and is considered a legend in Hong Kong for his exceptional service as a cop. In the third movie, he has become Ambassador Han's bodyguard.
• All Asians Know Martial Arts: As expected by any character played by Jackie Chan.
• All There in the Manual: Lee’s full name is “Kit Hong Lee”, though it’s never said in any of the movies.
• Apologetic Attacker: Apologizes to the black bar patrons after starting a fight for being innocently insensitive. He also apologizes to the FBI guards when fighting them to get into the Chinese Embassy.
• Beware the Nice Ones: He's generally nice, but don't push him too far. He is very tempted to kill Ricky Tan in the second film after the latter tauntingly confessed to killing Lee's father.
• Deadpan Snarker: He can be very sarcastic, usually around Carter.
• Disappeared Dad: He grew up in an orphanage after his father was killed by Ricky Tan.
• Fish out of Water: As per most of Jackie Chan's Hollywood movies, Lee is quite unfamiliar with America's culture, having a hard time understanding Carter's slang and got in trouble in a bar for his N-Word Privileges.
• Good Cop/Bad Cop: Good Cop to Carter's Bad Cop.
• Good Is Not Soft: As is typical with Chan.
• It's Personal: He has some personal connection to the main antagonists in each film.
  • In the first one, Juntao/ Thomas Griffin had killed his last partner and kidnapped the Consul Han's daughter, whom Lee had befriended.
  • The second film has Ricky Tan, his father's ex partner and, later revealed, his father's killer.
  • Kenji in the third film is Lee's childhood friend from an orphanage he grew up in, who was inadvertently abandoned by Lee when the latter was adopted. He became involved with the Triads and uses his connection with Lee to further his goals, since he knows Lee is unwilling to kill him.
• Married to the Job: Lee doesn't have much of a social life outside of his work. It is telling that the only friends he has in the movies are Carter and the Hans.
• Moving Beyond Bereavement: The second movie reveals that Lee's father was killed while working on a smuggling case. While the culprit was never caught, it was suspected that his partner, who is now a Triad boss, was the killer. The case is very personal for Lee and opens up some emotional wounds that he hasn't dealt with. In the film's climax Tan does indeed confess to having murdered Lee's father. In the end Lee gives his father's badge to Carter saying that he can finally "let it go".
• N-Word Privileges: The first movie shows that he does not have them.
• Nice Guy: Lee is a respectful and sensible person in contrast to the loud and uncouth Carter.
• Noble Male, Roguish Male: The noble to Carter's roguish
• Not So Above It All: After spending so much time with Carter, Lee can sometimes even get into Carter's level of maturity such as ogling on Isabella while she is undressing or losing his patience with the French assassin they are interrogating.
• One-Man Army: He is able to defeat many people at once due to his kung-fu skills, despite him trying to avoid a fight.
• Papa Wolf: He is like a second father to Soo Yung and will do anything to make sure she is safe.
• Red Oni, Blue Oni: The blue to Carter's red.

Detective James Carter (Chris Tucker)

• Big Brother Instinct: Towards Soo Yung in the third film.
• Big, Screwed-Up Family: His mother disapproves of his profession and his brother blames him for going to jail for hosting cock fights. His cousin Luke is a criminal too, but he's on better terms with Carter.
• Casanova Wannabe: Tries to be a Casanova in the second film.
• Cool Car: His black Corvette that appears in all the films.
• Cowboy Cop: Deconstructed in both the first and third films. In the first film, he does an unauthorized sting operation without any back-up that led to two cops getting injured by an arms dealer and the dealer's car blowing up after Carter shot the C4 in the guy's trunk; it's implied that Carter was on the verge of suspension after this stunt and would have been put on leave if his captain had decided not to punish him by having him babysit Lee for the FBI. In the third film, he's been demoted to a traffic cop for some incident involving him arresting six Iranian scientists, thinking they were terrorists, and his captain refuses to lift the demotion even after the shooting of Ambassador Han (don’t worry, he lives).
• Character Development: In the first film, he refuses to work with a partner or any other forms of assistance due to what happened to his dad and is negative about working in the LAPD, instead dreaming of getting hired by the FBI and leaving the department. By the end of the film, he forms a bond with Lee, the latter becoming one of the few people he's willing to work with, and he refuses a spot in the FBI in response to how Agent Russ and Whitney dicked him around. In later films, he's shown to value his partnership/friendship with Lee almost more than Lee does, as shown when he gets pissed off at Lee for refusing to let him in and help in the cases when they get personal for Lee.
• Crouching Moron, Hidden Badass: He's immediately abrasive and uncooperative to almost everyone he comes across (except for a nun), won't shut up, and has been put on a demotion assignment at the start of two of the films... but he's almost always right about his instincts, recognizes talent in others, will not give up on a case, and is an absurdly fast draw.
• Deadpan Snarker: Carter has a very dry wit and usually snarks at Lee, or whatever something crazy he experienced.
• Disappeared Dad: His father was shot during a traffic stop.
• Fire-Forged Friends: He and Lee start out as disliking each other greatly before becoming close friends.
• Freudian Excuse: The reason he wanted no partner in the first Rush Hour. His father was killed on duty over a mere parking ticket. His partner did nothing to help him which lead to his death.
• Genre Savvy:
  • Carter's number one theory of every major crime is that a rich white man is always involved behind-the-scenes. Not only is Carter right about this in regards to Steven Reign in the second film, but this applies to the first and third films; In the first movie, Juntao is revealed British commander Thomas Griffin, a friend of Ambassador Han and the mastermind behind Soo Yong's abduction. In the third movie, French ambassador and chairman of the World Criminal Court Varden Reynard is revealed to be working for the Triads.
  • Carter notices that Reign was far too relaxed when the gunshots were heard on Ricky Tan's boat. This is Carter's (and the audience's) first clue that Reign is involved.
• Good Cop/Bad Cop: Bad Cop to Lee's Good Cop.
• Guns Akimbo: Does this in the first and third films
• I Work Alone: Never wanted a partner initially. Mainly due to his dad's partner not backing him up to confront a punk who shot Carter's dad over a ticket.
• Jerk with a Heart of Gold: Becomes one by the end of the first movie.
• The Lancer: Becomes this to Lee.
• Lancer vs. Dragon: At the climax of each movie, Carter faces The Dragon, while Lee confronts the Big Bad.
• Never My Fault: Carter tends to blame Lee (or any other person) for whatever problem he started.
• Noble Bigot with a Badge: Carter is pretty racist, making many assumptions based on the color of their skin, and makes many stereotypical comments. That said, it tends to be willful ignorance than outright malicious intent, he still tries to make sure justice is served whenever he can.
• Noble Male, Roguish Male: The roguish to Lee's noble.
• O.O.C. Is Serious Business: Carter always has a comeback and one-liner to every villain's insult but when Soo Yung's life is on the line and Jasmine asks him her catchphrase, Carter can only respond with a "no". Not only that, Carter says it with a rather low tone, showing how scared he is for both himself and Soo Yung.
• Pop-Cultured Badass: He loves his R&B, particularly Michael Jackson.
• Quick Draw: In the first movie, he is able to drop from a standing position, fire an ankle-holstered gun, stabilize his aim with his off-hand, and get a kill shot, in the time it takes an assassin to reach for and pull the trigger on a waist-holstered gun. In the second film, in the time Kenny takes to assume his fighting stance, Carter has his gun out and aimed at Kenny's head. Because of the Over the Shoulder camera shot, viewers can see Lee visibly startled by the speed of the two of them.
• Red Oni, Blue Oni: The red to Lee's blue.
• Small Name, Big Ego: Carter has a ludicrous amount of arrogance despite being an LAPD detective with a less-than-stellar track record.
• Soul Brotha: Especially in the first film.
• Supporting Protagonist: While Carter is a major player in all three films, it's always Lee who has a connection to the current Big Bad and a more personal stake in the story.
• Tall, Dark, and Snarky: Every one of those 3 things.
• Took a Level in Badass: While always a somewhat competent fighter, he was unable to take on the gangsters by himself in the first two films. In the third film, he beat up a majority of the Triad mooks by himself.
• Ultimate Job Security: How he hasn't been fired yet is anyone's guess.
• Uncle Tom Foolery: He turned into this type of character in the second film where he took almost nothing seriously and he seemed to annoy Lee more than he helped him and he would make a joke out of almost every situation, and would try to avoid the action the best way he could. That still didn't stop him from doing his job, though. Luckily, in 3 gets rid of this, while he remains the primary comedic foil to Lee.
• Wouldn't Hit a Girl: Averted. Carter tries to fight Hu Li, but is KO-ed in every encounter. Towards the end, Carter tells her:
  Carter: I ain't holding back this time because you're a woman. I'm gonna pretend you're a man... a very beautiful man with a great body that I'd like to take to the movies...

Thomas Griffin aka Juntao (Tom Wilkinson)

• Big Bad: Of the first film.
• Big Bad Friend: To Consul Han, kidnapping his daughter as payback for his criminal empire being squandered.
• Bitch in Sheep's Clothing: Griffin seems like a nice guy and genuine friend to Han when we first meet him. Then we learn he is the main villain.
• The Danza: Played by Tom Wilkinson.
• Death by Materialism: He tries hitting Lee with his suitcase full of money, only for the case to break open and slip from his grip; when he lunges for it, he accidentally topples over the narrow catwalk he was walking on and ends up hanging on Lee for dear life, but falls to his death, landing in a decorative pool, after the bomb vest Lee had on broke.
• Disney Villain Death: He falls to his death while fighting Lee.
• Evil Brit: He's British and happens to be one of China's most wanted crime lords.
• Evil Is Petty: The whole reason why he kidnapped a little girl and had six pounds of C4 strapped onto her was in order to extort 50, then 70 million dollars from Consul Han, was not for dismantling his criminal operations, but for confiscating his illegally obtained collection of Chinese art; in short, he wanted insurance money!
• Faux Affably Evil: Politely informs Han that he has six blocks of C4 wired to Soo Yung.
• Hoist by His Own Petard: He falls to his death when the bomb vest he'd originally strapped to Soo Yung tears.
• Reasonable Authority Figure: Until the end.
• Villainous Breakdown: Goes from a collected, cultured Englishman to a screaming, raving madman in the finale when he tries to escape and especially when he loses the money briefcase.
• Walking Spoiler: Look at all those spoiler spaces.
• Wicked Cultured: He kidnapped Soo Yung as vengeance over his art collection being confiscated.

Sang (Ken Leung)

• Ax-Crazy: Sang is rather calm and intimidating most of the time. But if you give him any sort of weapon, especially a gun, he will open fire on almost anyone he sees without restraint.
• Creepy Monotone: Has a chilly voice when he speaks.
• Dirty Coward: He never fought Lee and/or Carter in a fair fight and tends to run away in most of his encounters. When cornered near the ending, he tells Carter to "fight like a man" and drop his gun, but when he does he whips out another gun, only to get shot by Carter.
• The Dragon: He's Juntao's second in command.
• Good Scars, Evil Scars: He gets scarred by Soo Yung while kidnapping her.
• Knight of Cerebus: While his boss is definitely a vile villain, Sang's psychopathy, his nightmarish kidnapping of Soo-Yung, and his high body count of dozens make him a terrifying threat in an otherwise lighthearted movie.
• Mad Bomber: It's heavily implied that the reason why Lee was trying to warn the FBI not to go into the building Sang called from was because he knows that Sang has used explosives before.
• More Dakka: Wields a MAC-10 at the end of the film.
• Screw This, I'm Outta Here: Attempts this at the end by taking all the money left behind by his boss.

Consul (later Ambassador) Solon Han (Tzi Ma)

• Reasonable Authority Figure
• Shout-Out: Look closely at his name. What does it sound like?
• Sudden Sequel Death Syndrome: Subverted; he returns in the third film, only to get shot. He survives, though, and is taken to a secure location after the hospital shootout.

Detective Tania Johnson (Elizabeth Peña)

• Boyish Short Hair: Johnson is a competent female cop with extremely short hair.
• Chekhov's Skill: Her bomb-defusing training pays off towards the end.
• Chuck Cunningham Syndrome: She is never seen nor mentioned after the first film despite being Carter's partner.

Soo-Yung Han (Julia Hsu in the first film, Zhang Jingchu in the third film)

• Damsel in Distress: Justified in the first film, since she's a 10-year-old girl. This happens again in the third film, but then again, she got taken by some armed Triad mooks.
• She Is All Grown Up: In the third film.
• Took a Level in Badass: In the third film. She assists Lee during the hospital fight and helps Carter kill the Dragon Lady.

Rush Hour 2

Ricky Tan (John Lone)

• Anti-Villain: Subverted. He seemingly wants to be The Atoner for betraying Lee's father, and invokes Even Evil Has Standards (or at-least Pragmatic Villainy) against the Renegade Splinter Faction said to be responsible for bombing China's U.S. embassy. He's full of crap — having indeed orchestrated the bombing and faked the Faction all along, to distract others from his true plan. And he doesn't just lack remorse for betraying Lee's father; he's the one who killed him.
• Badass Creed: He is not the least bit intimidated by Carter.
  Ricky: "You Americans are so funny."
• Big Bad Duumvirate: With Steven Reign.
• Defiant to the End: While Lee is holding him at gunpoint and very inclined to kill the man, Ricky Tan still decides to start describing how he killed Lee's father and the man's "pathetic" request to not kill Lee.
• Dirty Cop: He used to be part of Hong Kong police, until he quit the force and became a Triad boss.
• Even Bad Men Love Their Mamas: Implied. He seems nostalgic when he mentions how his mother used to tell him the story of the dragon and the treasure.
• Faking the Dead: He's seemingly shot and killed by Hu Li aboard his yacht, only to turn up alive at the Red Dragon casino.
• Faux Affably Evil: Does not drop his polite demeanor while having a bomb planted in Lee's mouth, or goading Lee into shooting him.
• The Starscream: He kills Steven Reign when he attempts to leave with the counterfeiting plates.
• The Triads and the Tongs: He's a Triad leader.
• You Killed My Father: He sold out Lee's father to the Triads when he discovered he was a Dirty Cop.

Hu Li (Zhang Ziyi)

• Ax-Crazy: She talks about how she would like to slice off Isabella's lips and bury her in the desert with Lee and Carter. When Isabella jokingly tells her to put her knife away, Hu Li responds by throwing the knife at an apple just inches away from Isabella's mouth.
• Dark Action Girl: Creates sexual tension with one of the heroes, and is one of the higher up and more dangerous fighters on the baddies side.
• Dark Is Evil: She usually wears an all-black pantsuit.
• Death by Irony: The woman who spends most of the film bombing various buildings is killed by one of her own explosives. What prevents this from being a Karmic Death is she was going for a suicide bomb.
• The Dragon/Dragon Lady: Ricky Tan's right-hand woman, who often dresses in traditional garb, and is extremely dangerous.
• Dragon Their Feet: She's seemingly killed by a polearm to her chest, but shows up right after Ricky Tan falls to his death. She dies for real shortly after.
• Faux Affably Evil: She delivers terrifying threats with a cheery smile on her face.
• Gratuitous English: She has only 2 lines in English: "Some apple?" and "Out!" This was due to Zhang Ziyi's limited fluency in English at the time.
• Mad Bomber: Is the one who sent the bombs that kicked off the plot, and tries to kill Lee and Carter with one in her last moments.
• Paper-Thin Disguise: She wears a wig and sunglasses when she's disguised as a delivery person, leading Carter and Lee to recognize her when she delivers a package to Isabella.
• The Starscream: Subverted. She seemingly shoots and kills Ricky Tan, though it's actually a ruse.
• Suicide Attack: After Ricky Tan's death, Hu Li finds Carter & Lee and attempts to detonate a bomb that would kill them, her, and anyone on the same floor.
• Taking You with Me: After Lee and Carter defeat Ricky Tan, she tries to kill them with a bomb. They barely escape before it goes off leaving her to die alone.
• Torture Technician: Implied.
  Hu Li: (to Lee) After I'm done with you, you'll be begging me to press this button.

Isabella Molina (Roselyn Sánchez)

• Designated Girl Fight: She has one with Hu Li which she loses, though she does manage to stop her from killing Lee.
• Good All Along: Lee isn't sure what side she is on at first. She proves it to him in the climax.
• Good Wears White: She wears a white dress in the film's climax where she reveals she is Good All Along. Notably, her previous outfits before her true allegiance is revealed are darker.
• I Have Boobs, You Must Obey!: She seductively asks Lee and Carter to find where Hu Li is keeping the money plates by opening up her robe and revealing her bra. Apparently, she was sending them on a Snipe Hunt since she calls Sterling afterwards and tells him that they are out of the Secret Service's way.
• Love Interest: In a Love Triangle between Lee and Carter, ultimately falling for Lee.
• The Mole: She's pretending to be a crooked Customs agent and Steven Reign's girlfriend, but is actually an undercover secret service agent.
• Ms. Fanservice: Spends a lengthy scene in black underwear and an open bathrobe.
• Noodle Incident: The reason for her absence in the third movie: she was somehow accidentally shot in the neck by Carter.
• Only a Flesh Wound: She gets shot by Hu Li during their Designated Girl Fight, but she gets better.

Steven Reign (Alan King)

• Big Bad Duumvirate: With Ricky Tan. Subverted when Tan kills him.
• Corrupt Corporate Executive: A hotel billionaire who's in league with the Triads. This gets lampshaded by Carter who points out that every major crime has a rich white man involved somehow.
• Death by Materialism: He gets stabbed by Ricky Tan when he tries to walk away with the counterfeiting plates.
• Too Dumb to Live: While he's smart enough to carry a hidden gun for self-defense when trying to leave with the plates, he still not only reveals it while it's still holstered, but also gets too close to Tan to draw it effectively and fast enough, leading to the aforementioned Death by Materialism example.
• The Unfought: Carter and Lee encounter him while dead on the floor.
• Villain with Good Publicity: A wealthy hotel billionaire who unbeknownst to the public is working with the Triads.

Rush Hour 3

Kenji (Hiroyuki Sanada)

• Big Bad: Of the third film.
• Cain and Abel: The Cain to Lee's Abel. The two grew up together at the same orphanage until Lee left and Kenji accuses him for abandoning him.
• Even Evil Has Loved Ones: It becomes clear that Kenji, despite trying to kill Lee in all their encounters, still loves him very much. After seeing that Lee is still willing to save him when both of them are dangling from the Eiffel Tower's safety net, Kenji chooses to let go of Lee's hand, allowing his foster brother to live.
• Evil Is Petty: He accuses Lee of abandoning him when Lee got adopted from the orphanage they grew up in. He holds this grudge to adulthood and has no problems using his background with Lee to mess with him.
• Heroic Sacrifice: He ultimately sacrifices himself so Lee can live.
• I Have Your Daughter: Kidnaps Soo Yung in order to get Lee to hand him Shey Shen.
• Remember the New Guy?: He grew up with Lee and they considered each other like brothers but Lee never mentions him before in prior films.
• Villain in a White Suit: He and his men are dressed in white suits in the climax of Rush Hour 3. Notably, Lee is wearing black and dark blue in the climax.

Varden Reynard (Max von Sydow)

• Big Bad Duumvirate: With Kenji.
• Evil All Along: It's revealed that he's working with the Triads after initially acting chummy with everyone and making it look like he was targeted by them. Even him telling Lee where Geneviève was performing was a disguised attempt to get Lee killed.
• Evil Old Folks: He's working with the Triads.
• Even Evil Has Loved Ones: his family is mentioned a couple of times.
• Expy: Of Thomas Griffin from the first movie. A character introduced as a colleague and personal friend of Han that turns out to be the Big Bad behind it all.
• I Never Said It Was Poison: He asks Geneviève to take off her wig and show him the list of names of Triad leaders. This is the first clue that he is not on the straight and narrow since neither Lee nor Carter ever said she was the list.
• In the Back: After the battle in the Eiffel Tower, he holds Geneviève hostage and tries to shoot Lee and Carter to frame them for Geneviève's murder, only to get shot by George the taxi driver.

Geneviève aka Shy Shen (Noémie Lenoir)

• Insistent Terminology: Keeps reminding Carter that she's a woman despite his protests to the contrary.
• Living MacGuffin: The Triads tattooed the list containing the names of their new leaders onto the back of her head. They intended to kill her after the names were on record which is why she contacted Han for protection.

George (Yvan Attal)

• Badass Driver: He is well capable of driving his car in the busy streets of Paris all while being chased by assassins and when said assassins are in his car fighting Lee and Carter.
• Big Damn Heroes: Rescues Lee and Carter from Reynard at the end of the film by shooting him in the back.
• Bully Turned Buddy: He's openly prejudiced towards Lee and Carter at first simply because the latter is American, but after aiding them in a car chase, he quickly comes to idolize them and is desperate to be their sidekick.
• Eagleland: Type 2 at first, but a strong Type 1 after the Car Chase.
• French Jerk: At first. He refuses to drive Carter for being American.
• Henpecked Husband: Implied in the scenes with his wife.
• Hypocrite: During the taxi/motorbike chase, Carter tries to calm him down by telling him to pretend he's superspy like in the American action films George has watched, in spite of him being anti-American. However, one can infer that George might have gotten some, if not all, of his negative bliefs about Americans from watching said films.
• Jerkass Has a Point: As obnoxious as he is about it, George’s criticisms of America are pretty accurate.
• Took a Level in Badass: He goes from racist, terrified taxi driver, to a Badass Driver and the one who takes down Reynard when the latter has Lee and Carter held hostage at the end.

Jasmine/The Dragon Lady (Youki Kudoh)

• Catchphrase: "Would you like to know a/our secret, cop?"
• Combat Hand Fan: When she first fought Lee, she uses a paper fan with hidden knives in it.
• Dragon Lady: Even named as such in the credits.
• Failed Attempt at Drama: She whenever she says her catchphrase, Lee and Carter don’t play along.
• Gory Discretion Shot: We never see her death on screen, but the sound that is heard as she is crushed to death lets the audience know that it was not pretty.
• Karmic Death: She tries to kill Soo Yung by dropping her from the Eiffel Tower. Carter saves Soo Yung and the latter kicks Jasmine into a rotating wheel, which crushes her in half.
• No Name Given: Her real name is never mentioned in the film.
• Not What It Looks Like: Carter mistakes their screams and groans of exertion from fighting for sex sounds.
  Carter: You are a superfreak!
• Psycho Knife Nut: Uses throwing knives as her weapon of choice and acts like a sadist bitch.

Commissaire Revi (Roman Polański)

• Ass Shove: Gives Lee and Carter a full anal cavity search, complete with a Glove Snap.
• Dirty Cop: Sort of - while not working for the bad guys like Reynard, he uses less-than-scrupulous methods on Lee and Carter to try and get them to talk.
• French Jerk: Has Carter and Lee strung up and beaten with phone books, then anal searches them, just because he doesn’t want to deal with their possible deaths at the hands of the Triads. Then at the end, he takes partial-credit for stopping the Traids, which gets him punched by Lee and Carter.
• Throw the Book at Them: One of the techniques he uses on Lee and Carter when they arrive in Paris.

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