Another 48 Hrs. (1990)

the audience applauded

That was an excellent one.

It was OK. I don't see why everyone loves it so much. It wasn't very smart or deep or well-directed.

A movie that not only functions as a solid scarefest but a razor-sharp satire.

At first, the sax and steel drum score was a welcome sound. But "Another 48 Hrs." has unnecessary written all over it. You can tell Eddie Murphy is enjoying greater star power here, but his relationship with Nick Nolte is disjointed. And when you factor in the retread (more bickering, another bar scene) and anemic bad guys, this just doesn't have any of the original's spark.What really surprised me is how bad the action scenes are. I mean, they are atrocious. It's got the comical reactions to gunshots that are characteristic of a loud and excessive - but ultimately really dull - action movie.5/10

The theme tune says it all really, the boys are back in town. Nolte and Murphy are back together as cop and convict wading through a plot as lazy as it gets. Walter Hill directs once again and it's only his action scenes that stop this from being an outright stinker. Every thing about it comes off as a cheap cash in lacking originality, with scenes even reproduced from the first film here. A strong supporting cast of character actors file in to make some easy money, with the likes of Brion James, Ed O'Ross, Brent Jennings and Kevin Tighe at least proving to be reassuring presences.Murphy and Nolte jostle, fight each other and swear a lot, which would be OK were it not already done so much better in the first film. All things considered, it's a no brainer really to suggest you watch the first film instead. 5/10

San Francisco cop Jack Cates has been after an unidentified drug kingpin who calls himself the "Ice Man". Jack finds a picture that proves that the Ice Man has put a price on the head of Reggie Hammond, who is scheduled to be released from prison on the next day. Jack tries to convince him to help clear his name and find the Ice Man, but Reggie says he won't help unless he gives him the $500,000 that Jack has been holding on to. Jack refuses unless Reggie helps him......One of those sequels that were made in the late eighties, early nineties when the stars power was dwindling, and the original was quite successful.Thankfully this isn't the dog you've been led to believe, and to be fair, it's a lot more exciting than the original. They have tried to relate both films by making one of the bikers the brother of one of the people who were killed in the first one, but this is all about the stars.The script is good, and Nolte really stands against Murphy, who was easily one of the biggest stars in the world at the time. Set pieces are good, the plot can be a little incoherent at times, but it hurtles along at a good enough pace, you really forget that the chief bad guy is named after a Marvel character.If it were made before Harlem Nights, it would probably have had success like BHC 2, but one feels that Murphys ego was partially to blame.A fun movie.

The inevitable sequel is hardly original in any sense of the word, but again that works in the film's favour.See if this sounds familiar:Hardened cop Jack Cates (Nick Nolte) obtains a temporary release for convict Reggie Hammond (Eddie Murphy) in order to hunt down some hardened criminals linked to a major drug dealer in the San Francisco area known as the Iceman. Violence and profanity ensue…Many of the minor characters from the first film return – predominantly cops as most of the bad guys ended up dead – even the music is essentially the same. Hell I'm even about to give it the same score!Jack and Reggie trail the Iceman through the same areas, using almost the same techniques, often resulting in the same trail of bodies. The filmmakers smartly rev up the friction in the early goings and maintain it so that the pair are always just a little on edge and distrustful of each other.Internal affairs are on Jack's case due to his 'carefree' attitude to the law and procedure, and Reggie is being dogged by rednecks again. There is another bar fight, another hotel shootout and another standoff. This film though obviously boasts a bigger budget, with most of it spent on big explosions and a few eye-opening stunts. Final Rating – 7.5 / 10. Another 48 Hrs doesn't reinvent the wheel to bring Reggie and Jack back together, if anything this 'same (funny action-packed) sh*t, different (two) day(s)'