by Chris Alexis

Threequels. This summer has been about them. Something or another: part three.

Spider-Man 3, Shrek 3, Pirates 3, Ocean’s 13, the Bourne Ultimatum… and now Rush Hour 3.

And while this isn’t the series finest “hour” – it’s a pretty good one. I laughed throughout the whole movie, which is what I wanted.

This time, Carter (played by Chris Tucker) and Lee (Jackie Chan) discover the Chinese Triad gang is now up to an insidious plot in Paris – and of course, it’s up to our heroes to stop them.

I have to give props to director Brett Ratner. The guy can make any genre of movie work. He’s great with action, as with last year’s X-Men: The Last Stand (yet another threequel), thrillers such as Red Dragon, and of course, comedies, such as the Rush Hour movies.

The one thing I noticed about this movie was Jackie Chan’s action stunts are less impressive than his previous movies. Don’t get me wrong, I could never come close to any of the things he does here, but they’re still a far cry from the jaw-dropping stunts he did in his earlier days. (Check out Chan’s earlier films such as Rumble in the Bronx, Supercop, Legend of the Drunken Master…the stunts there are eye-popping.)

We’ll cut him some slack, because after all, he is 53 and still kicking bad-guy butt.

What can I say about Chris Tucker? Either you love him or hate him. I have to admit, I love him.I think he’s hilarious. His high-pitched, high-speed, full-octane mouth never stops. He’s a complete goofball throughout the whole film, but if you don’t like his type of humor, you’re not going to like the movie.

The plot is completely predictable, so don’t come expecting much in that department. From the first 10 minutes of the movie, I knew what was going to happen the whole rest of the way.

But that’s OK, because like I said. I laughed the whole way through. And that’s the important thing.

And that’s why you should go see this movie.