Once again playing a kung-fu cop, Jackie Chan crosses the Pacific to tackle an international smuggling operation. There, he’s quickly paired off with Chris Tucker’s bigmouth street detective, an arrangement the FBI hopes will keep both men out of their way while better-trusted agents tackle the bad guys. Chan and Tucker both prefer to work alone, at first going out of their way to ditch one another, but when a kidnapped young girl enters the crosshairs, they grudgingly agree to cooperate and are surprised to find a lot of personal common ground.

Most of _Rush Hour_ looks and acts like one of Jackie’s Hong Kong classics. The formulaic plot, the papier-mache villains, the fight scene quotas... even a few familiar stunts and tricks are regurgitated from preceding Chan productions. It’s been polished on the way to American shores, with Tucker adding his own characteristic brand of comedic zest, but the lingering spirit remains, and it’s unmistakable. The two stars take some time to mesh, clumsily traipsing through some delicate racial material as they get to know each other, but once they hit their stride as a duo, they’re lights-out. There’s a real connection here, a functional chemistry that plays well despite the partial language barrier, and the marquee names aren’t above having a good time. Their verbal sparring over the lyrics to Edwin Starr’s anthemic “War (What is it Good For)” must’ve been half ad-libbed, but the smooth rapport makes it one of the film’s most memorable sequences. That’s the kind of thing you can get away with when expectations are low and talent is high, and it wasn’t as evident in the sequels.

As broad crossover comedies go, I’ve sat through much worse. Chan and Tucker’s sweet and sour act works well, especially once they find their balance in the second act, and there’s neither too much fluffy action nor too many shrill comic freak-outs. It’s a good mix; tight, fresh and rewarding, but probably didn’t merit another two features.