Film #11: 48 Hrs (1982)

Directed by: Walter Hill

Starring: Eddie Murphy, Nick Nolte, James Remar

I was planning to watch Saw II or Rush Hour last night but seeing as my mom didn't want to watch Saw and I've seen Rush Hour before (and I'll wait for the trilogy), I opted for 48 Hrs; a black guy meets white guy action/ comedy.

I think that most film that came out in the 80's were black guy/cop meets white guy/cop action comedies. If you have never heard of that genre before then let me enlighten you: White guy is all angry and has to catch a guy that has either stolen something or murdered his wife and for unseen reasons, gets the help of a guy he has just met who is black. These two don't get on throughout the film which leads to comedy. The white guy learns from the black guy and visa versa, then a story evolves about the black guy how his wife hates him or he's broke and has no job and the audience feels for him. They then find out where the bad guy is (in a warehouse, where else?) and go after him. One of them gets shot in the arm or ass but the other gets the bad guy, most likely killing him. They are then best friends and the white guy is doing something like listening to rap music or something. (Maddox gives a better description).

Anyway, basic plot is similar to above except cop Nick Nolte gets the help of convict Eddie Murphy to catch a murderer.

This is actually Murphy's first film and a good one to start with; he steals most of the scenes with his fast-talking antics.

Nolte is a good actor but seems to over-act in this film, he tries to be too badass and angry. Just like this:

When drawing that all I could think of was Nick Nolte shouting that in a Shrek accent.

So, back to the film... It was ok. Storyline was a bit weak and some things were a bit pointless but all in all, a good film.

70%