48 Hrs. (1982)

 ☆ ☆ ☆

48 Hrs. (1982) – W. Hill

Eddie Murphy’s first film role, as a thief serving a three-year sentence who is given a weekend pass to help rogue cop Nick Nolte capture a murderous prison escapee.  To be honest, he isn’t particularly funny here. But as directed by Walter Hill, the whole film is actually a somewhat dour affair. (Perhaps it is Beverly Hills Cop, 1984, that is more fun?)  The film starts with a series of rather brutal cop killings (with only Nolte escaping) and then proceeds to try to introduce elements of the buddy film.  The lack of political correctness here – back in 1982 – makes the film feel pretty dated, pretty fast.  To their credit, Murphy and Nolte do bring charisma to what otherwise is a pretty average thriller, wrapping up in 90 minutes or so, basically a hunt for the killers on the streets of San Francisco with little time for additional character development (or characters).  Average at best.