Review of 48 Hrs. (1982) by Gregg P — 17 Sep 2009

Story of a run down rogue cop named Jack Cates (Nick Nolte) who is out to apprehend a pair of cop killers who also stole his gun. Along the way he enlists the aid of a convict Reggie Hammond (Eddie Murphy) who just happens to be one of the pairs ex-partners, after arranging his temporary 48 hour release.

Director Walter Hill whose obvious specialty is action films spins a fairly simple but still compelling story. There is a lot of action in the film and the language is very raw.

The success of the film is often pinned on the effective pairing of Nolte and Murphy who both give strong performances as mismatched partners of necessity. This film is often cited as the beginning of the 1980's buddy cop genre which would spawn so many other films.

In one of the most archetypal roles of this genre we have Bernie Casey playing the standard angry Police Captain, and he's very good.

Composer James Horner contributes a very effective and driving score for an action picture that grabs you from the opening scene.

You can easily forget how hot a prospect Eddie Murphy was early in his film career before either bad choices or other factors led to his extended career slump. Although he would recover from that slump his choices still seem erratic.

On the downside though this film was made 25 years ago it seems today to be at best very male oriented and probably at least somewhat misogynistic. This may be a result of the time in which it was made and certainly reflects much of Director Hill's filmography. But as a result some may find this aspect difficult to ignore. Also reflective of Hill's repertoire is the fairly brutal violence, although this is far from the worst case for either its brutality or its presentation.

48 Hours would be followed 8 years later by the oh so imaginatively title sequel Another 48 Hours. This film would re-team both Nolte and Murphy with Director Hill but would be neither as effective nor as successful.