I was only 10 years old in 1998, so I don’t think I actually caught Rush Hour during its original theatrical run. But it clearly made a big enough splash to become genuinely culturally significant, especially given that this was a pivotal era for Jackie Chan’s rise to fame in America. It also marked one of the peak periods for Chris Tucker as a bona fide celebrity, a far cry from the somewhat forgotten figure he’s become today.

It’s been a long time since I last watched it, but I remember the film being set against the backdrop of Great Britain’s peaceful handover of Hong Kong to the People’s Republic of China. Looking back now, the movie almost feels like a relic tied to that genuinely historic moment for the people of Hong Kong. At the time of its release, though, it was still fairly recent news, which must have been a bit of a gamble if something went wrong politically, given how long film production typically takes between shooting and release.

Chris Tucker plays police officer James Carter, tasked with untangling a string of crimes connected to a Chinese criminal named Juntao. But much like in real life, you probably wouldn’t want someone like Carter anywhere near something this important. I’d have him writing parking tickets downtown.

Not long after landing the assignment, he’s paired up with a Hong Kong detective named Lee, famously played by Jackie Chan. While Jackie Chan himself isn’t the most fluent English speaker, his character starts out with barely any grasp of the language at all. Still, between the two of them, he’s clearly the far more competent officer, both in staying composed under pressure and in actually taking down the bad guys.

But together, the two of them make an incredible duo. Chris Tucker brings loud, obnoxious energy that somehow lands as genuinely fun chaos, while Jackie Chan plays the classically cool, composed kung fu master. The pairing works just as well as salt and pepper on a dinner plate. It’s hard to imagine anyone else filling either role.

I’m pretty sure I first saw this on cable, since I don’t think we ever owned the DVD, but I genuinely enjoyed the movie. I’m not particularly drawn to Chinese culture or martial arts as a genre, but I still found it thoroughly entertaining. Funnily enough, I actually prefer Rush Hour 2 over the original, which feels a little backwards considering sequels are usually a step down. That said, I can absolutely see why some people would favor the original instead. And oddly enough, I still haven’t gotten around to watching Rush Hour 3.