Chan had already scored when such films as Rumble in the Bronx and First Strike were released in mainstream theatres in the U. S., and not just in Chinatown and specialty video stores. Now Rush Hour has turned Jackie Chan into a household name the way Enter the Dragon made a legend of Bruce Lee.
The bi-racial pairing and good cop/bad cop storyline are predictably formulaic—Chan is Chinese and co-star Chris Tucker is black—similar to such films as the Lethal Weapon series starring Mel Gibson and Danny Glover. Yet the producers have wisely focused on the strengths of the two stars: Tucker’s hilarious, rapid-fire jive-talk, and Chan’s nimble derring-do in tight spaces and high places.
The film begins in Hong Kong on the eve of the hand-over as Han, a mainland Chinese diplomat, is dispatched to Los Angeles as consul general. A gangster promptly kidnaps Han’s darling daughter—and demands 50 million as ransom.
Though the vaunted Federal Bureau of Investigation gets called in. Han sends for his own man from Hong Kong, Lee (Chan), a Hong Kong detective with specialties to Han’s family. The FBI doesn’t like this one bit, and the stereotypical operation chief barks:“ This is an FBI assignment, and I don’t need and help from the LAPD” —Los Angeles Police Department— “or some Chungking cop!”
When Lee arrives, LAPD Detective James Carter (Tucker) is assigned to keep him out of the real investigation. The dynamic duo inevitably team up, getting into one scrape after another. For example, they pursue one suspect through a building, nearly catching up with him until their collective weight sends them crashing through a rotting bridge.
Fortunately, much of the lame storyline is played for laughs. Tucker, an arrogant cop more interested in grabbing glory than in police teamwork, delivers his politically incorrect pronouncements on women, Asians, and anyone else, in a rambling, high-pitched voice. In one of the funniest scenes, Tucker takes Chan to mingle with other tourists in front of the famous Hollywood landmark, Mann’s Chinese Theatre—built as a fantasy interpretation of “Chinese” during the Art Deco period. He says:“Look familiar? Just like home, ain’t it” You might see one of your cousins walkin’ around here.”
At first, Chan seems to be a hapless patsy to Tucker’s bullying. Ultimately, he proves himself by making a getaway in the inimitable Jackie Chan way—deftly leaping from the top of a double-decker tour bus to a street sign suspended overhead, dropping onto a passing flat-bed truck, then into the motor-home of startled American vacationers, before somersaulting into a taxi.
The climax of the film comes when Chan is seen tip-toeing across five-storey-high beams inside the Los Angeles Convention Centre.
Long-time Jackie Chan fans may find his antics too familiar and the film’s slick editing relying more on camera tricks than real stunts. After all, Chan is almost 44 years old and Hollywood insurance codes prohibit actors from performing some of the outrageous stunts for which Hong Kong films are famous. Still, Chan has always been considered one of the most popular and respected stars in the Chinese film world. Given the typical typecasting of Asians as hookers or triads (witness Jet Li’s Western debut in Leathal Weapon 4), Jackie Chan’s relaunch as an action hero in the West is a resounding triumph.
在距地面约200英尺的上空，一勇士被绑在一架直升机上倒悬着。烈日当空，他来回摇摆着。突然，一座摩天大厦的尖型顶柱朝他逼来，他躲避不及，重重地撞在混凝土顶柱上。
这惊心动魄的镜头深深地印在无数成龙迷的脑海里。而今他的奋不顾身得到了“尖峰时刻”的回报。作为亚裔颇受欢迎的动作片巨星，他终于征服了好莱坞。成龙新近在美国摄制的巨片《尖峰时刻》首映周内即飚升至排行榜首，出人意料地赢得了大批非亚裔观众。仅仅三天，票房收就达到三千三百万美元——这是新干线影院早高的周收入。这部由布雷特·兰特纳执导的影片，目前在美国本土影院的第六周收入已超过一亿一千七百万美元。
早在美国主流影院放映的如《布朗克斯区的喧嚣》和《第一次的罢工》时成龙就已获得了成功，而不仅仅是在唐人街和特色录影带商店。而今《尖峰时刻》就如同当李小龙的《猛龙过江》所创造的神话那样，成龙已成为家喻户晓的名字。
两个种族的角色搭档以及红白脸式的故事情节不免有些俗套—— 成龙是中国人而联袂明星克里斯·塔克是黑人——这就像是《致命武器》中的影星梅·吉布森和丹尼·格洛弗。然而制片商明智地看中了这两个影星的长处：塔克滑稽搞笑，妙语连珠，而成龙无论高空狭隙都身手敏捷，艺胆过人。
本片开始于香港回归前夕，当晚一名被派驻洛杉矶当总领事的大陆外官韩路经此地。一名歹徒随即绑架了韩的宝贝女儿— 并索要五千万美元的赎金。
尽管赫赫有名的联邦调查局接到通知，但韩还是从香港请业了亲信李（成龙饰），他是一名与韩家有着特殊关系的香港探员。联邦调查局对此十分不满，刻板的警长叫道：“这是联邦调查局的事，我不需要LAPD—— 洛杉矶警署—— 或是某个中国警察的帮助！”
李到来后，LAPD的侦探詹姆斯·卡特（塔克饰）奉命阻止他涉及真正的调查。最终走到一起联手办案，但一次接一次地出洋相。比如，他们穿越一栋大厦去抓疑犯，马上要抓住时他们二人缠在了一起，从一座不堪重负的腐桥摔下。
幸好，那些蹩脚的情节只是为了搞笑。塔克，这个自负的警官，热衷于哗众取宠，却不顾精诚团结，他滔滔不绝地尖声发表那些对妇女、亚裔及其他人的政治上偏见的言论。其中最逗的一幕，塔克带成龙混在其他游客中站在著名的好莱坞标志，曼恩斯中国戏院前，这个戏院是在装饰派艺术时期建造的用于对“中国特色”奇思异想的表意建筑。塔克说：“眼熟吗？象是在家里，不是吗？也许你会在附近看到你的一个堂兄。”
起初，成龙像是个老受塔克欺负的倒霉蛋。最终，他以无与伦比的成龙式作派轻巧地从一辆双层旅游车的车顶跃向悬挂在头顶上的街标牌，又落入一辆驶过的平板卡车，而后进了一辆使那些度假的美国人大惊失色的旅宿汽车，最后一个跟斗翻进了一辆出租车，从而虎口脱险并以此证明了自己的实力。
电影的高潮部分是：成龙在洛杉矶会议中心五楼高的横梁上踮脚而过。
成龙迷们会发现，他的滑稽噱头多已较为眼熟，且很多抢眼镜头多是靠摄影技巧而非真实的绝技。毕竟，成龙快44岁了，在香港电影中一些引以为荣的危险绝技在好莱坞的保险条例中是不允许做的。尽管如此，成龙一直被人为是中国电影界最受欢迎和尊重明星之一。与亚洲人常一成不变的扮演小偷或”天地会”会众的角色相比（参看李连杰在域外影片《致命武器》之四中的首度亮相），成龙在西方影坛重树了动作片的英雄形象的确是一大成功。