The casting of veteran action maestro Jackie Chan with the charming and often hilarious Chris Tucker was a serendipitous stroke of genius. Fans of Jackie Chan may be slightly disappointed by the lack of action set-pieces that emphasise his kung-fu craft. On the other hand, those who know the history of this seasoned Hong Kong actor will be able to appreciate that Rush Hour was the mainstream breakthrough that Chan had deserved for years. Coupled with the charismatic scene-stealer Tucker, Chan gets to flex his comic muscles to great effect. From their first scenes together to the trademark Chan outtakes during the end credits, their ability to play off of one another is a joy to behold, and this mischievous interaction is what saves the film from slipping into the depths of pitiful mediocrity. -Jeremy Storey After years pleasing fans on his home turf, Jackie Chan finally broke into American multiplexes with the 1998 hit Rush Hour. In one of many tips of his hat acknowledging the late great Bruce, Chan plays Hong Kong-based Detective Inspector Lee who finds himself on the streets of LA assisted by motor-mouthed Detective Carter (Chris Tucker). The baddy's identity, his motive and exactly how the good guys will win in the end is all rather secondary to seeing lots of goons dispatched by increasingly flamboyant and jaw-dropping stunts. The inevitable showdown with nasty henchman Sang fulfils all Chan fans' expectations nicely. What genuinely made this an international success was the pairing of Chan with Tucker, who won Blockbuster Entertainment and MTV Movie awards for Best On-screen Duo. On the DVD: After a flawless anamorphic 16:9 presentation with a choice of 5. 1 or 2. 0 Stereo, the extras package is generous to say the least. Animated menus with excerpts from Lalo Schifrin's superb score link to the usual fare: trailer, cast and crew biographies in scrolling text, two music videos for Heavy D's "Nuttin But Love" and Dru Hill's "How Deep is Your Love", and six deleted scenes totalling three minutes. Additionally there's a highly enthusiastic commentary from director Brett Ratner and a very peculiar 40-minute short from Ratner's NYU Film School days (funded by Steven Spielberg) called Whatever Happened To Mason Reese. The real jewel is the documentary "A Piece of the Action" consisting of 17 featurettes and totalling 40 minutes. It includes a fascinating 10- minute segment of Chan choreographing a fight scene from scratch and some hilarious outtakes not already featured in the end titles. -Paul Tonks.

The film can be watched with the original Mandarin soundtrack and English subtitles, or with a much better than average English dub. The packaging claims there are over 60 minutes of extras. In fact there are nine deleted/extended scenes of variable quality, the best of which give more emotional depth to Sammo Hung's character, together with video interviews with Sammo Hung, Jimmy Wong Yu and director Chu Yen Ping. These total around 20 minutes and are interesting but not specific to the film. Also included is the theatrical trailer, Hong Kong Legends' own "music promo" trailer and eight trailers for further releases. There is also a six-page "animated" biography of Jackie Chan. -Gary S Dalkin.