Rush Hour 3
Lalo Schifrin
" The music works fine in the film but the score doesn't distinguish itself enough drawn away from the visuals. "Written by Thomas Glorieux - Review of the regular release
"Damn! He ain't gonna be in Rush Hour 3!" The words in the final blooper out-take confirmed it already then. Rush Hour 2 wasn't the last in the successful buddy cop movies starring detective Carter and inspector Lee. And here it is. Brett Ratner's creation pairing the biggest mouth of the west with the fastest hands in the east was a match made in heaven. Chris Tucker has acted in three movies between 1999 and 2007 and not surprisingly, it are in the three Rush Hour movies. Jackie Chan on the other hand doesn't stop making films at all. And even though his actions have lost a little bit its incredible speed, he's still a brilliant stunt man and kung fu artist all the same. The result is Rush Hour 3, a hilarious and entertaining 3rd film in the franchise, but by far the least interesting one.
Brett Ratner's choice of composers have always been a solid one. Apart from Danny Elfman (two films) and John Powell (one film), the choice of composing was usually handed to Argentinian composer Lalo Schifrin. It was a solid choice considering he wrote an incredibly catchy theme for the Rush Hour movie. Immediately stated in "Main Title - Rush Hour Theme", it's by far the most subdued version heard in the entire trilogy so far.
Rush Hour 3 however consists of a lot of action cues. It's even hard to distinguish them from one another after a while. The easiest to like are those which are presented at the start. The thrilling brassy ride of "Chasing the Assassin" is surely the best of them all. But the percussive light as weight "Giant Kung Fu" is fun too. But "Hospital Gunfight", "Dragon Lady", "Bikers", "Swordfight" and "The Return of the Triads" are usually presenting the same deal. Brass, swirling strings and a percussive rhythmic tone; it's all about the power and not the theme. Fun for a while but it will not remain that way.
Only the funky Chips like version of the theme in "Parachute Down" is the difference in the action tracks.
The more tender moments are easier to distinguish. "Soo Yung Returns / Dojo Arrival" and "Hiding Soo Yung / Two Americans in Paris" give us a softer emotional content. The Parisian accordion needs no introduction to what it supports. And the sneaky content in "With Genevieve" and the soft ethnic intertwining of the theme in "Shi Shen" are more fitting than they should be.
The "Rush Hour Theme Remix" is an acceptable variation on the theme, luckily just not drowned enough it its beats and rawness. But altogether Rush Hour 3 is not what I wanted in the end. The music works fine in the film but the score doesn't distinguish itself enough drawn away from the visuals. I think you could swap various action tracks in specific scenes and it would work enough in context. It makes Rush Hour 3 the score with the least enjoyable main theme version in the RH trilogy, and the CD covering the biggest number of action tunes. Acceptable but not the best of the three.
Tracklisting
1. Main Title - Rush Hour Theme (1.27)
2. The World Court (2.10)
3. Chasing the Assassin (4.18)
4. Su Yung Returns / Dojo Arrival (2.11)
5. Giant Kung Fu (2.34)
6. Hospital Gunfight (2.48)
7. Hiding Soo Yung / Two Americans in Paris (1.48)
8. Dragon Lady (1.54)
9. Bikers (2.48)
10. In the Sewers (2.53)
11. Reynard's Plea (1.38)
12. With Genevieve (3.09)
13. Shi Shen (2.16)
14. Eifel Tower Meeting (4.27)
15. Swordfight (4.32)
16. Farewell to Kenji (2.35)
17. The Return of the Triads (2.24)
18. Parachute Down (2.14)
19. Rush Hour Theme Remix ** (2.33)
* Performed by Lalo Schifrin and Salaam Remi
** Remix by Ruy Folguera and Ryan Schifrin
Total Length: 50.44
Brett Ratner's choice of composers have always been a solid one. Apart from Danny Elfman (two films) and John Powell (one film), the choice of composing was usually handed to Argentinian composer Lalo Schifrin. It was a solid choice considering he wrote an incredibly catchy theme for the Rush Hour movie. Immediately stated in "Main Title - Rush Hour Theme", it's by far the most subdued version heard in the entire trilogy so far.
Rush Hour 3 however consists of a lot of action cues. It's even hard to distinguish them from one another after a while. The easiest to like are those which are presented at the start. The thrilling brassy ride of "Chasing the Assassin" is surely the best of them all. But the percussive light as weight "Giant Kung Fu" is fun too. But "Hospital Gunfight", "Dragon Lady", "Bikers", "Swordfight" and "The Return of the Triads" are usually presenting the same deal. Brass, swirling strings and a percussive rhythmic tone; it's all about the power and not the theme. Fun for a while but it will not remain that way.
Only the funky Chips like version of the theme in "Parachute Down" is the difference in the action tracks.
The more tender moments are easier to distinguish. "Soo Yung Returns / Dojo Arrival" and "Hiding Soo Yung / Two Americans in Paris" give us a softer emotional content. The Parisian accordion needs no introduction to what it supports. And the sneaky content in "With Genevieve" and the soft ethnic intertwining of the theme in "Shi Shen" are more fitting than they should be.
The "Rush Hour Theme Remix" is an acceptable variation on the theme, luckily just not drowned enough it its beats and rawness. But altogether Rush Hour 3 is not what I wanted in the end. The music works fine in the film but the score doesn't distinguish itself enough drawn away from the visuals. I think you could swap various action tracks in specific scenes and it would work enough in context. It makes Rush Hour 3 the score with the least enjoyable main theme version in the RH trilogy, and the CD covering the biggest number of action tunes. Acceptable but not the best of the three.
Tracklisting
1. Main Title - Rush Hour Theme (1.27)
2. The World Court (2.10)
3. Chasing the Assassin (4.18)
4. Su Yung Returns / Dojo Arrival (2.11)
5. Giant Kung Fu (2.34)
6. Hospital Gunfight (2.48)
7. Hiding Soo Yung / Two Americans in Paris (1.48)
8. Dragon Lady (1.54)
9. Bikers (2.48)
10. In the Sewers (2.53)
11. Reynard's Plea (1.38)
12. With Genevieve (3.09)
13. Shi Shen (2.16)
14. Eifel Tower Meeting (4.27)
15. Swordfight (4.32)
16. Farewell to Kenji (2.35)
17. The Return of the Triads (2.24)
18. Parachute Down (2.14)
19. Rush Hour Theme Remix ** (2.33)
* Performed by Lalo Schifrin and Salaam Remi
** Remix by Ruy Folguera and Ryan Schifrin
Total Length: 50.44