(1990)
2
Karl Williams
A weak follow-up to a box-office hit, this sorry spectacle is a clear reminder of two truths: That not every film can sustain a sequel, and that it all starts with the screenplay. The first film contained some real wit in the antagonistic banter between its heroes, some scenes of inspired comic genius, such as Eddie Murphy shocking the patrons of a cowboy bar with his bravado, and a crew of truly menacing, eye-opening villains. Not to mention director Walter Hill's gift for cleverly staging the gun-blazing mayhem that must accompany the action genre. For this tumescent continuation, the idiocy begins with the phony notion that the two main characters would ever even see each other again, much less end up in exactly the same scenario. It's all downhill from there as an overweight pair of leads mugs, scraps, and desperately tries to re-create their former chemistry to no avail, while their director mounts some action sequences that are a little hard to swallow (particularly one involving an enormous amount of breaking glass). This, while the script gives us reheated genre hash such as the obligatory "cop out of control loses his gun and badge" scene. Another 48 Hrs. is an obvious attempt to cash in on the audience's fond memory of a film that surpassed the limitations of its genre by serving up a carbon copy that's an absolute slave to convention.
cast-crew for Another 48 Hrs. on AllMovie
Another 48 Hrs. (1990)
