48 Hrs.
Published October 3, 2020

Film info
- Title 48 Hrs.
- Director Walter Hill
- Year 1982
- Run time 1hr 36m
- Genres Drama, Comedy, Thriller, Action, Crime
- Tagline One cop. One con. No mercy
Nick Nolte is a rough-edged cop after two vicious cop-killers. He can't do it without the help of smooth and dapper Eddie Murphy, who is serving time for a half-million dollar robbery. This unlikely partnership trades laughs as often as punches as both pursue their separate goals.
Live blog
Time | Comment |
---|---|
1:11 | What is the tractor on train tracks about? |
8:33 | “The coldest winter I ever spent was the summer I spent in San Francisco.” |
19:03 | The knitted vest is an interesting look for a bad guy. |
24:43 | Where is that long bridge and why does it look like a rollercoaster? |
28:01 | “You’ve got him for 48 hours.” Title! |
30:21 | San Francisco roads are just insane. |
36:10 | “I know a place.” The vending machine! Haha. |
43:26 | This is a situation and a half. But he’s owning it. |
47:08 | “You make more noise than a busted chainsaw.” |
51:14 | He loves that car door as a weapon. |
53:45 | What was the point of the extended fight sequence? |
1:00:39 | Would the car get that dirty from just sitting inside for three years? |
1:11:16 | I’m surprised she stayed on the line to be honest. |
1:14:16 | “I coulda did that.” |
1:16:57 | How do you steal a bus? |
1:27:41 | The dry ice situation is not helping. |
1:29:48 | I’m worried about the report he’s going to have to write after this night. |
Thoughts
I only really started to like this film once the mis-matched pair started to get along, so that was probably the last 15 minutes of the film. Up until then, Nick Nolte’s character was just plain awful - grumpy, racist, rude, aggressive - all for no apparent reason and despite the fact that it wasn’t really getting him anywhere.
Murphy’s character was a little better, I quite liked that he was clearly always out to get an advantage whilst also respecting the guy that busted him out of prison for a couple of days.
It really lost me with the five minute punching scene in the middle, which served no purpose and was really dull to watch. But it came to a good ending, and somehow sets up the sequel to hopefully be better. I’m willing to give it a go, anyway.
Rating: 2 / 5