48 HRS.

This is Eddie Murphy's film debut, in 1982, having barely turned 20.  I remember it fondly, along with 'Trading Places' and 'Beverly Hills Cop' which quickly followed and which made him a superstar.  

Strangely though I've since seen only one other film of Murphy's, 'Bowfinger'.  Maybe I've been too easily put off by the poor reviews his films often attract, or maybe when it comes down to it I'm not that big a Murphy fan? 

The director Walter Hill was on the face of it an unlikely choice for an action comedy, his forte at that point being uncompromising action films, including the remarkable 'The Warriors'.  

But he had been involved in developing the storyline of a police detective and a convict working together, and apparently it was Hill who hit on the idea of a black comic playing the latter.  At first the studio were unimpressed, but once Richard Pryor became a movie star they gave the idea the green light, although Pryor himself was unavailable.  

So what we get is an action comedy which has plenty of street energy and violence, combined with Murphy's comic personality bouncing off of Nick Nolte as the no-nonsense 'call a spade a spade' cop.  

Or in some instances, calling a spade the n-word, for which he does apologise towards the end of the film.  I liked that Reggie (Eddie Murphy's character) doesn't wholeheartedly accept the apology.

It's all good fun if you don't mind the violence, the racist epithets and the lack of a major female character.

It's not great but it gives a foretaste of what Murphy could do with the right material.

RATING: ✓ If You've Nothing Better To Do