It must be a sad and desperate time in Hollywood these days. It seems to be that there are little, if no original ideas left. So many movies seem to rehashes, or copies even, of a premise that has been done, and even driven, into the ground. Granted, I don't have as much of a problem, if the idea is done well, but it would just be refreshing to see something new, and original once and a while. One of the most overused ideas, is that of the buddy-cop movie. The standard for this film was set in 1983, with Lethal Weapon, and ever since, filmmakers have been trying (and mostly failing) to regenerate that same magic. It just can't be done. The best they can hope for is to throw in an original twist or two, and entertain the audience, make their money, then escape for the hills.

The latest entry into this idea is Rush Hour. A carbon copy, cliche-filled, by the numbers buddy-cop flick that fails to add anything new into the idea, but does provide a few moments of entertainment. The film attempts to capitalize by pitting two of Hollywoods hotter recent commodities (martial arts star Chan, and hot comedy talent Tucker) into the standard framework. Foreign bad guys, cops in trouble, tension between the partners caused by cultural or racial diversity (yawn) we've seen it all before. This movie sets up, flows, and delivers, so predictably, that it's not even fun to guess what's going to happen. It is a serious of gags and situations, with some comedy, and fight scenes thrown for good measure. Some of the comedy is enlightening, topical, and even funny (references to the bad reputation of the LAPD, and the Clintons bring smiles to the crowd), but the film works best, when Chan is kicking butt. He does it, with an energy, and entertainment, that noone has in a long time. But there just isn’t enough of it. The rest of the time, we are left with scenes that set up other scenes, the obligatory cultural diversity, followed by the bonding scene, and the grand finale, which you can see coming from miles away. Tucker's performance is satisfactory, in a supporting sense, he is good at playing straight man, or pitch man, but never really on his own. The only sign of light is the performance of 11-year old Julia Hzu, as the kidnapped daughter, she brings some energy to her brief moments onscreen, with a feisty, comic nature, reminiscent of a younger, female Chan