Rush Hour 3

Jackie Chan is not the kind of chap who shies away from pain. During his long and eventful movie career he's broken all sorts of bones, suffered near fatal injuries and generally gotten himself into lots of mischief – all in the name of light entertainment.

At the ripe old age of 53 you might expect the Asian martial arts dynamo to slow down his pace slightly but as we've already established, Chan is no ordinary guy. His latest big-screen outing sees him reunited with the mildly irritating Chris Tucker for the third entry in the underwhelming Rush Hour franchise.

And after the recent release of movie tie-ins such as Transformers and The Bourne Ultimatum, it should come as no surprise whatsoever that Chan's latest cinematic outing is also making the leap from the big screen to the somewhat smaller display of your humble mobile phone handset.

In a fitting reflection of the remarkably mismatched nature of the two leading actors, Rush Hour 3: The Official Mobile Phone Game is a rather confused collection of game styles that struggles to gel effectively. Kung fu action is obviously the main focus of proceedings but the developer has also included GTA-style driving sequences and time-sensitive 'stunt' sections, which – in a rather original touch – mimic the filming of the actual movie.

In these, you're given instructions by the film's director and have to press the appropriate button at the correct time to ensure the stunt goes according to plan – failure results in Chan falling on his behind, hardly an injury that would prevent the model professional that he is from jumping back on his feet for another take.

These sections are undemanding to say the least, but the payoff of seeing the stunt carried out successfully offers a reasonably decent reward nonetheless. However, although Jackie is called upon to perform a variety of daring leaps onto different objects, the actual mechanics of performing the stunt remain the same each time and it doesn't take long for monotony to set in.

The driving sections are also quite disappointing. Employing a top-down perspective, you're expected to guide the dynamic duo around a colourful cityscape, collecting items within the (rather generous) time limit. It all becomes tedious far too quickly, despite some fantastic looking visuals.

Predictably, Rush Hour 3 only really comes to life when Chan raises his fists for some kung fu tomfoolery. Akin to arcade classics such as Double Dragon and Final Fight, you're called upon to tackle wave after wave of scurrilous baddies that are hell-bent on breaking a few more of Chan's already battered bones.

Standard punch and kick combinations can be used here, but it's much more fun to bring furniture and nearby objects into play in order to defeat your quarry. For example, by standing next to a chair and pressing the appropriate button, you can swiftly kick the aforementioned seating device in the direction of oncoming bad guys – just as Chan himself is so eager on doing in his movies. It's a nice touch that at least goes some way to acknowledging the exploits of the great man himself.

Graphically the game is impressive, with the aforementioned driving sections looking particularly appetizing. Production is of a high standard throughout, though, with each character possessing a detailed appearance and nice, fluid animation.

Sadly, for all the effort that has been lavished upon Rush Hour 3 by the developer, it suffers from some fatal drawbacks. Loading times are painfully protracted, often taking as long as 15 seconds to unveil the next sequence.

The aforementioned repetitiveness of the game modes also does much to kill any satisfaction one might have gained from playing, but the most unsatisfactory aspect is the size of the game – within the space of half an hour of play we'd comfortably bested the final boss and seen all the title had to offer.

Although Chan's movies are hardly classic cinema, they're usually entertaining enough. Rush Hour 3 is no exception and while it's unlikely to go down as the actor's greatest celluloid achievement, it certainly deserves better than being accompanied by this rather tepid mobile phone release. Our advice is to save your pennies and catch the film at the flicks – like the game, it's all style and very little substance but it is a much more entertaining and worthwhile use of your time.