Another 48 Hrs.

Summary

“I HAVE BEEN HAVING A VERY BAD DAY!!!”

Paramount Presents is the Paramount Pictures film line that focuses on releasing catalog films from the vaults of Paramount with new transfers from 4K scans. I was excited when I saw that both 48 Hrs. and Another 48 Hrs. were getting new releases from the line. I had not revisited the two films in twenty or so years. Rewatching 48 Hrs., I was throughly impressed by the film. I have always enjoyed the films of Walter Hill, and revisiting 48 Hrs. was a lot of fun. Like many of the action films from the Eighties, a sequel was basically guaranteed when the film was a blockbuster success, even though no plan had been crafted for a sequel when the first film was released. In the case of Another 48 Hrs., eight years had passed since the first film had been completed. Eddie Murphy had become one of the biggest stars in the world and had starred in two Beverly Hills Cop films and his comedic opus Coming to America. Nick Nolte had been busy with steady work including films like Q &A, but was about to hit his stride in the coming years in films like Cape Fear and Blue Chips. Director Walter Hill had done well directing films like Brewster’s Millions and Red Heat, and had also executive produced the smash hit Aliens. Like most sequels that have let too much time pass, Another 48 Hrs. can’t quite match the energy and feeling of the first film, despite its very best attempts.

In a cafe in a California desert, three bikers arrive. They are meeting with a bespectacled man named Tyrone Burroughs (Brent Jennings) who is offering them $100,000 to kill Reggie Hammond (Eddie Murphy.) Fifty thousand up front, and fifty thousand after the job is complete. One of the bikers is Cherry Ganz (Andrew Divoff) whose brother was killed by Jack Cates (Nick Nolte,) so the job is personal for him. After dropping off the cash, the bespectacled man leaves. A policeman and a police woman pull up to the cafe and run the plates on the bikes. The bikers have numerous warrants out on them, and when the police woman enters the bar, Cherry and the other bikers kill her, her partner, and the bar owner. At a race track, Jack Cates is following a lead regarding a drug dealer named the Iceman that he has been trying to track for four years. Tyrone arrives with cash to hire a man at the track to kill Reggie. When Jack and the hitman get in a fire fight, the hitman is caught on fire from a gas pump explosion. Jack looks at the bag of money, and finds a picture of Reggie in the bag. The hitman’s gun is not recovered, so internal affairs man Blake Wilson (Kevin Tighe) is called in. He informs Jack that there will be a full investigation and that Jack will be brought up on charges of killing an unarmed man. Jack goes to a prison where Reggie has been for five years. Jack still has Reggie’s money, but he explains that to get the money he will need to help him track down the killers that are after him and to help him find and arrest the Iceman.

Another 48 Hrs. is a decent follow up to the great 48 Hrs. Like is often the case with sequels – especially when eight years have passed – the film just can’t quite seem to recapture the magic of the original. It is definitely an entertaining film, but the script itself feels like it has a few too many lazy beats, including for example the fact that Reggie is back in jail inexplicably and other items that repeat beats from the prior film. I think with proper polishing, the film could have worked better. The chemistry between Eddie Murphy and Nick Nolte doesn’t feel as interesting as in the first film, because the film is not really saying anything new or original, whereas the first film had used the buddy cop genre to explore race. The film was rushed by Paramount to be completed to be released in summer, and the script was not finalized when the film was given the green light. Eddie Murphy was a huge star at this point, and his acting in the film didn’t have the same rough edge to it as the younger Eddie Murphy performance. Nick Nolte is enjoyable to see in the film, but it feels a little like he is just phoning it in. It feels like the film was brought together not out of necessity, but instead as a nearly full proof way to make a great paycheck.

Reading that last paragraph, you would probably think that I did not enjoy the film. That’s not the case. I can watch basically any film directed by the great Walter Hill and find something that I enjoyed about it. The action sequences in the film are very well made – especially a sequence that involves flipping a large prison bus. I liked the performances by Kevin Tighe, Brion James, Bernie Casey, and Andrew Divoff. The performances by Nolte and Murphy are still enjoyable, even if the spark from the first film evades them. James Horner’s return as composer for the film is a welcome addition and he turns in solid work on the film. It is an enjoyable popcorn movie, it’s just not as good as the first picture overall.

Video

The new transfer from a 4K scan by Paramount Pictures for their Paramount Presents label looks great. Like the release of 48 Hrs, the film looks the best that it has ever looked. Fine detail is very solid. Clarity is excellent with a nice layer of very fine grain over the picture lending a great filmic look. The cinematography of the film does not reach the level of artistry that Ric Waite had provided in the first film, but Matthew F. Leonetti does his best to try to give the film a distinct look. There are some sequences in particular that look great – especially the opening sequence at the cafe, and the shootout finale. Overall, it is not quite as impressive on Blu-ray as the prior film, but fans will be very pleased by the work done by Paramount.

Audio

Paramount Pictures have given this release a very well done Dolby TrueHD 5.1 track. This track is loud and the surrounds are used very effectively. James Horner does a terrific job as composer for the film. The films owe a tremendous amount to Horner’s excellent scores. This is a pretty flawless track.

Supplements:

Filmmaker Focus: Director Walter Hill on Another 48 HRS. – Walter Hill returns to discuss working on the sequel. Throughout the course of the interview (which was conducted over Zoom, but has been overlaid with numerous photos taken on set) he discusses in detail the challenges the film faced in terms of the script and schedule, but also talks about the aspects of the film he is still proud of. It’s an excellent and very honest interview.

Theatrical Trailer

Overall Scores:

Video – 4.5/5

Audio – 5/5

Supplements – 3/5

Overall – 4/5

Another 48 Hrs. pales in comparison to 48 Hrs., but it is still an entertaining film with some excellent sequences. Walter Hill does his best with the film, but the script is just not as strong as the prior film. I still enjoyed watching the film and I am happy that Paramount has given it a new release. Paramount Presents has done a fantastic job of bringing the film into the new decade with a well done 1080p transfer from a 4K scan and a fantastic audio track. The new interview with Walter Hill is incredibly honest and insightful.