The Rush Hour franchise is a series of American action comedy films created by Ross LaManna and directed by Brett Ratner with Jackie Chan and Chris Tucker in lead roles. The three films center on a pair of police detectives, Chief Inspector Lee (Chan) and Detective James Carter (Tucker), who continue their series of misadventures involving corrupt criminal figures in Hong Kong and Los Angeles. The films incorporate elements of martial arts, humor, and the buddy cop subgenre. The films were released theatrically from 1998 to 2007 and achieved commercial success, but critical reception was mixed.