Post by stefancrosscoe on Feb 6, 2018 14:30:57 GMT
"The boys are back in town."
In order to hunt down and capture a murderous convict on the run, hard edged veteran cop Jack Cates (Nick Nolte) is suddenly assigned to team up with the fast-talking, street-wise bank robber Reggie Hammond (Eddie Murphy). They got about 48 hours of time to do the job and in which Reggie must use wisely, especially if he wants a chance of freedom, that and trying to stay alive. But first the unlikely duo must find a way of locating Reggie's former partner, the ruthless Albert Ganz (James Remar) and about a half of million dollar that went missing during their last job.
Pretty much the one that started it all (or at least one of the earliest) and with its success, the buddy-cop action genre as we know it or at least used to (the 80s and early 90s) was pretty much born.
Here we have all the classic ingredients of the genre, with two very different characters in the leads, who obviously hate each other from the very go and somehow they must find a way and try an work together if they want a chance of succeeding their mission, no matter how tough or dangerous it may be.
Directed by Walter Hill and starring Eddie Murphy in what (has to be one of his earliest film roles) teaming up with film veteran Nick Nolte, is a dream duo come alive, as they work so well together and while the film sure is lots of fun, it is also an incredible fast paced and often very violent action film and one I think have hold up (a little better) than Eddie Murphy's other hugely successful buddy-cup franchise in the Beverly Hills Cop series.
Speaking of Murphy, I find it strange or kind of even a little "sad" why he never did more of these hard edged action films that was not so far of the stuff he did during the 80s and early 90s, or specially in the second half of the 1990s as that was where he seemed to be focusing mostly on watered down family films and comedies, but still he did show that he had not forgotten all about his former action days with the somehow underreated action film Metro (1997).
Anyway, I know both Beverly Hills Cop and also 48 Hrs. got its sequels, as both Beverly Hills Cop III (1994) and Another 48 Hrs. (1990) was released, however I was very disappointed when seeing them, as they felt too rushed and most of the action scenes was all over the place, random and it lacked the bite and tight pace of the originals.
I know that Another 48 Hrs. was supposedly cut to pieces but still I thought it was a big letdown compared to the original. Have not seen it since, well around spring of 2007, so I might give it a new chance, but I am not expecting much from it this time.
Anyway, 48 Hrs. is a classic 80s action film and one which I guess sooner or later will either end up as another generic and dull TV-show (Lethal Weapon & Rush Hour) that no one seem to speak about, or another remake that nobody wanted in the first place to happen, still it is one that had a huge part in why I love 80s and early 90s action films so much, it was a game changer and along with First Blood (1982) set up most of the standards for years to come when it came to influencing the movie genre but also by helping Eddie Murphy to become a big star in the making.
