In this photo released by New Line Cinema, Jackie Chan (left) and Chris Tucker are shown in a scene from 'Rush Hour 3'. - contributed

HONG KONG (AP):

It's the movie that put Jackie Chan in the major league in the United States, but the Hong Kong star isn't a fan of his successful action comedy franchise Rush Hour.

Chan said when he made the first instalment of the Rush Hour series in 1998 he only wanted to test the U.S. market and didn't have high hopes.

"When we finished filming, I felt very disappointed because it was a movie I didn't appreciate and I did not like the action scenes involved. I felt the style of action was too Americanised and I didn't understand the American humour," Chan said in a blog entry on his website seen Sunday.

The actor said he made the sequel because he was offered an "irresistible" amount of money to do it and made the third instalment, which was released recently, to satisfy fans of the series.

Chan said Rush Hour 3 was no different from the first two instalments for him.

"Nothing particularly exciting stood out that made this movie special for me ... I spent four months making this film and I still don't fully understand the humour," he said, adding the comedic scenes may be lost on Asian audiences as well.

Chan's comments came even though the Rush Hour series, which revolves around the racial humour stemming from the pairing of a Chinese (Chan) and a black (Chris Tucker) police officer, helped the action star cross over to mainstream American audiences.

Rush Hour was Chan's first movie to break US$100 million (J$7 billion) at the U.S. box office, earning US$141 million (J$9.87 billion), according to the box office tracking website, Box Office Mojo. Rush Hour 2 made US$226 million (J$15.82 billion) and Rush Hour 3 has earned US$137 million (J$9.59 billion) so far.

Chan has been known to be blasé about his Hollywood work. He said in a 2005 interview with The Associated Press that he uses the high salary he earns in the U.S. to fund Chinese-language projects that he's truly interested in.

He also recently showed little enthusiasm for his latest Hollywood project, The Forbidden Kingdom, which marks his first on-screen collaboration with fellow action star Jet Li.

"The movie I just shot with Jet Li, The Forbidden Kingdom actually isn't that great," Chan was quoted as saying by the website of China's official Xinhua News Agency.

"The Forbidden Kingdom is a movie made for Americans," the report quoted Chan as saying, "Chinese viewers may not like it. If I say it's a good movie now, then many people will be filled with overly high expectations and be disappointed when they see the movie."