Film Review - 48 Hours (1982)

48 Hours is directed by Walter Hill and stars Nick Nolte as Cates, a cop who loses his gun during a case that sees fellow cops killed but his superiors insist he not go it alone so he recruits a convict played by Eddie Murphy.

48 Hours is a fun and well made action film by Hill, his direction is nicely paced and the cinematography by Ric Waite is quite good as well with its use of the night lighting around the city helping to create a sense of reality and atmosphere, James Horner also provides a nice score and both Nolte and Murphy make a great pair to watch, their chemistry is great and they play off each other very well.

Sadly however the film around them is not as good with the film lacking a strong villain to help bring the story into focus and give you a reason to want to see Nolte and Murphy resolve their differences and get rid of the villain, happily Murphy would get a shot to correct this 2 years later with Beverly Hills Cop that would also use his comic talent and fast movement better than this film did.

All in all 48 Hours is a solid action picture but like a later film from Hill, 1988's Red Heat it lacks a strong villain to go up against the heroes and as a result the film lacks a focus to it, 2 and a half out of 5.