Eddie Murphy puts in a decent performance in this movie – he is pretty much his usual self – however there is a serious lack of plot and script. They’re kind of winging it. Nick Nolte is the co-star of this movie – Nick does a fair job as a cop who fetches Eddie’s character out of a prison just to get help tracking down some other prison escapees who are on a rampage and have just killed a cop. The plot is extremely simple in this regard and the script is very basic. It’s just about watchable as a movie when you’re bored, but it does get a bit tedious at times. It’s more like an old cop drama than a fast paced action movie, but still has a few chases, a few shoot outs, and a mild dose of comedy. Too heavy with racial slurs for my taste, but I guess this was common in the 80s.
There is a sequel to this movie: Another 48 Hrs (1990), where Nick Nolte and Eddie Murphy return 8 years later for another cop & con duo, except this time the cop is suspended and the con is fresh outta prison. The sequel is slightly inferior to the original in my opinion – I gave up watching it nearly an hour in, that’s how uncaptivating it was. It’s just like a regular cop themed TV serial drama, it’s not got the density of plot & action that a movie should have. By all means, if you’re bored and you don’t mind sitting through hours & hours of drama shows, you might find it watchable, but it’s not for me – the original barely was either.