48 Hrs. Review

MPAA Rating: R
Released: 1982

48 Hrs. is one of the founding fathers of the buddy-cop style of action films, efficiently stirring some humor into a frenetic action flick. Nick Nolte plays a rugged and anti-social cop that is forced to team up with a wisecracking convict (Eddie Murphy) on temporary parole in order to track down a group of ruthless cop killers. That is, if the hostile twosome doesn't kill each other first…

Jack Cates (Nick Nolte) is a hard-drinking, ornery cop that is intolerant of just about everyone, including his own girlfriend. When he accompanies a pair of police officers on an operation to capture Billy Bear (Sonny Landham) and Ganz (James Remar), two escaped convicts and murderers, the mission goes horribly wrong and the convicts kill both officers in cold blood.

Now it's up to Cates to track down the pair of killers and exact justice, but San Francisco is a large city and he has no idea where to begin, so Cates visits Reggie Hammond (Eddie Murphy), a convict that is locked away in prison, and demands he help track down his former partner, Ganz. Although Hammond has no desire to help Cates, he does agree to assist him since he has ulterior motives of his own – Ganz stole half a million dollars from him and he wants it back. So Cates arranges for a 48-hour parole that would allow Hammond to enter his custody and point the way to Ganz and his accomplice.

Tracking the two criminals down proves to be no easy feat, and the difficulty is compounded by the fact that Cates and Hammond mesh together about as well as oil and water; when they're not slinging insults at each other, they're slinging fists instead. Can the two put aside their disagreements long enough to capture the murderous convicts, or will the 48-hour deadline expire first? Chances are you can safely guess the answer to that inquiry, but if you haven't yet seen 48 Hrs. then you definitely won't want to miss out on the fun.

While the buddy-cop genre is old hat by now, when 48 Hrs. arrived on the scene in 1982 it was still a fresh genre. It's also one of the best, due to both the efficient direction of Walter Hill (responsible for some of the most memorable 80's hits) and the impressive star power of Nick Nolte and a young Eddie Murphy.

A lot of actors have attempted to play the rather generic "tough guy" role in buddy-cop movies; some were successful, others not so lucky. Nick Nolte puts most of his grizzled peers to shame with his performance in 48 Hrs. Nolte is surely a burly force to be reckoned with, but he also possesses an undeniable screen chemistry that makes him a joy to watch.

Eddie Murphy was perfect as Nick Nolte's smooth-talking nemesis. In fact 48 Hrs. was Murphy's cinematic debut and also a perfect example of how far the mighty have fallen. Unlike his failed attempts at humor in recent "family-appropriate" films like Haunted Mansion, the young, raw and hungry Murphy was outrageously funny and charismatic. Murphy's smashing success with this debut would eventually lead to him taking the lead role in Beverly Hills Cop, but truth be told I preferred his performance in 48 Hrs. since it's just as politically incorrect and amusing as his latter hit while also being a bit more grounded and subdued.

48 Hrs. is dubbed an action-comedy and while it certainly is humorous (laugh-out-loud funny at times), the true humor comes from the constant bickering and infighting between Cates and Hammond rather than attempts at slapstick or sight gags. Allowing the humor to originate from the lead characters' conflict alone rather than over-the-top situations was a wise choice by director Walter Hill, because the movie's action and atmosphere does not become diluted by exaggerated silliness as so often happens with similarly themed films.

Because this is an early-80's film you can expect the action and humor to contain the typical 1980's bite. The humor pulls no punches, taking broad yet harmless swipes at various racial groups. The roughneck Cates fires off plenty of racial invectives at Hammond, who takes them in stride and unloads with some choice insults of his own. The exchanges are potent and perhaps even a bit shocking by today's politically correct standards, but it's also done in a lighthearted manner that is clearly not intended to offend.

48 Hrs. is a fantastic action-comedy that hits the entertainment bullseye dead in the center, and therefore should not be missed by any 80's movie fan.

Movie rating: 9 stars

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