Things that happened in 1998:
-Windows 98 was released, one of the very first “internet booms” that helped spawn the technological generation we live in now.
-Bill Clinton made his now infamous phrase, “I did not have sexual relations with that woman.”
-A relative unknown director released a low budget film that would go on to gross over $250 million dollars.
That film was Rush Hour. The director was Brett Ratner.
The only thing he directed prior was the neighborhood classic Money Talks, which also starred Chris Tucker. The two will forever be linked by having had their first huge financial successes together.
Fast forward to last night where the Rush Hour tv series premiered on CBS. I don’t know how this project got the green-light, it definitely won’t last long, but here’s my review.
Starting with the good, it takes itself seriously. The fight scenes are well-sequenced and shot. The action in the show never feels cheesy or out of place, it actually works very well.
I also thought it was funny. The main character who plays the knock-off Chris Tucker can deliver a few laughs. But the show’s greatest strength is also its most glaring weakness, because that’s exactly what it feels like…
…a knock-off Chris Tucker. A majority of viewers won’t be able to get past the fact that he’s not Tucker. You can’t recast iconic characters and try to imitate the same looks and feel.
Televisions shows that derived from movies like Bates Motel and Limitless worked because they didn’t try to recreate the original characters. They created new, fresh characters that audiences weren’t already familiar with, therefore didn’t have any gnawing reservations to.
[Read more at RexWalls.com to finish the story and to hear the albums lead singles via Cleveland’s Own RexWalls.com]
Rush Hour the TV Series Review – Does It Live up to Its Chris Tucker Legacy? was originally published on zhiphopcleveland.com
