Well, it’s been a big summer for “three-quels”, as several successful movie franchises rolled out third installments with varying results; Shrek, Pirates, and Spidey definitely raked in the biggest bank for their respective studios, but in most cases, fans could see things wearing thin for these characters. With all the faith I placed in Sam Raimi, I was genuinely shocked at how sloppy and haphazard Spider-Man 3 was put together. I’m sure most would argue that the producers played a bigger role in the film’s shortcomings, but can we really blame them for “Emo-Peter Parker”? Pirates was fun, but I definitely agree with those who felt they really did a lot of stuff that just didn’t make any freakin’ sense! It didn’t help that I saw it in a packed theater, and had to sit next to a three year-old with no concept of “personal space”(granted that’s ANY three year-old)! Why the hell was this ginger kid resting his hand on my shoulder halfway through the film?!?! Clearly, his parents have yet to teach him to be afraid of black people! As for Shrek the Third, I was never as big of a fan as most people, so I didn’t even bother seeing it.

Surprisingly, the three-quels I felt were the most satisfying both featured Matt Damon! Just goes to show you how pimp-tastic this man is, especially after his turn as a dirty cop in The Departed. As silly as it may seem to draw out the concept into three films, the third time really was a charm for Ocean’s Thirteen. Ocean’s Twelve infuriated me, because it was blatantly obvious that the film was an excuse for a group of pals to go on a European vacation on someone else’s dime. The third film aimed to really simplify things down to the foundation that made the first one so enjoyable. The story is fun and engaging and doesn’t have nearly as much absurdity as O12. And despite his character, Al Pacino actually managed to keep the scenery-chewing to a minimum! Then there’s The Bourne Ultimatum. Again, it’s very simple and straightforward, and doesn’t try to be flashy. But when it does feel like giving you that adrenaline rush you expect, it definitely delivers. If the Bourne series is over, this was a pretty good ending.

But now, as the summer movie season winds down, we’ve got one more three-quel left, as Rush Hour 3 finally makes it to theaters. This has been long in development, as Chris Tucker continually seemed to change his tune as to whether or not he wanted to do another one, and apparently asking for too much money. One can only imagine the 20 million he got for the last Rush Hour film has been well-invested, as Rush Hour 3 will be the first film he’s done since Rush Hour 2, back in 2001. And it’s not like Jackie Chan hasn’t kept busy in the meanwhile, to say nothing of his upcoming film with Jet Li. But it’s understandable that New Line would want to make a third film, with as much money as the other two films made. To say nothing of its influence on other filmmakers, who essentially ripped off the concepts of both films and ported them to Shanghai Noon and its sequel Shanghai Knights, which teamed Chan up with Owen Wilson.

Now when it comes to Rush Hour 3, there’s no doubt as to whether or not I’ll be seeing it, ‘cause for one, I’m a sucker for these types of silly buddy cop movies. And two, I think Chan and Tucker genuinely enjoy working together, and I’ve enjoyed their chemistry through the last two movies. I might as well see it through. Plus, the inclusion of Roman Polanski as a French police inspector looks to be hilarious. But I know well enough that not everyone’s gonna feel the same as me. Some people are tired of Chris Tucker, or never found him that funny in the first place. Others may feel Chan’s long since been wasting his talents in American films where he can’t do nearly as much as he’s done, in terms of stunts, compared to his Hong Kong Cinema days. And for the most part, you can pretty much see where the comedy in the film is going. It’ll be a lot of race jokes and cultural misunderstandings, and just a lot of stuff that’s bound to rub someone the wrong way. Sometimes it does get tiresome, but if I end up laughing at something I probably shouldn’t be, oh well. There’s only so much I can complain about if a comedic film gets me to laugh.