Such a frustrating disappointment

People are voting emotionally.

Fresh and Exciting

As Good As It Gets

Eddie Murphy during his prime. Nick Nolte before alcohol took its course with him. The film is about a no nonsense officer who teams up with a career criminal for 48 hours in order to catch a cop killer using that said officer's own gun. This film is basically the Odd Couple with guns and excellently choreographed gunplay action. No really, the action is great. And the film is funny without trying to be funny, which is a mistake made by the sequel which I'm going to watch and review next. I don't know much about Eddie Murphy's career but I'm sure this was the film that helped him become a household name. This movie as it all. Action, comedy, great story and character development.

Watching it just recently again, 48 HRS, is a well formulated movie, and first rate film making done solid, with a great script and two great bolstered performances to boot, especially Murphy, in still what I believe is one of his best performances. The movie is well plotted, even though we know we are walking that predictable path, to where the next scene will take us, like a lot of eighties movies did. On a quest for revenge, for two cops dying, in front of his eyes, is hot dog cop, Jack Cates (Nolte giving us another great character performance). They were killed by escaped and very dangerous prisoner, Ganz, (a splendid James Remar) and buddy, Billy Bear (Sonny Landham) who sprung his mate out. Cates enlists help from prisoner/expert thief, Reggie Hammond (Murphy) who he takes into his custody for 48 hours. He has ties with our dangerously violent cop killers, who are after this money, Reggie has stashed away somewhere. Reggie wants to protect his money, Nolte just wants to blow our murderous duo away. Featuring quite a bit of Commando music, a lot of hostility and hate, not just from Nolte, that doesn't take s..t, a bit of violence, a little t and a from some hot broads, this is a hard edged cop film, featuring other good performances too, like David E Kelly, as the luckless loser, Luther, who in one scene, Murphy, causes a considerable amount of pain too. Overall what I love is, that 48 HRS is a cop film with a great recipe of comedy and drama, entwined, Murphy, who we have to thank a lot of this. Murphy is given a lot of great lines to work with: a lot of snappy cutting remarks. Both two leads are at the top of their game in one of the best partnerships in film I've seen. The bare knuckle fight between the two is hilarious. I really loved the character Nolte created, though, his attitudes towards some women here, was kind of off putting. A tight shot I loved was a CU of Nolte's car approaching a steep San Francisco street decline, among some other captured ones in the film. Nolte's moment of vengeance was fantastic few words, while also I liked him, defending Murphy, in front of his colleagues. This was one of the strongest moments in the film, while also being another great acting moment of Nolte's. This is a well shaped, compacted actioner, and another reminder of those unforgotten and well made '83 flicks. I mean films.

48 Hrs. (1982)**** (out of 4) A crazed criminal (James Remar) escapes from prison and soon a couple cops are dead. Detective Jack Cates (Nick Nolte) is thrown into the middle of the case so to try and track the psycho down he goes to visit a former partner, Reggie Hammond (Eddie Murphy). Cates gets Hammond released from prison for forty-eight hours to try and track down his former partner.48 HRS. was Walter Hill breaking into the mainstream after getting success with films like HARD TIMES and THE WARRIORS. This film was a huge box office success when it was released and it's easy to see why because it contains some graphic violence, non-stop action, some great laughs and a politically incorrect humor that is perfectly done by two excellent lead performances. The film really holds up well after all these years and it remains one of the greatest "buddy" flicks ever made.A lot of the credit has to go to the screenplay because it really does offer up a little bit of everything. The first twenty minutes are a rather violent and gritty police drama and then once Murphy is introduced we get more laughs but the film never loses its raw edge. It certainly remains violent throughout but the two lead characters are put into so many great situations that you can't help but enjoy the ride they're on. There are many classic moments here but the highlight has to be when Murphy enters a redneck bar and tears it apart.Nolte makes for a terrific, worn-out cop and he certainly plays the part masterfully. Murphy is brilliant as the sly con and it's easy to see why he became an instant star with this picture. The chemistry between the two men is something that very few films have matched as the two play perfectly well against one another and makes for a lot of great fun. Annette O'Toole is good in her scenes in the film and Remar makes for one of the most memorable villains from any action picture from the 80's.Hill does a masterful job at keeping the film moving at a very fast pace and there's no question that he handles the action, drama and comedy perfectly. 48 HRS. was the first of a genre that would eventually lead to countless action films dealing with two different types bring brought together to solve some sort of case. The film holds up extremely well after all of these years and it's rawness and politically incorrect humor really makes it stand out as something fresh and original.

The incredible box office success of "48 Hours" was attributable to its brilliant combination of action, pace and comedy and the pairing of a couple of guys whose relationship was a continuous source of entertainment. This formula proved to be so successful that it blazed the trail for the whole genre of "buddy cop movies" that followed. "48 Hours" was also significant, however, for being Eddie Murphy's first film and the one that made him into an instant star.Detective Sergeant Jack Cates (Nick Nolte) is a tough San Francisco cop who's out for revenge after two of his colleagues are killed by escaped convicts Albert Ganz (James Remar) and Billy Bear (Sonny Landham) in a shootout at a local apartment building. Jack's investigations soon reveal that another member of their gang is still in prison serving a three-year sentence for robbery and so he arranges for Reggie Hammond (Eddie Murphy) to be released on a 48 hour pass so that he can help to track down the two killers.Reggie proves to be useful in assisting Jack's pursuit of Ganz and Bear who'd killed a couple of guards when they broke out of prison and are now intent on finding the $500,000 that they stole before being sent to jail. Reggie discloses that the money was stashed away in the trunk of his car which had been parked in a garage for the 30 months that he'd been in prison. Predictably though, Jack and Reggie's mission to recover the money and bring Ganz and Bear to justice within the 48 hours available, proves to be both challenging and extremely dangerous.The relationship between Jack and Reggie is so highly-charged as it develops from open hostility to mutual respect (and eventually friendship) that it becomes absolutely fascinating to watch. It's also incredibly funny because they're so different and their interactions are so abrasive. The dialogue is sharp, witty and often coarse and when they trade insults (in pre-politically correct language) their brilliantly-written quick-fire exchanges are delivered with tremendous panache.Nick Nolte is excellent as the gruff, hard-drinking detective who chain-smokes, always looks dishevelled and has a totally dysfunctional relationship with his badly-treated girlfriend Elaine (Annette O'Toole). Eddie Murphy is sensational as Reggie, who's a fast-talking, wisecracking, smartly-dressed ladies man with a lot of attitude and reasons of his own for being prepared to help Jack. Murphy's first appearance in the movie is very memorable because of the excruciating way in which he sings "Roxanne" and the now-legendary scene in which he takes control of a redneck bar while posing as a police officer is still terrific and laugh-out-loud funny.In retrospect, it's clear that, as well as being a fantastically successful movie that's hugely entertaining, "48 Hours" also proved to be far more influential than anyone could possibly have imagined at the time of its original release.