Plot
A variation on the "buddy-cop" hybridized genre, 48 HRS. greatly bolstered the career of Nick Nolte and made comedian Eddie Murphy a bonafide box-office sensation. When a pair of reckless cop-killers break out of prison, grizzled detective Jack Cates (Nolte) is left no alternative but to spring fast-talking hustler Reggie Hammond (Murphy) from the penitentiary in order to find the criminals. The catch: the pair only have 48 hours to complete their assignment before Hammond must return to prison. Naturally, the two despise each other and even engage in fisticuffs, but eventually the danger facing them proves a strong enough common bond for them to play on the same team, and even achieve a little mutual admiration. ~ Jeremy Beday, RoviReview
We've all seen plenty of buddy movies in which our two heroes first hate each other before somehow finding mutual respect -- not to mention the time to blow up stuff. But clichés have to start somewhere, and 48 Hrs. set the trend for more than a decade's worth of copycat buddy movies. Murphy, who was still a cast member on Saturday Night Live when he made his screen debut, is on fire from the first moment we see him, belting out an off-key "Roxanne." Murphy displays the kinetic combination of action and humor that would become his trademark. And no one can play the hard-boiled cop like the splendidly raspy Nolte. Their chemistry and Murphy's spontaneity carry the film. In fact, 48 Hrs. is worth watching just for a scene in which Murphy is let loose in a redneck watering hole armed with nothing but a badge, a smile, and a whole lot of attitude. Director Walter Hill's exciting action sequences deserve a lot of credit for lifting this film above the usual fare, as do screenwriters Roger Spottiswoode and Walter Hill's one-liners. It's not perfect, and some clichés get tiring, even here -- why can't the bad guys ever shoot as well as the good guys? But if you've got a few hrs. to spare, 48 Hrs. is a great way to use them. ~ Matthew Doberman, RoviCast
- Nick Nolte - Jack Cates
- Eddie Murphy - Reggie Hammond
- Annette O'Toole - Elaine
- Frank McRae - Haden
- James Remar - Ganz
Credit
Marilyn Vance - Costume Designer, Walter Hill - Director, Freeman Davies, Jr. - Editor, Mark Warner - Editor, Billy Weber - Editor, D. Constantine Conte - Executive Producer, James Horner - Composer (Music Score), John Vallone - Production Designer, Gene Levy - Production Designer, Ric Waite - Cinematographer, Lawrence Gordon - Producer, Joel Silver - Producer, Richard C. Goddard - Set Designer, Glenn E. Anderson - Sound/Sound Designer, Steven E. de Souza - Screenwriter, Christopher de Vore - Screenwriter, Larry Gross - Screenwriter, Walter Hill - Screenwriter, Roger Spottiswoode - Screenwriter, Richard L. Anderson - Supervising Sound Editor| 48 Hours: Alaska - Crude Awakening (1991 Film), 48 Hours to Live (1960 Film) | |
| 48 Shades (2006 Film), 480 Tonnen Bis Viertel Vor Zehn - Bei Den Hafenarbeitern In Duisburg-Hochfeld (1982 Film) |
Copyright © 2012 All Media Guide, LLC. Content provided by All Movie Guide ®, a trademark of All Media Guide, LLC. All rights reserved.
