Featured Image Credit: New Line Cinema / Warner Bros. Pictures / Columbia Pictures / TriStar Pictures, FilmFlex
Topics: TV and Film
Charisa Bossinakis
Topics: TV and Film
The internet is pulling up 'racist' lines from the Rush Hour franchise to show how badly the movie has aged.
The Rush Hour films were an extremely popular buddy comedy film saga that starred legendary martial artist Jackie Chan and comedy icon Chris Tucker.
The first film takes place after a Chinese diplomat’s daughter is kidnapped in Los Angeles, and Hong Kong detective inspector Lee (Chan) is phoned in to locate the girl. However, the FBI wants nothing to do with Lee and instead assigns him to work alongside wisecracking detective James Carter (Tucker).
These polar opposites are forced to work together and solve the case independently after being ditched by the FBI and the police.
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The film was a big success and spawned to sequels.
However, some people are now looking at the movies with a modern lens and feeling some of the dialogue wouldn't fly these days.
Users on social media have accused the films of perpetuating racial stereotypes of Asian and African American communities.
While the film depicts the cultural clash between both Tucker and Chan, the internet has called out its insensitive jokes after one Twitter user posted: “Rush Hour 1 & 2 were so racist.”
Many chimed in as one person wrote: “All 3 were historically racist.”
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Another said: “This couldn’t be played today.”
A third person said: “Bruh!! I ain’t realize it till college, I was blown away.”
While another shared: “I'm glad they came out when they did because had it been now, we wouldn't have enjoyed them with everyone being so sensitive about everything it'd have been ‘enabling’, ‘problematic’, ‘systemic’ everywhere on the TL.”
Some even posted the most offensive scenes depicted in the action comedy franchise in reaction to the tweet.
In one scene, detective Carter is seen berating staff at a Chinese food vendor, complaining that he doesn’t want anything ‘greasy’ while asking if they have any ‘soul food’ or ‘chicken wings’ instead.
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Another moment showed detective Carter cornering crime lord Juntao. While pointing a gun toward him, Carter says: “I’ve been lookin’ for your sweet and sour a**!”
There was even one scene where Carter punches Lee and apologises saying 'you all look the same'.
Chan's character said in a different moment that he would slap Carter 'back to Africa'.