Movie · 1982 · Crime, Action, Comedy · 1h 36m · R · English
Curator score: 5.0/10 (156.3K ratings)
One cop. One con. No mercy.
Overview
A hard-nosed cop reluctantly teams up with a wise-cracking criminal temporarily paroled to him, in order to track down a killer.
Ratings
Curator score: 5.0/10
IMDb: 6.9/10
Letterboxd: 3.42/5
Rotten Tomatoes: 92%
Metacritic: 71
TMDB: 6.7/10
Director
Walter Hill
Production
Paramount Pictures, Lawrence Gordon Productions, Silver Pictures
Cast
Nick Nolte, Eddie Murphy, Annette O'Toole, Frank McRae, James Remar, David Patrick Kelly, Sonny Landham, Brion James, Kerry Sherman, Jonathan Banks, James Keane, Tara King, Greta Blackburn, Margot Rose, Denise Crosby, Olivia Brown, Todd Allen, Bill Dearth, Ned Dowd, Jim Haynie
Where to watch
Netflix, Netflix Standard with Ads
Curator Review
Verdict
A foundational buddy-cop hit that still works because of the chemistry: Nick Nolte’s gruff, bruised cop and Eddie Murphy’s explosive comic timing create a volatile, funny, and surprisingly influential pairing. It’s rough around the edges and contains dated racial material, but the energy, pace, and star-making turn from Murphy make it an essential watch for action-comedy fans.
Best for
fans of 80s action comedies
viewers interested in the origins of the buddy-cop genre
people who want an early Eddie Murphy showcase
audiences who like hardboiled cop stories with banter
Skip if
you’re sensitive to dated racial humor and uncomfortable language
you want nonstop action over character chemistry
you prefer polished modern comedies
you dislike abrasive, macho 80s crime-movie energy
Overview
48 Hrs. is one of those movies that feels like a prototype becoming a classic in real time. Walter Hill strips the setup down to a simple manhunt, then lets the friction between its two leads carry the whole machine. The result is lean, rowdy, and hugely influential, even when the plot itself is mostly there to keep the banter moving.
Worth noting
Nick Nolte plays the exhausted, hard-charging cop with a bruised sincerity that keeps the movie from turning into pure shtick. Eddie Murphy, in his film debut, is the ignition source: fast, cocky, and impossible to ignore. Their chemistry is the reason the movie still has such a strong afterlife in the genre.
Bottom line
It’s also a product of its era in ways that can be uncomfortable. Some of the racial material lands awkwardly now, and the movie’s toughness is very much of the early-80s macho-crime school. But if you’re watching for the birth of a template, and for a star arrival that changes the temperature of every scene, it remains a rewarding watch.
Top Letterboxd reviews
Ethan Colburn (3.5★) · 863 likes
Eddie Murphy taking charge in the confederate bar is an all-time heat check.
matt lynch (3.5★) · 388 likes
A constant, raucous, irresistible vibe in a movie in which there is not much action, materially very little actually transpires, and the villain barely appears.
Will Sloan (3.5★) · 314 likes
Eddie Murphy in the redneck bar... a star is born.
This movie twice plays a song called "The Boys Are Back in Town" that is not the Thin Lizzy song.
Todd Gaines (4★) · 231 likes
The cop and the convict, that's the relationship explored in Walter Hill's 48 Hrs.
Nick Nolte mumbles. Eddie Murphy laughs with hysteria. They make one the most enjoyable "buddy cop" pairs in cinematic history. Nolte might use some colorful language, but he's only playing the part of the tough cop. I believe his character has a good heart, and I adore how Nolte & Murphy's relationship develops throughout the film. In the end, you can't help but smile.
James Remar and… more
theriverjordan (3★) · 207 likes
The original 80s buddy cop film; Walter Hill’s “48 Hrs” started the genre off with equal portions of comedy and rage.
Before Eddie Murphy landed in a mire of derivative projects that appropriated his blackness for humor more than for social commentary — there was “48 Hrs.”
Director Walter Hill doesn’t go for the cheap race gag that instead turns racist. Murphy commands the film by wielding words - and the occasional action - like a hammer against all small-minded… more