Rush Hour Trilogy Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		3.0
Video		3.5
Audio		4.0
Extras		4.0
Overall		3.0

Rush Hour Trilogy Blu-ray Movie Review

Same Old, Same Old

Reviewed by Michael Reuben November 10, 2016

Warner's five-disc Blu-ray of the Rush Hour Trilogy is a bizarre and delayed release, a textbook example of the screwy marketing decisions that routinely leave Blu-ray fans scratching their heads. The first and third films in this popular buddy-cop series have been available on Blu-ray for a long time. Rush Hour 3 was issued in 2007, during the format's infancy, followed by the original Rush Hour three years later. For five more years, however, the second installment remained MIA while fans grew increasingly impatient. Eventually, Warner Brothers' foreign affiliates decided to take matters into their own hands, and Rush Hour 2 appeared on Blu-ray in October 2015 in several overseas territories (a list of releases can be found here). Still, the disc continued to be withheld from the U.S. market, apparently so that new extras could be created. Since Warner's discs are region-free, many U.S. fans simply ordered RH2 from abroad to complete their set.

Now, over a year later, RH2 has finally appeared in America, but only as part of the Trilogy—and the wait wasn't worth it. The sole new extra is a 20-minute retrospective documentary, which doesn't even occupy the same disc as RH2. Someone must have run the numbers and concluded that it was cheaper to put the documentary on its own disc and bundle it with the existing version of RH2, rather than re-author the title from scratch. So the Blu-ray of RH2 now being offered to the American market turns out to be identical to the disc that has already been available abroad for more than a year. It even has 2015 file dates. If you imported it from Germany or Japan, there's no reason to replace it.

To make matters worse, the Trilogy's versions of RH1 and RH3 are identical to those previously issued. Warner hasn't bothered to remaster them using AVC and higher bitrates. The Trilogy discs are repressings of the same bit-starved, VC-1/encoded releases from six and nine years ago, respectively.

For further discussion of Rush Hour, please see the Rush Hour Blu-ray review by Kenneth Brown.

For further discussion of Rush Hour 2, please see the Rush Hour 2 Blu-ray review.

For further discussion of Rush Hour 3, please see the Rush Hour 3 Blu-ray review by J.C. Ribera.

Rush Hour Trilogy Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Rush Hour (reviewed by Kenneth Brown; follow the link for screenshots):

Rush Hour hits the streets with a somewhat consistent 1080p/VC-1 encoded presentation — soft shots are fairly common, nighttime scenes are problematic, and grain, though clean and refined on the whole, is occasionally a bit soupy — but, more often than not, Adam Greenberg's original photography seems to be the culprit. Warner's video transfer, on the other hand, is a fairly impressive one, and Ratner's action comedy, now twelve years old, looks pretty good. Vibrant East Asia reds and golds collide with vivid Los Angeles greens and blues in an already colorful image, skintones are cool but lifelike, and black levels are deep and satisfying (minus the muted, noise peppered skies that frame some of the aforementioned nighttime shots). And detail? Soft scenes notwithstanding, most every available detail has been preserved to some degree, fine textures are adequately resolved, object definition is generally sharp and filmic, delineation is decidedly decent, and a few closeups and generously lit midrange shots brush against greatness. The technical image is strong and stable as well. Carter and Lee aren't forced to contend with any significant artifacting, banding or aliasing, and other unsavory anomalies simply aren't a factor. A hint of intermittent ringing and some slight crush creeps in from time to time (just enough to register with some as full-fledged issues), but their presence is so unobtrusive that they never struck me as distracting. Though a far cry from impeccable, Rush Hour's transfer should please any fan armed with appropriate expectations.


Rush Hour 2 (follow the link for screenshots):

Rush Hour 2 was shot on film by Matthew F. Leonetti (Star Trek: First Contact). The transfer for this Blu-ray edition was created in 2014 under the auspices of Warner's New Line Cinema group by scanning an interpositive at 2K. The resulting 1080p, AVC-encoded Blu-ray is sharply detailed with a pleasingly film-like texture that provides a warmth to the image even when it is dominated (as it often is) by rich blues and deep grays. Nighttime blacks are deep and solid, and both the Hong Kong and Vegas scenes feature bright saturated hues with a heavy emphasis on red (the casino owned by Alan King's hotel magnate is called The Red Dragon and is decorated accordingly). Some light sharpening has been applied, but it is generally unobtrusive.The film's grain texture is finely resolved, revealing fine detail in Jackie Chan's expressive face and Chris Tucker's frequently ludicrous wardrobe. Because RH2 was prepared several years ago, before Warner's catalog division reformed its mastering practices, the average bitrate is an anemic 23.95 Mbps (with over 20 GBs of space left blank on the BD-50).


Rush Hour 3 (reviewed by J.C. Ribera; follow the link for screenshots):

Well good news is that it's a nice clean, sometimes grainless, sharp contrasty disc. Presented at 2.40 in a VC-1 transfer of about 17 Mb/s, the opening in LA looked super, and made me double check the rate meter. It has a look that I would call a high contrast serious palette and I liked it. Great color that looks realistic without being intense. Watching at 3-4PH most everything looks sharp and contrasty and what grain is on the screen is fine, and even at 1.25 PH (closer that Cinema viewing sizes) the image held it's own. It's not the top notch in film detail transfer I've seen but overall is was very very nice. The Paris shots look postcard clear and the exotic women review has silver dollar potential. Night shots at the "Eiffel Tower" sequence sometime don't look as well but many are CGI shots so they have to blend in. The motorcycle chase sequence looks as good as any top notch Hollywood production. The detail in the taxi driver's face in those shots makes the sequence even funnier.

Rush Hour Trilogy Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Rush Hour (reviewed by Kenneth Brown):

If you didn't understand the words coming out of Carter's mouth before, you certainly will now. Rush Hour leaps into the catalog fray with a fully loaded DTS-HD Master Audio 7.1 surround track and holds its own, even when the fight is at its fiercest. Dialogue is crisp, precise and perfectly intelligible (at least as intelligible as Lee's English should be), and Tucker's banshee wail has never sound so startlingly shrill. Ratner's fists-of-semi-fury action and Lalo Schifrin's kinetic East-meets-West score are given full run of the soundfield as well, and misadventure upon misadventure unspools with suitable sonic charm. Wood splinters in every direction, errant bullets bury themselves in nearby walls, blows send henchmen flying across the floor, glass shatters overhead, and Schifrin's nimble music embraces the commotion wholeheartedly. The LFE channel responds in kind, granting punches chop-socky oomph, gunshots welcome kick, and hip hop beats throaty menace; the rear speakers rise to the challenge, immersing listeners in every exotic locale, high-security consulate, L.A. hotspot, seedy back room, and spacious convention center Ratner has on tap; and both dynamics and directionality are commanding and convincing. It all amounts to a breezy, bustling experience I frankly wasn't expecting to enjoy as much as I did.

That being said, there are moments when Rush Hour shows its age. Gunfire and impact effects are tinny on occasion (particularly during the climax), obvious ADR runs rampant, and ambience is a bit flat and stagey at times. I have no doubt most of these mishaps trace back to the film's original sound design, but there are a few too many disruptions (negligible as many of them may be) to give every aspect of the audio experience a free pass. Still, kudos to Warner for giving Rush Hour a 7.1 lossless track in the first place. I look forward to the day when such mixes are more common.


Rush Hour 2:

Warner released the first and third Rush Hour films with 7.1 soundtracks, but RH2 receives only a 5.1 track, encoded in lossless DTS-HD MA. The mix isn't likely to rank highly on anyone's list of audio "demo" discs, but it provides appropriate dynamic range and surround immersion for a modern action film, albeit one that aims more for comedy than thrills. The frequent explosions, gunfire, breaking glass and flying debris have sufficient impact to make their point, but equally enjoyable are the many smaller sound effects accompanying the fight sequences. (An extended skirmish on a bamboo scaffolding surrounding a Hong Kong building is my favorite.) The dialogue is as clear as Jackie Chan and Chris Tucker ever are; exchanges in Chinese are subtitled. Composer Lalo Shifrin resumes scoring duties from the first film, and several pop tunes make memorable appearances, especially Michael Jackon's "Don't Stop 'Til You Get Enough".


Rush Hour 3 (reviewed by J.C. Ribera):

Another DTS HD MA 7.1 transfer from New Line, this one is aggressively punchy, as an action movie should be. Only evaluated in DTS core (Waiting for that PS3 update, the review will be updated to full MA when it does) there were no speaker destroying pops but plenty of gunshots, tire squeals, vigorous music (by Lalo Schifrin , I can still hear the motorcycle chase music in my head), and sound effects surrounding the viewer to immerse you on the viewing experience. That's a good sign that we have good audio, when you "forget" about it and you just "live" the movie. You can hear Chris Tucker's voice, perhaps all too clearly :).

There's no other sound or language option, but English SDH and español subtitles are included. Rush Hour is a Region A disc, playable in America, Japan, Corea, and South East Asia.

Rush Hour Trilogy Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

Extras for each film in the Trilogy are listed with their respective reviews. Despite some initial confusion when the Trilogy was first announced, the second disc of extras for RH3 is, indeed, included in the set.

The following is the sole new extra created for the Trilogy, which has been placed on a separate BD-25. (The Trilogy also sports specially designed cover and disc art, but I do not consider those to be "extras".)

• Brett & Jackie Look Back at the Rush Hour Trilogy (1080p; 1.78:1; 20:27): Ratner and Chan are interviewed separately, and the interviews are intercut with excerpts from the three films. Ratner describes the origins of the first film and the effort to recruit Chan, which provides an interesting counterpoint with Chan's account of their introduction, in which Chan was less than impressed. Chan's first meeting with Tucker was equally challenging. Chan discusses the difference between his experience working in Hong Kong films vs. Hollywood, especially when it comes to stunts, and his approach to action, while Ratner discusses his history with Tucker, his theory of casting villains and the challenges of creating an effective action comedy. With English SDH, Spanish and Portuguese subtitles.

Rush Hour Trilogy Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

If you are interested in the three Rush Hour films, don't already own them and don't mind that, for the first and third films, the Blu-rays are significantly dated, then the Trilogy is worth considering. But if, like most fans, you already own the first and third films and want to complete the trilogy, wait either for a sale or until Warner releases RH2 separately.