Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None
Added DiffLines:
** This is not the [[DrunkenMaster first time]] JackieChan has had to stop [[spoiler:a corrupt [[EvilBrit British]] government official]] from stealing Chinese antiquities.
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None
Changed line(s) 28 (click to see context) from:
The film series contains examples of:
to:
Added DiffLines:
* StrappedToABomb: At the climax, Soo Yung's kidnappers outfit her with a vest covered in C4 charges, rigged to go off if triggered via remote ''or'' if the vest is removed.
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
I really don\'t see how you\'re getting that interpretation of it. This is clearly the intent.
Added DiffLines:
* ComicallyMissingThePoint: In the first film, Carter hands Lee his ID badge in case anyone troubles him. Lee takes a look at it (which includes a picture of an afro-wearing Carter) and comments that it won't work because he's not 6'1".
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
From the look of it, Lee mentioned the difference in height as an attempt to be tactful.
Deleted line(s) 59 (click to see context) :
* ComicallyMissingThePoint: In the first film, Carter hands Lee his ID badge in case anyone troubles him. Lee takes a look at it (which includes a picture of an afro-wearing Carter) and comments that it won't work because he's not 6'1".
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None
Changed line(s) 59 (click to see context) from:
* ComicallyMissingThePoint: In the first film, Carter hands Lee his ID badge in case anyone troubles him. Lee takes a look at it (which includes a picture of an afro-wearing Carter) and comments that it won't work; Lee says he's not 6'1".
to:
* ComicallyMissingThePoint: In the first film, Carter hands Lee his ID badge in case anyone troubles him. Lee takes a look at it (which includes a picture of an afro-wearing Carter) and comments that it won't work; Lee says work because he's not 6'1".
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None
Added DiffLines:
* ComicallyMissingThePoint: In the first film, Carter hands Lee his ID badge in case anyone troubles him. Lee takes a look at it (which includes a picture of an afro-wearing Carter) and comments that it won't work; Lee says he's not 6'1".
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None
Added DiffLines:
* DescriptionCut: Early in the first movie, Lee tries to reassure Soo-Yung, who's about to leave for the United States.
--> '''Lee:''' And don't worry. America is a very friendly place.
--> ''*cut to Los Angeles*''
--> '''Carter:''' ''(driving around like a maniac)'' Stupid fool! Get the hell out of my way!
--> '''Lee:''' And don't worry. America is a very friendly place.
--> ''*cut to Los Angeles*''
--> '''Carter:''' ''(driving around like a maniac)'' Stupid fool! Get the hell out of my way!
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None
Changed line(s) 100 (click to see context) from:
* IfYouKillHimYouWillBeJustLikeHim: Hilariously subverted in the second movie. Towards the end, Lee has Ricky Tan at gunpoint when Carter shows up and Ricky asks him [[WouldYouLikeToHearHowTheyDied if he wants to learn how his father had died]]. Carter tells Lee to not lose it, but when Ricky insults his father, Carter goes "Okay, now he's gone too far. Shoot his ass, Lee!".
to:
* IfYouKillHimYouWillBeJustLikeHim: Hilariously subverted in the second movie. Towards the end, Lee has Ricky Tan at gunpoint when Carter shows up and Ricky asks him Lee [[WouldYouLikeToHearHowTheyDied if he wants to learn how his father had died]]. Carter tells Lee to not lose it, but when Ricky insults his father, Carter goes "Okay, now he's gone too far. Shoot his ass, Lee!".
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None
Changed line(s) 100 (click to see context) from:
* IfYouKillHimYouWillBeJustLikeHim: Hilariously subverted in the second movie. Lee had Ricky Tan at gunpoint when Carter shows up and Ricky asks him [[WouldYouLikeToHearHowTheyDied if he wants to learn how his father had died]]. Carter tells Lee to not lose it, but when Ricky insults his father, Carter goes "Okay, now he's gone too far. Shoot his ass, Lee!".
to:
* IfYouKillHimYouWillBeJustLikeHim: Hilariously subverted in the second movie. Towards the end, Lee had has Ricky Tan at gunpoint when Carter shows up and Ricky asks him [[WouldYouLikeToHearHowTheyDied if he wants to learn how his father had died]]. Carter tells Lee to not lose it, but when Ricky insults his father, Carter goes "Okay, now he's gone too far. Shoot his ass, Lee!".
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None
Added DiffLines:
* IfYouKillHimYouWillBeJustLikeHim: Hilariously subverted in the second movie. Lee had Ricky Tan at gunpoint when Carter shows up and Ricky asks him [[WouldYouLikeToHearHowTheyDied if he wants to learn how his father had died]]. Carter tells Lee to not lose it, but when Ricky insults his father, Carter goes "Okay, now he's gone too far. Shoot his ass, Lee!".
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None
Changed line(s) 157 (click to see context) from:
* TWordEuphemism: Played with in ''Rush Hour 3''. Carter and Lee are interrogating a man who speaks only French, so they enlist a nun, who's fluent in French, to translate. So, naturally, when she translates the prisoner's taunts, she summarizes with, "And he called you the N-word." For the rest of the scene, Carter and Lee ask her to translate things like, "Tell this piece of S-word that I'll kick his A-word," complete with brief stops to determine the spelling of some of the words.
to:
* TWordEuphemism: Played with in ''Rush Hour 3''. Carter and Lee are interrogating a man who speaks only French, so they enlist a nun, who's fluent in French, to translate. So, naturally, when she translates the prisoner's taunts, she summarizes with, "And he called you "He used the N-word." For the rest of the scene, Carter and Lee ask her to translate things like, "Tell "tell this piece of S-word that I'll kick his A-word," personally F-word him up", complete with brief stops to determine the spelling of some of the words.
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None
Changed line(s) 29 (click to see context) from:
* ActorAllusion: At one point in the first film, a couple of tourists ask Lee for directions to [[http://roscoeschickenandwaffles.com/ Roscoe's Chicken and Waffles]], a famous restaurant in LA. The restaurant was previosuly a plot point in JackieBrown, in which Chris Tucker's character is promised a free meal there [[spoiler: and then promptly murdered by SamuelLJackson]].
to:
* ActorAllusion: At one point in the first film, a couple of tourists ask Lee for directions to [[http://roscoeschickenandwaffles.com/ Roscoe's Chicken and Waffles]], a famous restaurant in LA. The restaurant was previosuly previously a plot point in JackieBrown, in which Chris Tucker's character is promised a free meal there [[spoiler: and then promptly murdered by SamuelLJackson]].
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None
Added DiffLines:
* ActorAllusion: At one point in the first film, a couple of tourists ask Lee for directions to [[http://roscoeschickenandwaffles.com/ Roscoe's Chicken and Waffles]], a famous restaurant in LA. The restaurant was previosuly a plot point in JackieBrown, in which Chris Tucker's character is promised a free meal there [[spoiler: and then promptly murdered by SamuelLJackson]].
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None
Added DiffLines:
* CombatStilettos: Isabella in the second film, during the climax.
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None
Added DiffLines:
* BorrowedCatchphrase: In the second film, Lee says, "Do you understand the words that are comin' out of my mouth?!" (a line Carter said in the first film) Carter replies, "Don't ''nobody'' understands the words that come out of your mouth!"
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
What are you talking about? That whole sequence is about her trying to do exactly that.
Deleted line(s) 43 (click to see context) :
* BondVillainStupidity: Hu-Li has SEVERAL chances to kill Lee and Carter, the most painful example is at the end when she has a bomb in his mouth and a detonator one hand. Even if she didn't want to get caught in the bomb blast, she could've easily just walked a few feet away and just pushed it.
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None
Added DiffLines:
* BondVillainStupidity: Hu-Li has SEVERAL chances to kill Lee and Carter, the most painful example is at the end when she has a bomb in his mouth and a detonator one hand. Even if she didn't want to get caught in the bomb blast, she could've easily just walked a few feet away and just pushed it.
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None
Added DiffLines:
* DoubleKnockout: It appears this happens towards the end of Rush Hour 2 as Hu-Li stabs Carter through the chest and gets hit by a pillar knocking her out. [[spoiler:Then we find out that counterfeit money Carter kept in his pockets kept the spear from stabbing him.]]
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None
Added DiffLines:
** Carter pockets counterfeit money for "evidence" late in the second film when he finds it. [[spoiler:It ends up saving his life later when Hu-Li tries to stab him through the chest.]]
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None
Changed line(s) 30 (click to see context) from:
* ArsonMurderAndLifesaving: The chief invokes this trope to make it seem like he's impressed with Tucker. He's actually quite angry, but is lying to get Tucker to accept a humiliating assignment as a supposed reward.
to:
* ArsonMurderAndLifesaving: The chief invokes this trope to make it seem like he's impressed with Tucker. Carter. He's actually quite angry, but is lying to get Tucker Carter to accept a humiliating assignment as a supposed reward.
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
Removing wick to Did Not Do The Research per rename at TRS.
Deleted line(s) 59 (click to see context) :
* DidNotDoTheResearch: The plastic explosive known as C-4 is highly stable and resistant to things like fire and gunshots, and it's also known for making a pretty powerful, forceful (not fiery) explosion when detonated. Carter shoots a trunk full of C-4 in the first film and triggers a small, standard Hollywood pyrotechnic show, indicating that the people behind the movie knew ''none'' of the aforementioned facts, or just followed the RuleOfCool.
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None
Changed line(s) 143,144 (click to see context) from:
* TookALevelInBadass: Carter has 2 black belts by the third movie
* TitleDrop: First movie only (and really, it's the only one where the title makes sense; what does Rush Hour have to do with the crimes taking place in Hong Kong or Paris?).
* TitleDrop: First movie only (and really, it's the only one where the title makes sense; what does Rush Hour have to do with the crimes taking place in Hong Kong or Paris?).
to:
Deleted line(s) 149 (click to see context) :
** To be fair, during the last hour of the sequels, Lee and Carter are usually ''rushing'' to get somewhere to stop someone dangerous, or rescue someone, so the title ''Rush Hour'' does kind of make sense. But that is stretching it.
Added DiffLines:
* TookALevelInBadass: Carter has 2 black belts by the third movie
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None
Changed line(s) 69 (click to see context) from:
* {{Flanderization}}: James Carter went from being a loudmouthed and self centered but legitimately competent detective in the first movie to being a TedBaxter that's unable to take anything seriously in the second. The third film kind of mixes the two. And that's not even getting into the UncleTomfoolery.
to:
* {{Flanderization}}: James Carter went from being a loudmouthed and self centered but legitimately competent detective in the first movie to being a TedBaxter SmallNameBigEgo that's unable to take anything seriously in the second. The third film kind of mixes the two. And that's not even getting into the UncleTomfoolery.
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None
Added DiffLines:
* TookALevelInBadass: Carter has 2 black belts by the third movie
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
Lee said that because the person in the ID picture looks nothing like him, and mentions the difference in height just to be tactful.
Deleted line(s) 55 (click to see context) :
* ComicallyMissingThePoint: In the first film, Carter gives Lee his ID in case he needs prove his credentials to anyone. Lee's reasoning for why it won't work? He's not as tall as Carter.
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None
Added DiffLines:
* ComicallyMissingThePoint: In the first film, Carter gives Lee his ID in case he needs prove his credentials to anyone. Lee's reasoning for why it won't work? He's not as tall as Carter.
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None
Changed line(s) 88 (click to see context) from:
** The first had [[TheDarkKnightSaga Carmine Falcone]] and [[{{LOST}} Miles]] [[spoiler:in cahoots]]
to:
** The first had [[TheDarkKnightSaga [[Film/BatmanBegins Carmine Falcone]] and [[{{LOST}} Miles]] [[spoiler:in cahoots]]
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
None
Added DiffLines:
Somewhere in Hollywood, a group of executives [[MyFriendsAndZoidberg and Brett Ratner]] decided that JackieChan and Chris Tucker should make a movie together. The results were... actually quite good. The series centers on a pair of police detectives - one a Chinese police inspector, the other an LAPD detective - as they go on a series of misadventures often involving corrupt crime figures. The film incorporates elements of martial arts, and the buddy cop sub-genre.
----
http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/RushHour.jpg
[[AC:Rush Hour]] (1998)
Hong Kong, the last night of British rulership. Detective Inspector Lee (Jackie), close friend to Consul Han, manages to prevent precious pieces of China's history being smuggled out of the country. Two months later, when Consul Han is living in Los Angeles with his family, Crime Lord Juntao takes revenge on him by abducting his young daughter Soo Yung. Han does not trust the FBI to do a good job and has Lee flown in from Hong Kong to assist them.
Because they don't want a foreign officer on their case, the FBI requests help from LAPD to "babysit" Lee - who gladly use the opportunity to get rid of Detective James Carter (Chris), a big-mouthed work-alone cop who just can't be cool enough. His assignment is to keep Lee as far away from trouble as possible. But Carter and Lee don't like being put aside in that way and start working the case on their own.
The first movie was a major success and became the 7th top grossing film of 1998, with a gross of over $140 million dollars at the U.S. box office. The combination of motor-mouthed Tucker with Chan's gravity defying stunts proved to be a winning combination, in no small part due to Chan's movies being mostly comedies anyway.
----
http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/RushHour2.jpg
[[AC:Rush Hour 2]] (2001)
Lee and Carter are back! This time they're together in Hong Kong. Carter wants a relaxing vacation but Lee just wants to do police work. At a night club, Lee spots an evil agent named Ricky Tan, who runs an gang of counterfeiters, and his partner is a woman who delivers packages containing bombs. Lee and Carter follow these two aboard a boat where their attempted bust really backfires.
But following some hunches Lee and Carter fly back to Los Angeles where they meet a woman in the Secret Service who directs them on how to find the counterfeiters. Like the first movie, she was trying to get them out of her way but Lee and Carter again find the right chain of evidence that takes them to Las Vegas and the perfect money-laundering location.
----
http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/rushhour3.jpg
[[AC:Rush Hour 3]] (2007)
After an attempted assassination on Ambassador Han, Inspector Lee and Detective Carter are back in action as they head to Paris to protect a French woman with knowledge of the Triads' secret leaders. Lee also holds secret meetings with a United Nations authority, but his personal struggles with a Chinese criminal mastermind named Kenji, which reveals that it's Lee's long-lost...brother.
But their race will take them across the city, from the depths of the Paris underground to the breathtaking heights of the Eiffel Tower, as they fight to outrun the world's most deadly criminals and save the day. Of the three, this is the [[{{Sequelitis}} least well-received]].
----
The film series contains examples of:
* AllAsiansAreAlike: In Part Two, after hitting Lee by mistake in the massage parlor fight, Carter says "All y'all look alike!."
* ArsonMurderAndLifesaving: The chief invokes this trope to make it seem like he's impressed with Tucker. He's actually quite angry, but is lying to get Tucker to accept a humiliating assignment as a supposed reward.
* ArtifactTitle: There's only one scene in the first movie where the title makes sense. The title is completely ignored in the sequels.
* AssShove: Done to the duo by RomanPolanski.
* BadGuyBar: The Triad's bar in Part Two.
* BashBrothers: Lee and Carter start to demonstrate this in the second movie, where Carter's hand-to-hand skills have notably jumped up about 10 grades.
* BilingualBackfire: JackieChan pretends not to understand English. Allegedly inspired by the RealLife first meeting between Chan and Tucker.
** His English is much better now, first movie onwards.
** Also in the second movie, Carter tries to tell a Chinese taxi driver to follow Ricky Tan's car, but the driver keeps responding in Chinese. This annoys Carter to the point that he hands the driver some cash and asks "You understand that?" The driver looks at the money, then says in English "Now you're speaking my language."
** From the same film, ZhangZiyi spoke ''zero'' English, receiving all her instructions from either Jackie or Ratner (who would mime out what he wanted her to do). Rosalyn Sanchez taught her the only two English lines she speaks in the film -- "Some apple?" and "Out!"
* BilingualBonus: Several. For example, the name "Hu Li" translates to "fox".
* BlackBraAndPanties: Isabella in the second movie.
* BlackComedyRape: The main characters get this during the third movie, by [[PaedoHunt Roman Polanski]], no less.
* BlondGuysAreEvil: Sang in the first movie.
* BrickJoke / CallBack: In the first movie Lee and Carter are in Carter's car and Lee changes the radio station prompting Carter to yell "Never touch a black man's radio!". In the second movie the scene plays out again but with the roles reversed ("Never touch a Chinese man's CD!").
** Also, the line "Do you understand the words that are coming out of my mouth?!", this time said by Lee to Carter.
** In Part Three, Carter orders a gefilte fish on their flight, which he also ordered in the previous movie (where Chris Tucker had lots of trouble pronouncing it right in the outtakes).
** In the first movie, Carter argues with a Chinese vendor and the latter responds: "Chinese food, no soul food here". In the next movie, one of Carter's contacts, Kenny, owns a Chinese/''soul'' food restaurant.
** At the end of the first movie, Lee kisses his savior, Carter. Carter does the same thing in the second movie, [[spoiler:to a wad of counterfeit cash kept in his pocket, which saves him from a fatal stab]].
* BuddyCopShow: See OddCouple.
* TheCameo: Jeremy Piven and Don Cheadle (who took it under the condition he would get a brief sparring moment with Chan) in Part Two, and RomanPolanski in Part Three.
* CampGay: The store attendant in the sequel, played by Jeremy Piven. Should have been offensive. Instead, it managed to be ''hilarious''. Even more so in the HilariousOuttakes where he goes off on a tangent about doing naughty things to Jackie Chan. Jackie's limited English didn't allow him to realize the inappropriate comments being made and Chris dissolved into laughter.
** In the same outtakes, he says to Chan "If I didn't [[CampStraight have a girlfriend]], I would be [[BiTheWay all over you]]!"
* CeilingCling: Parodied in the second film.
* ChekhovsGun: Literally. Carter carries a second gun in the first film that's first played for laughs after he is disarmed; pretty much saves his life at the end.
* ChekhovsSkill: Carter requests that Lee teach him the gun disarming skill Lee used on him earlier. Carter uses it later on a mook and even lampshades it "Didn't know I could do that, did you?"
* CowboyCop: Both Carter AND Lee. Especially Carter; he causes massive property damage, uses highly questionable investigation techniques, and doesn't bother hiding the fact he smokes weed.
* CrowdHockey: The detonator in ''Rush Hour 2''.
* CrouchingMoronHiddenBadass: Carter is generally loud, rude, and almost gleefully engages in UncleTomfoolery but proves to be a competent investigator and ''insanely'' fast on the draw in the first movie and defeats two accomplished martial artists who gave Lee trouble in 2 and 3.
* DarkActionGirl: Hu Li in ''Rush Hour 2''
* DidNotDoTheResearch: The plastic explosive known as C-4 is highly stable and resistant to things like fire and gunshots, and it's also known for making a pretty powerful, forceful (not fiery) explosion when detonated. Carter shoots a trunk full of C-4 in the first film and triggers a small, standard Hollywood pyrotechnic show, indicating that the people behind the movie knew ''none'' of the aforementioned facts, or just followed the RuleOfCool.
* DisneyVillainDeath: Happens to all three of the main villains in the series, though usually with a bit more proof they didn't survive the impact than at Disney. [[LampshadeHanging Lampshaded]] during the blooper reel of ''Rush Hour 2''.
-->'''Chris Tucker''': "Damn! He ain't gonna be in ''Rush Hour 3''!"
* TheDragon: Sang (Ken Leung) in the first movie, Hu Li (ZhangZiyi) in the second. Hu Li also doubles as the DragonLady.
* DroppedABridgeOnHim: Carter's father, a legendary policeman by his son's retelling.
-->'''Carter''': "My daddy ''was'' a legend! My daddy was killed during a routine traffic stop in broad daylight by some punk who didn't want no ticket!"
* {{Eagleland}}: Not so much in the first two movies, but in ''Rush Hour 3'' Carter gets pretty obnoxiously Flavor 2; accusing all Iranians of being terrorists and forcing a Frenchman to sing the US anthem ''at gunpoint''.
* EaglelandOsmosis: The French taxi driver in the third film thinks all Americans are violent action movie characters.
* EiffelTowerEffect: The setting for the climatic battle at the end of the third film.
* EvilBrit: [[spoiler:Thomas Griffin, aka Juntao]] in the first movie.
* {{Flanderization}}: James Carter went from being a loudmouthed and self centered but legitimately competent detective in the first movie to being a TedBaxter that's unable to take anything seriously in the second. The third film kind of mixes the two. And that's not even getting into the UncleTomfoolery.
** He still is actually a competent cop. In the second movie he correctly guesses that the owner of the casino was in league with Ricky Tan ("follow the rich white man") and even manages to last in a fight against Hu-Li. In movie 3 he also is able to find the location of a club (if not by accident) that a mook only gives a vague address of, defeats several Triad bosses (on his own) and rescues Soo-Yung (again). It should also be noted that his antics actually get him ''demoted'' to traffic duty by number 3.
** In the first film, the very first thing we see him doing is mess up the arrest of an arms dealer, blowing up half a city block and getting two officers shot in the process. If anything he gets ''more'' competent as the films go on, not less, as he learns to work with a partner and exercise some degree of self-control.
* FollowThatCar: Seen in "Rush Hour 2", when Carter orders a taxi driver to follow a car. The driver doesn't move and keeps speaking Chinese to him. After a few back-and-forth exchanges, Carter slips him some money and the driver says, in English, "Now you're speaking my language." and steps on the gas.
** The BilingualBonus here is that the Chinese driver actually said "Money first" in his native tongue.
* FrenchJerk: The officer played by RomanPolanski.
* FreudianSlip: Carter, when discussing the funny money with Isabella, who's in only her underwear and bathrobe:
-->'''Isabella''': Carter, this is your city, right?
-->'''Carter''': Yeah, this is my titty. I mean, this is my city.
* GayMoment: Lee gratefully kisses Carter's cheeks a few times after he's rescued by Carter's quick thinking at the end of the first film. Carter, having just had Lee collide with his crotch, just wanted Lee off him ASAP. "What the hell you doin'?" "I was just... being polite." "[[ThatCameOutWrong Well, next time, be polite to my nuts!]]"
** And then, of course, there was the ''hysterical'' CampGay store attendant in ''Rush Hour 2.''
---> '''Carter:''' You ''see'' that?!
---> '''Lee:''' He likes you.
---> ''[beat]''
---> '''Carter:''' I ain't shoppin' with ''you'' no more.
* GloveSnap: Done by French airport security in ''Rush Hour 3''.
** Does the fact that the officer is played by ''RomanPolanski'' make it more disturbing or funnier?
* HeterosexualLifePartners: Bordering on HoYay.
* HeyItsThatGuy: Kenji is played by Hiroyuki Sanada, perhaps best known for his role as Ryuji Takayama in the ''[[TheRing Ring]]'' movies. He also appeared in ''Film/{{Sunshine}}'' as Captain Kaneda.
** The first had [[TheDarkKnightSaga Carmine Falcone]] and [[{{LOST}} Miles]] [[spoiler:in cahoots]]
** In the second movie, Hu-Li is played by ZhangZiyi, who is probably best known for ''CrouchingTigerHiddenDragon'', ''HouseOfFlyingDaggers'' and ''MemoirsOfAGeisha''.
* HilariousOuttakes: "Damn, he ain't gonna be in ''Rush Hour 3''."
** "Jackie, kick it!". "Okay [[SarcasmMode Chris Tucker]]!"
*** ''[[SugarWiki/FunnyMoments "HIS NAME IS LEE, GODDAMMIT!"]]''
** ''"SHOW YOUR ASS!"''
** ''"You've been tryin' to kill us since the start of this damn movie!"''
** Chris Tucker's cell phone going off in the 2nd film. Made even more amusing in hindsight since Jackie Chan chides him thoroughly for such unprofessional behavior. The outtakes of ShanghaiKnights, made later, have ''Jackie's'' cell go off in the midst of a scene.
* ImprovisedZipline: Used to escape an explosion in the second movie.
* IronicEcho: When Carter told Sang and his goons in the Foo Chow restaurant to "put their guns down and fight like a man." Which Sang would later tell Carter the same line in the expo facing each other.
** Also, when the same aforementioned guy is about to kill Carter in said restaurant, he throws a handkerchief to him and says: "Wipe yourself off, you're bleeding." Later, after killing the man in a shootout at the expo, Carter tosses a handkerchief on him and says: "Wipe yourself off, you dead."
* JapaneseTourist: In the first movie.
* {{Jerkass}}: The FBI agents in the first movie.
* JerkWithAHeartOfGold: Carter.
* MacGuffinMelee: The Red Dragon Casino fight, involving a bomb detonator.
* MisfitMobilizationMoment
* MistakenForGay: Carter and Lee are assumed to be a couple by a CampGay store attendant in the second movie, who "''loves'' it when couples match."
* MistakenForRacist / NWordPrivileges: Happens in the first movie when the two go to a pool hall. Carter, who's known by the patrons, greets them by saying "What's up, ma nigga?" While Carter goes into a back room to interrogate a source, Lee tries to start a friendly chat with the bartender using the same line. Since this is a JackieChan movie, [[BarBrawl Fighting Ensues]].
* MockMillionaire: In the second movie, Carter tries to impress a beautiful girl at a yacht party by pretending to be the yacht's owner. Later, he spends (counterfeit) money like a madman at the Red Dragon casino to distract the other gamblers.
* MonumentalBattle: The fight on the Eiffel Tower at the end of the third film.
* MyDadCanBeatUpYourDad: In the first movie, Lee and Carter get into an argument about their deceased fathers, culminating in this:
-->'''Carter''': Your daddy was a a cop?\\
'''Lee''': Not a cop. An officer. [[ShroudedInMyth A legend]]. All over Hong Kong.\\
'''Carter''': My daddy [is] a legend too. All over America. My daddy once arrested 15 people in one night. By himself.\\
'''Lee''': My daddy arrest[ed] [[UpToEleven 25 by himself]].\\
'''Carter''': My daddy saved 5 crackheads from a burning building. ''[[InsistentTerminology By himself]]''.\\
'''Lee''': My daddy once [[BulletCatch caught a bullet with his bare hands]].\\
'''Carter''': (''{{Beat}}'') My daddy'll kick your daddy's ass all the way from here to China or Japan - [[AllAsiansAreAlike wherever the hell you're from]] - and all up that Great Wall too.\\
'''Lee''': Hey, [[CavemenVsAstronautsDebate don't talk about my father]].\\
'''Carter''': [[HypocriticalHumor Don't talk about my daddy]].
* MyHovercraftIsFullOfEels: Thanks to his poor poor Cantonese, Carter invited two girls to get naked and sacrifice a small goat instead of having a drink. He also told ''[[BadGuyBar the entire triad bar]]'' to take out [[KatanasAreJustBetter their Samurai swords]] and shave his butt. It's heavily implied that he bought the wrong Chinese-To-English translation book before their trip to Hong Kong.
* NakedPeopleAreFunny: Demonstrated in ''Rush Hour 2'' when Carter and Lee are stripped of their clothes and forced to run back to the police station with only a trash can lid and newspaper as their coverings.
* NoodleIncident: Isabella, the Secret Service agent from part 2, is mentioned in 3. Though it seem she had a falling out with the two and the most we hear on the reason is that Carter accidentally shot her. And apparently left her temporarily brain dead. Ouch.
* OddCouple: Pretty much the main reason why these movies exist.
* PocketProtector:
-->[[spoiler:'''Carter''': Thank you, Benjamin. Thank you.]]
* PronounTrouble / WhosOnFirst: Two characters named Yu and Mi in the third movie confuse the other characters and the audience.
** Lee and Carter have one of these in the second movie
-->'''Carter:''' Who died?
-->'''Lee:''' You!
-->'''Carter:''' Detective Yu?
* PunctuatedForEmphasis: In the first movie:
-->'''Carter:''' Do you! Understand! The words! That are coming out of my mouth?!
* RedOniBlueOni: Carter and Lee.
* RunningGag: An ''actual'' running gag shows up in the outtakes, when Chris Tucker keeps forgetting to call Jackie Chan by his character's name.
* SequelGoesForeign: The second movie is set in Hong Kong and the third movie went to Paris.
* SheIsAllGrownUp: Carter has this reaction In Rush Hour 3 after seeing Soo Yung for the first time in nine years. Surprisingly, he doesn't hit on her. In fact he acts as something of a PapaWolf towards her.
* SirNotAppearingInThisTrailer: For [[PaedoHunt obvious reasons]], RomanPolanski's role in part three as a French customs agent was kept pretty quiet.
* SoulBrotha: Carter.
* SpiritualSuccessor: To the film ''Drive'', starring Mark Dacascos, a woefully underrated (and relatively unknown) action film from TheNineties. Brett Ratner even admitted that the only reason ''RushHour'' got made without legal complications is that almost no one knows it exists. Fans of ''RushHour'' and action films in general should definitely check it out (but ''only'' the Director's Cut. [[ExecutiveMeddling Long story]].)
* SpringtimeForHitler: Jackie Chan has gone on record that he didn't think Rush Hour would be as successful as it became. He did the film to test the American market.
** He also admitted to not understanding a good portion of the jokes in the films.
* StabTheSalad: Before fighting Carter towards the end of the second movie, Hu Li grabs a chopstick, holding it menacingly, only to use it to tie her hair back.
* TaughtByTelevision: The taxi driver in the third movie, during the first chase scene.
* TemptingFate: In the first film, Lee threatens that nothing better happen to all the priceless Chinese art and artifacts. Carter reassures him: "Don't worry, ain't nothin' gonna happen to any of this stuff." Only a couple minutes later, a huge gunfight erupts in the room, which destroys many of the items.
* TitleDrop: First movie only (and really, it's the only one where the title makes sense; what does Rush Hour have to do with the crimes taking place in Hong Kong or Paris?).
-->[''[[TheDragon Sang]] stops Soo Yung's car, dressed as a cop'']\\
'''Soo Yung's Driver:''' Is there a problem, officer?\\
'''Sang:''' No problem. Just rush hour.\\
[''Sang shoots both guards and abducts Soo Yung'']
** To be fair, during the last hour of the sequels, Lee and Carter are usually ''rushing'' to get somewhere to stop someone dangerous, or rescue someone, so the title ''Rush Hour'' does kind of make sense. But that is stretching it.
* TooDumbToLive: [[spoiler: When Reign betrayed Tan and took the plates, he shows him he has a gun as a warning. But does he take the gun out, point it at Tan and keep his distance? No, he keeps it under his pants, walks right up to Tan where he could've easily taken his gun from him. Or stab him in the gut (which he does).]]
* TrademarkFavoriteFood: In the first movie, Lee orders Chinese food from a roadside merchant for the both of them, causing Carter to complain about the grease. The merchant's reply? "Chinese food. No soul food here."
* TruthInTelevision: The taxi driver in 3 isn't actually all that far off from what some foreigners think of Americans.
* TWordEuphemism: Played with in ''Rush Hour 3''. Carter and Lee are interrogating a man who speaks only French, so they enlist a nun, who's fluent in French, to translate. So, naturally, when she translates the prisoner's taunts, she summarizes with, "And he called you the N-word." For the rest of the scene, Carter and Lee ask her to translate things like, "Tell this piece of S-word that I'll kick his A-word," complete with brief stops to determine the spelling of some of the words.
* UncleTomfoolery: Carter, especially in the later movies.
* WhatCouldHaveBeen: JeanClaudeVanDamme was offered the role of the villain in part three. Imagine seeing him and JackieChan fight...
** EddieMurphy was also originally supposed to play as Carter, but turned the role down to work on another project.
* WhosOnFirst: In ''Rush Hour 3'', this was done in a dojo when Carter was speaking with Master Yu and Sifu Mi.
-->'''Carter''': Who are you?
-->'''Yu''': Yu.
-->'''Carter''': No, not me, you!
-->'''Yu''': Yes, I am Yu.
-->'''Carter''': Just answer the damn question! Who are you?
-->'''Yu''': I have told you!
-->'''Carter''': Are you deaf?
-->'''Yu''': No, Yu is blind.
-->'''Carter''': I'm not blind, ''you'' blind.
-->'''Yu''': That is what I just said.
-->'''Carter''': You just said what?
-->'''Yu''': I did not say "what", I said "Yu"!
-->'''Carter''': That's what I'm asking you!
-->'''Yu''': And Yu is answering!
-->'''Carter''': Shut up! (''to Mi'') You!
-->'''Yu''': Yes?
-->'''Carter''': Not you, ''him!'' What's your name, man?
-->'''Mi''': Mi.
-->'''Carter''': Yes, you!
-->'''Mi''': I am ''Mi.''
-->'''Yu''': He is Mi, and I am Yu.
** ''RushHour 2'' did it in the opposite direction, when discussing Carter's apparent death.
-->'''Carter''': Detective Yu?
-->'''Lee:''' Not Yu, YOU!
* WokFu: There's a fight followed by a chase through a Chinese restaurant.
* [[WouldntHitAGirl Wouldn't Hit a Woman]]: Subverted through the second movie, as Carter tries to take on Hu Li, only to be KO-ed in each encounter. In their final fight, Carter says:
-->'''Carter:''' I'm gonna pretend you a man. A very beautiful man with a great body that I'd like to take to the movies.
----
----
http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/RushHour.jpg
[[AC:Rush Hour]] (1998)
Hong Kong, the last night of British rulership. Detective Inspector Lee (Jackie), close friend to Consul Han, manages to prevent precious pieces of China's history being smuggled out of the country. Two months later, when Consul Han is living in Los Angeles with his family, Crime Lord Juntao takes revenge on him by abducting his young daughter Soo Yung. Han does not trust the FBI to do a good job and has Lee flown in from Hong Kong to assist them.
Because they don't want a foreign officer on their case, the FBI requests help from LAPD to "babysit" Lee - who gladly use the opportunity to get rid of Detective James Carter (Chris), a big-mouthed work-alone cop who just can't be cool enough. His assignment is to keep Lee as far away from trouble as possible. But Carter and Lee don't like being put aside in that way and start working the case on their own.
The first movie was a major success and became the 7th top grossing film of 1998, with a gross of over $140 million dollars at the U.S. box office. The combination of motor-mouthed Tucker with Chan's gravity defying stunts proved to be a winning combination, in no small part due to Chan's movies being mostly comedies anyway.
----
http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/RushHour2.jpg
[[AC:Rush Hour 2]] (2001)
Lee and Carter are back! This time they're together in Hong Kong. Carter wants a relaxing vacation but Lee just wants to do police work. At a night club, Lee spots an evil agent named Ricky Tan, who runs an gang of counterfeiters, and his partner is a woman who delivers packages containing bombs. Lee and Carter follow these two aboard a boat where their attempted bust really backfires.
But following some hunches Lee and Carter fly back to Los Angeles where they meet a woman in the Secret Service who directs them on how to find the counterfeiters. Like the first movie, she was trying to get them out of her way but Lee and Carter again find the right chain of evidence that takes them to Las Vegas and the perfect money-laundering location.
----
http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/rushhour3.jpg
[[AC:Rush Hour 3]] (2007)
After an attempted assassination on Ambassador Han, Inspector Lee and Detective Carter are back in action as they head to Paris to protect a French woman with knowledge of the Triads' secret leaders. Lee also holds secret meetings with a United Nations authority, but his personal struggles with a Chinese criminal mastermind named Kenji, which reveals that it's Lee's long-lost...brother.
But their race will take them across the city, from the depths of the Paris underground to the breathtaking heights of the Eiffel Tower, as they fight to outrun the world's most deadly criminals and save the day. Of the three, this is the [[{{Sequelitis}} least well-received]].
----
The film series contains examples of:
* AllAsiansAreAlike: In Part Two, after hitting Lee by mistake in the massage parlor fight, Carter says "All y'all look alike!."
* ArsonMurderAndLifesaving: The chief invokes this trope to make it seem like he's impressed with Tucker. He's actually quite angry, but is lying to get Tucker to accept a humiliating assignment as a supposed reward.
* ArtifactTitle: There's only one scene in the first movie where the title makes sense. The title is completely ignored in the sequels.
* AssShove: Done to the duo by RomanPolanski.
* BadGuyBar: The Triad's bar in Part Two.
* BashBrothers: Lee and Carter start to demonstrate this in the second movie, where Carter's hand-to-hand skills have notably jumped up about 10 grades.
* BilingualBackfire: JackieChan pretends not to understand English. Allegedly inspired by the RealLife first meeting between Chan and Tucker.
** His English is much better now, first movie onwards.
** Also in the second movie, Carter tries to tell a Chinese taxi driver to follow Ricky Tan's car, but the driver keeps responding in Chinese. This annoys Carter to the point that he hands the driver some cash and asks "You understand that?" The driver looks at the money, then says in English "Now you're speaking my language."
** From the same film, ZhangZiyi spoke ''zero'' English, receiving all her instructions from either Jackie or Ratner (who would mime out what he wanted her to do). Rosalyn Sanchez taught her the only two English lines she speaks in the film -- "Some apple?" and "Out!"
* BilingualBonus: Several. For example, the name "Hu Li" translates to "fox".
* BlackBraAndPanties: Isabella in the second movie.
* BlackComedyRape: The main characters get this during the third movie, by [[PaedoHunt Roman Polanski]], no less.
* BlondGuysAreEvil: Sang in the first movie.
* BrickJoke / CallBack: In the first movie Lee and Carter are in Carter's car and Lee changes the radio station prompting Carter to yell "Never touch a black man's radio!". In the second movie the scene plays out again but with the roles reversed ("Never touch a Chinese man's CD!").
** Also, the line "Do you understand the words that are coming out of my mouth?!", this time said by Lee to Carter.
** In Part Three, Carter orders a gefilte fish on their flight, which he also ordered in the previous movie (where Chris Tucker had lots of trouble pronouncing it right in the outtakes).
** In the first movie, Carter argues with a Chinese vendor and the latter responds: "Chinese food, no soul food here". In the next movie, one of Carter's contacts, Kenny, owns a Chinese/''soul'' food restaurant.
** At the end of the first movie, Lee kisses his savior, Carter. Carter does the same thing in the second movie, [[spoiler:to a wad of counterfeit cash kept in his pocket, which saves him from a fatal stab]].
* BuddyCopShow: See OddCouple.
* TheCameo: Jeremy Piven and Don Cheadle (who took it under the condition he would get a brief sparring moment with Chan) in Part Two, and RomanPolanski in Part Three.
* CampGay: The store attendant in the sequel, played by Jeremy Piven. Should have been offensive. Instead, it managed to be ''hilarious''. Even more so in the HilariousOuttakes where he goes off on a tangent about doing naughty things to Jackie Chan. Jackie's limited English didn't allow him to realize the inappropriate comments being made and Chris dissolved into laughter.
** In the same outtakes, he says to Chan "If I didn't [[CampStraight have a girlfriend]], I would be [[BiTheWay all over you]]!"
* CeilingCling: Parodied in the second film.
* ChekhovsGun: Literally. Carter carries a second gun in the first film that's first played for laughs after he is disarmed; pretty much saves his life at the end.
* ChekhovsSkill: Carter requests that Lee teach him the gun disarming skill Lee used on him earlier. Carter uses it later on a mook and even lampshades it "Didn't know I could do that, did you?"
* CowboyCop: Both Carter AND Lee. Especially Carter; he causes massive property damage, uses highly questionable investigation techniques, and doesn't bother hiding the fact he smokes weed.
* CrowdHockey: The detonator in ''Rush Hour 2''.
* CrouchingMoronHiddenBadass: Carter is generally loud, rude, and almost gleefully engages in UncleTomfoolery but proves to be a competent investigator and ''insanely'' fast on the draw in the first movie and defeats two accomplished martial artists who gave Lee trouble in 2 and 3.
* DarkActionGirl: Hu Li in ''Rush Hour 2''
* DidNotDoTheResearch: The plastic explosive known as C-4 is highly stable and resistant to things like fire and gunshots, and it's also known for making a pretty powerful, forceful (not fiery) explosion when detonated. Carter shoots a trunk full of C-4 in the first film and triggers a small, standard Hollywood pyrotechnic show, indicating that the people behind the movie knew ''none'' of the aforementioned facts, or just followed the RuleOfCool.
* DisneyVillainDeath: Happens to all three of the main villains in the series, though usually with a bit more proof they didn't survive the impact than at Disney. [[LampshadeHanging Lampshaded]] during the blooper reel of ''Rush Hour 2''.
-->'''Chris Tucker''': "Damn! He ain't gonna be in ''Rush Hour 3''!"
* TheDragon: Sang (Ken Leung) in the first movie, Hu Li (ZhangZiyi) in the second. Hu Li also doubles as the DragonLady.
* DroppedABridgeOnHim: Carter's father, a legendary policeman by his son's retelling.
-->'''Carter''': "My daddy ''was'' a legend! My daddy was killed during a routine traffic stop in broad daylight by some punk who didn't want no ticket!"
* {{Eagleland}}: Not so much in the first two movies, but in ''Rush Hour 3'' Carter gets pretty obnoxiously Flavor 2; accusing all Iranians of being terrorists and forcing a Frenchman to sing the US anthem ''at gunpoint''.
* EaglelandOsmosis: The French taxi driver in the third film thinks all Americans are violent action movie characters.
* EiffelTowerEffect: The setting for the climatic battle at the end of the third film.
* EvilBrit: [[spoiler:Thomas Griffin, aka Juntao]] in the first movie.
* {{Flanderization}}: James Carter went from being a loudmouthed and self centered but legitimately competent detective in the first movie to being a TedBaxter that's unable to take anything seriously in the second. The third film kind of mixes the two. And that's not even getting into the UncleTomfoolery.
** He still is actually a competent cop. In the second movie he correctly guesses that the owner of the casino was in league with Ricky Tan ("follow the rich white man") and even manages to last in a fight against Hu-Li. In movie 3 he also is able to find the location of a club (if not by accident) that a mook only gives a vague address of, defeats several Triad bosses (on his own) and rescues Soo-Yung (again). It should also be noted that his antics actually get him ''demoted'' to traffic duty by number 3.
** In the first film, the very first thing we see him doing is mess up the arrest of an arms dealer, blowing up half a city block and getting two officers shot in the process. If anything he gets ''more'' competent as the films go on, not less, as he learns to work with a partner and exercise some degree of self-control.
* FollowThatCar: Seen in "Rush Hour 2", when Carter orders a taxi driver to follow a car. The driver doesn't move and keeps speaking Chinese to him. After a few back-and-forth exchanges, Carter slips him some money and the driver says, in English, "Now you're speaking my language." and steps on the gas.
** The BilingualBonus here is that the Chinese driver actually said "Money first" in his native tongue.
* FrenchJerk: The officer played by RomanPolanski.
* FreudianSlip: Carter, when discussing the funny money with Isabella, who's in only her underwear and bathrobe:
-->'''Isabella''': Carter, this is your city, right?
-->'''Carter''': Yeah, this is my titty. I mean, this is my city.
* GayMoment: Lee gratefully kisses Carter's cheeks a few times after he's rescued by Carter's quick thinking at the end of the first film. Carter, having just had Lee collide with his crotch, just wanted Lee off him ASAP. "What the hell you doin'?" "I was just... being polite." "[[ThatCameOutWrong Well, next time, be polite to my nuts!]]"
** And then, of course, there was the ''hysterical'' CampGay store attendant in ''Rush Hour 2.''
---> '''Carter:''' You ''see'' that?!
---> '''Lee:''' He likes you.
---> ''[beat]''
---> '''Carter:''' I ain't shoppin' with ''you'' no more.
* GloveSnap: Done by French airport security in ''Rush Hour 3''.
** Does the fact that the officer is played by ''RomanPolanski'' make it more disturbing or funnier?
* HeterosexualLifePartners: Bordering on HoYay.
* HeyItsThatGuy: Kenji is played by Hiroyuki Sanada, perhaps best known for his role as Ryuji Takayama in the ''[[TheRing Ring]]'' movies. He also appeared in ''Film/{{Sunshine}}'' as Captain Kaneda.
** The first had [[TheDarkKnightSaga Carmine Falcone]] and [[{{LOST}} Miles]] [[spoiler:in cahoots]]
** In the second movie, Hu-Li is played by ZhangZiyi, who is probably best known for ''CrouchingTigerHiddenDragon'', ''HouseOfFlyingDaggers'' and ''MemoirsOfAGeisha''.
* HilariousOuttakes: "Damn, he ain't gonna be in ''Rush Hour 3''."
** "Jackie, kick it!". "Okay [[SarcasmMode Chris Tucker]]!"
*** ''[[SugarWiki/FunnyMoments "HIS NAME IS LEE, GODDAMMIT!"]]''
** ''"SHOW YOUR ASS!"''
** ''"You've been tryin' to kill us since the start of this damn movie!"''
** Chris Tucker's cell phone going off in the 2nd film. Made even more amusing in hindsight since Jackie Chan chides him thoroughly for such unprofessional behavior. The outtakes of ShanghaiKnights, made later, have ''Jackie's'' cell go off in the midst of a scene.
* ImprovisedZipline: Used to escape an explosion in the second movie.
* IronicEcho: When Carter told Sang and his goons in the Foo Chow restaurant to "put their guns down and fight like a man." Which Sang would later tell Carter the same line in the expo facing each other.
** Also, when the same aforementioned guy is about to kill Carter in said restaurant, he throws a handkerchief to him and says: "Wipe yourself off, you're bleeding." Later, after killing the man in a shootout at the expo, Carter tosses a handkerchief on him and says: "Wipe yourself off, you dead."
* JapaneseTourist: In the first movie.
* {{Jerkass}}: The FBI agents in the first movie.
* JerkWithAHeartOfGold: Carter.
* MacGuffinMelee: The Red Dragon Casino fight, involving a bomb detonator.
* MisfitMobilizationMoment
* MistakenForGay: Carter and Lee are assumed to be a couple by a CampGay store attendant in the second movie, who "''loves'' it when couples match."
* MistakenForRacist / NWordPrivileges: Happens in the first movie when the two go to a pool hall. Carter, who's known by the patrons, greets them by saying "What's up, ma nigga?" While Carter goes into a back room to interrogate a source, Lee tries to start a friendly chat with the bartender using the same line. Since this is a JackieChan movie, [[BarBrawl Fighting Ensues]].
* MockMillionaire: In the second movie, Carter tries to impress a beautiful girl at a yacht party by pretending to be the yacht's owner. Later, he spends (counterfeit) money like a madman at the Red Dragon casino to distract the other gamblers.
* MonumentalBattle: The fight on the Eiffel Tower at the end of the third film.
* MyDadCanBeatUpYourDad: In the first movie, Lee and Carter get into an argument about their deceased fathers, culminating in this:
-->'''Carter''': Your daddy was a a cop?\\
'''Lee''': Not a cop. An officer. [[ShroudedInMyth A legend]]. All over Hong Kong.\\
'''Carter''': My daddy [is] a legend too. All over America. My daddy once arrested 15 people in one night. By himself.\\
'''Lee''': My daddy arrest[ed] [[UpToEleven 25 by himself]].\\
'''Carter''': My daddy saved 5 crackheads from a burning building. ''[[InsistentTerminology By himself]]''.\\
'''Lee''': My daddy once [[BulletCatch caught a bullet with his bare hands]].\\
'''Carter''': (''{{Beat}}'') My daddy'll kick your daddy's ass all the way from here to China or Japan - [[AllAsiansAreAlike wherever the hell you're from]] - and all up that Great Wall too.\\
'''Lee''': Hey, [[CavemenVsAstronautsDebate don't talk about my father]].\\
'''Carter''': [[HypocriticalHumor Don't talk about my daddy]].
* MyHovercraftIsFullOfEels: Thanks to his poor poor Cantonese, Carter invited two girls to get naked and sacrifice a small goat instead of having a drink. He also told ''[[BadGuyBar the entire triad bar]]'' to take out [[KatanasAreJustBetter their Samurai swords]] and shave his butt. It's heavily implied that he bought the wrong Chinese-To-English translation book before their trip to Hong Kong.
* NakedPeopleAreFunny: Demonstrated in ''Rush Hour 2'' when Carter and Lee are stripped of their clothes and forced to run back to the police station with only a trash can lid and newspaper as their coverings.
* NoodleIncident: Isabella, the Secret Service agent from part 2, is mentioned in 3. Though it seem she had a falling out with the two and the most we hear on the reason is that Carter accidentally shot her. And apparently left her temporarily brain dead. Ouch.
* OddCouple: Pretty much the main reason why these movies exist.
* PocketProtector:
-->[[spoiler:'''Carter''': Thank you, Benjamin. Thank you.]]
* PronounTrouble / WhosOnFirst: Two characters named Yu and Mi in the third movie confuse the other characters and the audience.
** Lee and Carter have one of these in the second movie
-->'''Carter:''' Who died?
-->'''Lee:''' You!
-->'''Carter:''' Detective Yu?
* PunctuatedForEmphasis: In the first movie:
-->'''Carter:''' Do you! Understand! The words! That are coming out of my mouth?!
* RedOniBlueOni: Carter and Lee.
* RunningGag: An ''actual'' running gag shows up in the outtakes, when Chris Tucker keeps forgetting to call Jackie Chan by his character's name.
* SequelGoesForeign: The second movie is set in Hong Kong and the third movie went to Paris.
* SheIsAllGrownUp: Carter has this reaction In Rush Hour 3 after seeing Soo Yung for the first time in nine years. Surprisingly, he doesn't hit on her. In fact he acts as something of a PapaWolf towards her.
* SirNotAppearingInThisTrailer: For [[PaedoHunt obvious reasons]], RomanPolanski's role in part three as a French customs agent was kept pretty quiet.
* SoulBrotha: Carter.
* SpiritualSuccessor: To the film ''Drive'', starring Mark Dacascos, a woefully underrated (and relatively unknown) action film from TheNineties. Brett Ratner even admitted that the only reason ''RushHour'' got made without legal complications is that almost no one knows it exists. Fans of ''RushHour'' and action films in general should definitely check it out (but ''only'' the Director's Cut. [[ExecutiveMeddling Long story]].)
* SpringtimeForHitler: Jackie Chan has gone on record that he didn't think Rush Hour would be as successful as it became. He did the film to test the American market.
** He also admitted to not understanding a good portion of the jokes in the films.
* StabTheSalad: Before fighting Carter towards the end of the second movie, Hu Li grabs a chopstick, holding it menacingly, only to use it to tie her hair back.
* TaughtByTelevision: The taxi driver in the third movie, during the first chase scene.
* TemptingFate: In the first film, Lee threatens that nothing better happen to all the priceless Chinese art and artifacts. Carter reassures him: "Don't worry, ain't nothin' gonna happen to any of this stuff." Only a couple minutes later, a huge gunfight erupts in the room, which destroys many of the items.
* TitleDrop: First movie only (and really, it's the only one where the title makes sense; what does Rush Hour have to do with the crimes taking place in Hong Kong or Paris?).
-->[''[[TheDragon Sang]] stops Soo Yung's car, dressed as a cop'']\\
'''Soo Yung's Driver:''' Is there a problem, officer?\\
'''Sang:''' No problem. Just rush hour.\\
[''Sang shoots both guards and abducts Soo Yung'']
** To be fair, during the last hour of the sequels, Lee and Carter are usually ''rushing'' to get somewhere to stop someone dangerous, or rescue someone, so the title ''Rush Hour'' does kind of make sense. But that is stretching it.
* TooDumbToLive: [[spoiler: When Reign betrayed Tan and took the plates, he shows him he has a gun as a warning. But does he take the gun out, point it at Tan and keep his distance? No, he keeps it under his pants, walks right up to Tan where he could've easily taken his gun from him. Or stab him in the gut (which he does).]]
* TrademarkFavoriteFood: In the first movie, Lee orders Chinese food from a roadside merchant for the both of them, causing Carter to complain about the grease. The merchant's reply? "Chinese food. No soul food here."
* TruthInTelevision: The taxi driver in 3 isn't actually all that far off from what some foreigners think of Americans.
* TWordEuphemism: Played with in ''Rush Hour 3''. Carter and Lee are interrogating a man who speaks only French, so they enlist a nun, who's fluent in French, to translate. So, naturally, when she translates the prisoner's taunts, she summarizes with, "And he called you the N-word." For the rest of the scene, Carter and Lee ask her to translate things like, "Tell this piece of S-word that I'll kick his A-word," complete with brief stops to determine the spelling of some of the words.
* UncleTomfoolery: Carter, especially in the later movies.
* WhatCouldHaveBeen: JeanClaudeVanDamme was offered the role of the villain in part three. Imagine seeing him and JackieChan fight...
** EddieMurphy was also originally supposed to play as Carter, but turned the role down to work on another project.
* WhosOnFirst: In ''Rush Hour 3'', this was done in a dojo when Carter was speaking with Master Yu and Sifu Mi.
-->'''Carter''': Who are you?
-->'''Yu''': Yu.
-->'''Carter''': No, not me, you!
-->'''Yu''': Yes, I am Yu.
-->'''Carter''': Just answer the damn question! Who are you?
-->'''Yu''': I have told you!
-->'''Carter''': Are you deaf?
-->'''Yu''': No, Yu is blind.
-->'''Carter''': I'm not blind, ''you'' blind.
-->'''Yu''': That is what I just said.
-->'''Carter''': You just said what?
-->'''Yu''': I did not say "what", I said "Yu"!
-->'''Carter''': That's what I'm asking you!
-->'''Yu''': And Yu is answering!
-->'''Carter''': Shut up! (''to Mi'') You!
-->'''Yu''': Yes?
-->'''Carter''': Not you, ''him!'' What's your name, man?
-->'''Mi''': Mi.
-->'''Carter''': Yes, you!
-->'''Mi''': I am ''Mi.''
-->'''Yu''': He is Mi, and I am Yu.
** ''RushHour 2'' did it in the opposite direction, when discussing Carter's apparent death.
-->'''Carter''': Detective Yu?
-->'''Lee:''' Not Yu, YOU!
* WokFu: There's a fight followed by a chase through a Chinese restaurant.
* [[WouldntHitAGirl Wouldn't Hit a Woman]]: Subverted through the second movie, as Carter tries to take on Hu Li, only to be KO-ed in each encounter. In their final fight, Carter says:
-->'''Carter:''' I'm gonna pretend you a man. A very beautiful man with a great body that I'd like to take to the movies.
----
