Published: August 10, 2007 10:02 am            

Reviews: 'Rush Hour 3,' 'Stardust'

“Rush Hour 3” — If “The Bourne Ultimatum” is the best of the summer threes, this is easily the worst. Director Brett Ratner, who built a career on this buddy cop franchise, has cobbled together a lazy and formulaic action comedy that is neither thrilling nor particularly funny. But Ratner also has the chutzpah to use the film as an anti-war statement.

Jackie Chan and Chris Tucker travel to France, where a tres Parisian taxi driver taunts them about America’s failures in Vietnam and Iraq; later, after a few adventures with these guys, the cabbie will exuberantly embrace American culture, saying he wants to know what it feels like to kill someone for no reason. The whole thing wraps up with Chan and Tucker dancing in the street to Edwin Starr’s “War.” But “Rush Hour 3” doesn’t work as social commentary either.

Six years after “Rush Hour 2,” which grossed $329 million worldwide, it just feels as if everyone involved has been dragged back to cash in one more time.



“Stardust” — This fairy tale for grown-ups follows the adventures of a star that falls from the sky in the form of an ethereal blond named Yvaine, whose magical abilities make her the target of various people with nefarious plans.

But it’s the return of a star you already know and haven’t seen much of in recent years that will leave you feeling dazzled. Michelle Pfeiffer is deliciously evil as a witch who wants to cut out Yvaine’s heart and eat it to gain eternal youth and beauty for herself and her sisters. She shows great comic timing and isn’t afraid to play with her glamorous image, or look grotesque.

Also chasing Yvaine (Claire Danes) are several princes who seek her powers to ascend to the throne as king of Stormhold, as well as the love-struck shop boy Tristan (Charlie Cox), who wants to bring her home to his small English country town to impress a snooty girl (Sienna Miller).

The stellar cast, if you’ll pardon the pun, also includes Peter O’Toole and Robert De Niro.

        

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