3 out of 5

Director: Walter Hill

What to say about this movie that hasn’t already been said? While the plot is eye-rollingly overused and often unrealistic nowadays, back in the 80s it was a fun and gritty setup: criminal Eddie Murphy is paroled for 48 hours to help psycho cop Nolte catch some cop-killing scum. I guess the reason the film didn’t score higher with me is because it felt uneven in execution. But this could also be seen as part of the charm: it’s very rude, surprisingly violent, and funny in moments you wouldn’t expect the humor to pop up. Murphy comes across as so smartly suave in the film you can see why it helped make him a star, and Nolte is frighteningly over-the-top. It’s just very caustic throughout. This is not a “smooth” movie. And despite its classic status and being the forerunner of the buddy-cop genre, it’s not necessarily a smiley ride. Parts of the film are very down and out. Nolte is a scumbag, and the crooks are crooks. Again, though, this could all be part of the charm, and part of why this is a lasting movie, as it played things a bit more realistically than what was to come. Regardless of my mid-rating, I consider that temporary, as, at the very least, this is something I’d want to watch again. As long as you can stomach some strong racial humor, this is an important film to watch as part of your education.