Rush Hour (TV Series) Pilot (2016) User Reviews

Surprisingly Good!!!

[AmosJAMcLovin · 8/10 · 1 April 2016]

The first episode does a good job of re-inventing the first movie. While taking certain elements out so that it doesn't drag out the same story/case into one whole season.

*SPOILER* I am impressed that the show was able to resolve this case in only one episode, and doing a pretty good job of it.

The actors do a good job of portraying the roles of Lee and Carter, and really show their friendship evolve throughout the episode. I am really interested to see how other cases are introduced throughout the season in future episodes.

I also hope that they are able to change locations for each season e.g) Hong Kong, Paris, New York, etc. (if we get another season).

Pleasantly surprised.

[maureen_smith5 · 9/10 · 20 April 2016]

I must admit seeing trailers for this didn't excite me a great deal especially since the Rush Hour trilogy is one of the best in the action comedy genre plus both Jackie Chan and Chris Tucker were built for the roles and are one of cinemas great double acts and after a shaky start(was looking a bit of a poor relation to the films to start with)this got better as it went along and as Carter met Lee it became a pleasant surprise.

It follows a similar plot as the first RH film as Detective Lee(Jon Foo)from Hong Kong has to travel to LA to try and locate who has taken a load of Terracotta Warrior statues and who kidnapped his cop sister.

He teams up with load mouth LAPD detective James Carter(Justin Hires)a cop who he feels never seems to catch a break(even though he does stray a bit to being a dirty cop now and then)to try and find the bad guys involved and locate his sister but both find there is more to it than meets the eye plus can this mismatched pair manage to even communicate with each other when a big mouth meets a martial arts handy cop.

This pilot episode as I said before doesn't start well as Hires is a bit too like Chris Tucker but after that it becomes its own spin on the movies and though neither are Tucker/Chan they are a good team and it has some nice surprises along the way.

In terms of acting it isn't great to be honest even though Hines as Carter is just terrific and is not far off Chris Tucker's talent(though Tucker is funnier and talks quicker)and lights up any scene that might drag and like Tucker always has a quip ready(saying BANG to a crook he is trying to catch after calling him a Stormtrooper or making a joke of being shot only for Lee to make him look like a wimp when he says getting shot is no big deal)and this guy was picked perfectly for the Carter role and didn't make me want Chris back.As for Lee look this guy is a talent at martial arts and has great chemistry with Hines but Foo is not even as good at acting as Jackie Chan(he looks a bit like him though)and that is saying something but he does kick backsides pretty well it has to be said and really enjoyed the fights in this.

The other actors aren't bad but you do pine for the co stars in the original movies even if Aimee Garcia in the late Elizabeth Pena's role as Carter's ex partner Diaz plays her part well and makes you chuckle a few times(a beautiful lady too)plus Lee's sister Kim played by Jessika Van is a interesting actress who has the looks and is decent at acting.

The action is similar in style to the RH movies with Lee taking out guys using(epic)martial arts whilst Carter tries to keep up with a gun in the background though this version of Carter is better than Tucker's version in the fights plus I loved the first scene involving Carter when he is hanging outside of a helicopter before dropping into a swimming pool viewed on by the stunned owners('its raining black people' he quips which was said by Will Smith in Men In Black).The other standout in terms of fights or action scenes is when Lee squares up to his big bad Asian rival in two fights with the second not ending well for the bad guy(could say he was spiked to death ironic considering his spiky hairstyle).The best part though is the near copy of the barroom brawl in the first film(apart from a choice word taken out)where Lee gets into a scuffle with a room full of guys whilst Carter is talking to his cousin outside,it for me is more brutal than the one Jackie Chan took part in and was supremely done.

All in all I was surprised at how much I enjoyed this and though it didn't really need remaking(that certainly applies to you 'cough' Ghostbusters)the two leads brought back memories of the iconic Jackie Chan/Chris Tucker partnership with great funny lines(not just from Carter either),awesome martial arts fights and decent bad guys which makes up for some wooden acting in places and a small sense of been there done that and by the looks of the rest of this series its going to be new plots so this show could get better and better.