romanorum1 A murderous convict, Albert Ganz (James Remar), with the help of accomplice Indian Billy Bear (Sonny Landham), bursts out of chain gang after killing two guards. The convicts go to San Francisco and grab an old acquaintance, slimy Luther (David Patrick Kelly) and his girl. They want the money that he is supposedly holding, and as insurance hold the sleaze-ball's girlfriend hostage until the cash is delivered. The convicts hole up in a shady hotel and order prostitutes. Meanwhile our hero – cranky, gruff, and tough detective – Jack Cates (Nick Nolte) and two plainclothesmen surge into the hotel room. Nonetheless the situation goes badly for the lawmen as the two cops are killed and the hoodlums escape. At the police station, Cates is given grief by his immediate superior Haden (Frank McRae) who rants and raves (and overreacts in all of his scenes). One of the prostitutes, lovely Lisa (Greta Blackburn) – who earlier had exposed her beautiful breasts – says to a policewoman, "I think he's going to give you guys a hard time." When asked why, she quips, "I just think he likes shooting cops a lot more than getting laid."Determined to track down the two thugs, Cates is forced to turn to convicted thief and hustler Reggie Hammond (Eddie Murphy) for help. Rather easily, he gets Hammond a two-day parole from jail (in his custody) to assist him. Hammond is also after Ganz. Seems these two stole money from a drug dealer several years earlier, and Ganz is determined to grab the whole stash. So the rest of the movie focuses on two mismatched guys – Cates and Hammond – who hate each other. Cates likes to utter racial epithets; Hammond hates cops. Hammond puts it plainly, "We ain't brothers, we ain't partners, and we ain't friends." Over two days though, the two men gradually develop a mutual respect for each other as they traverse various places around town in a convertible Cadillac looking for information that leads to the two fugitives. Near the end there is a thrilling chase and shootout involving a public bus and convertible. The main gripe along the way is this scenario: The fight between the two protagonists in the alley is long and Murphy comes out of it looking a little too good. His suit is hardly ruffled. The much larger Nolte looks worse. Nevertheless, Nolte and Murphy are sensational as a team, as there is great chemistry between them. By the way, this movie is Murphy's debut. On the other side, Remar and Landham play sufficiently psychotic and violent goons. The movie's non-stop sharp dialog and the music of the Busboys are pluses.

view_and_review Besides being a nostalgic walk through the San Francisco of my childhood, 48 Hours apprised me of something else--it was incredibly racist. I'm not talking about the subtle innuendo type racism; but the brash, in-your-face, N-word using, unabashed racism. Now, I know that it was done all in the name of comedy but I was shocked. I saw this movie so many years ago, and really, I'm sure I never saw the whole film because no way my parents would have allowed it. I think the little bit I did see was by popping in the VHS when they weren't home and I know now that I understood very little of it.This movie absolutely wouldn't fly today. The closest thing I've seen to it is Rush Hour, and even as much as Chris Tucker pushed the envelope with the subtle digs at Jackie Chan's Chinese heritage, you definitely saw that a line was drawn. In 48 Hours, no line was set--which is maybe why it was such a hit.Eddie Murphy was funny, though not nearly as funny as in other movies. Nick Nolte was all too good as the raspy voiced, surly cop. And Oh how can I forget the loud Black police captain played by Frank McRae. Did 48 Hours start that trend? 48 Hours is a classic but not nearly what I remember now looking through the lenses of an adult.

seymourblack-1 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.

FlashCallahan Police officer Jack Cates is the only survivor of a cop shooting and to help hunt down the killers collects Reggie Hammond from jail for 48 hours. Hammond is oddly motivated to help as the killer is searching for his stash of cash. Cates and Hammond who have several differences of opinions to work out make surprisingly good partners as they navigate through the city looking for their suspect.....Sadly,this is another one of those movies that has Took me a very long time to see, and I think because of the advent of several movies relying on the buddy/cop sub-genre, this movie has lost a lot in translation to me.Its a simple premise given a little twist, grizzly cop paired up with a big mouthed, cocky prisoner, who has personal issues with the killers.And in found when watching this,just how uncomfortable Murphy looks in his debut, and the biggest problem? He's just not funny, and the humour consists of either derogatory jokes about women, or just downright racist abhorrence.It may have been just acceptable back in 1982, but now its tiresome stuff, and it just feels like a cheap shot for even cheaper laughs.Nolte is perfectly fine as the by the numbers cop, and as I've said before, Murphy looks uncomfortable, and doesn't have the swagger he has in his more successful films. And thanks to the score, if you close your eyes, you'd be forgiven if you think you were watching Commando, or vice versa.Hill is a competent director, and Silver an amazing producer, but it's just too bland, and honestly.........I prefer the sequel....