The Rush Hour trilogy, starring Jackie Chan, not only propelled the actor to Hollywood stardom but also played a crucial role in inspiring the creation of Rotten Tomatoes, the well-known review aggregator. This iconic series’ Hollywood debut in the late 1990s was a pivotal moment for both Jackie Chan and the early formation of Rotten Tomatoes.
Senh Duong, the co-founder of Rotten Tomatoes, launched the site initially out of admiration for Jackie Chan’s filmography. Duong wanted a centralized platform for critical reviews of Chan’s work, which he found lacking at the time. Although the website’s development began with the anticipation of Rush Hour’s release, delays in the movie’s launch led Duong to broaden the scope and start aggregating reviews from a variety of films, beginning with 1998’s Your Friends & Neighbors.
Despite Rush Hour’s significant impact on Jackie Chan’s international career, the trilogy itself holds only moderate scores on Rotten Tomatoes today. Nevertheless, the series was influential enough to inspire Duong to create what would become a dominant site in movie review aggregation.
The growth of Rotten Tomatoes gained momentum following recognition from major outlets like Yahoo and USA Today, and receiving prominent endorsements such as one from Roger Ebert. Over the years, Rotten Tomatoes has become a central force in shaping online movie discussions, though some critics argue its scoring system oversimplifies reviews and diminishes individual critic voices.
Rush Hour Trilogy Set to Return to Netflix with Hopes for a Fourth Installment
This August, Netflix will bring the Rush Hour trilogy back to its platform, making the films accessible to a new generation of viewers. The trilogy is part of a larger set of more than 80 movies and shows added to Netflix’s streaming library for August 2025 in the United States.
As fans eagerly await the possibility of Rush Hour 4, Jackie Chan recently addressed the project during his appearance at the premiere of Karate Kid: Legends. While specifics remain unclear, Chan expressed enthusiasm for reuniting with Chris Tucker in another installment of the popular buddy comedy series.
Hurry up! Otherwise, Chris Tucker and me [will be] 100 years old. We’ll be old men doing Rush Hour.Yes! (I want to do it) And I want to do [another] Shanghai Knights, Shanghai Dawn. Shanghai Noon, Shanghai Knights, and Shanghai Dawn. The script is still going on. I want to do a Rush Hour 4.
—Jackie Chan, Actor
The relative scarcity of mainstream buddy comedies today makes the prospect of Rush Hour 4 especially appealing to audiences. With Jackie Chan’s continued interest and the ongoing development of related scripts, fans remain hopeful that studio executives and writers will move forward to revive the franchise.
The Rush Hour trilogy will officially be available for streaming on Netflix starting August 1, 2025, in the USA.
