Another 48 Hrs Blu Ray Review (Paramount)

Another 48 Hrs. is a 1990 buddy cop film directed by Walter Hill (48 Hrs, Crossroads, Southern Comfort, Streets of Fire, The Warriors, Trespass, and Last Man Standing). It was written by John Fasano (Zombie Nightmare, Universal Soldier: The Return, Darkness Falls, Sniper: Reloaded, Sniper: Legacy, Rock ‘n’ Roll Nightmare, and Black Roses) and  Jeb Stuart (Die Hard, Lock Up, The Fugitive, Fire Down Below, Switchback, and Leviathan). It was produced by Joel Silver  (Weird Science, House on Haunted Hill, Hudson Hawk, Beverly Hills Cop III, 48 Hrs, Lethal Weapon franchise, Die Hard franchise, The Matrix franchise, Predator franchise, Commando, Road House, and Tales from the Crypt). It’s a direct sequel to 1982’s 48 Hrs. Murphy was paid $200,000 for the original, for this sequel he was paid  $12,000,000 plus a percentage of the gross. The budget was $50 million and it grossed $153.5 million worldwide at the box office!!!!

Veteran San Francisco police inspector Jack Cates (played by: Nick Nolte from 48 Hrs, Angel Has Fallen, Blue Chips, Mulholland Falls, and Cape Fear)has been after drug dealer the “Iceman” for the past four years. At the Hunter’s Point Raceway, Jack confronts Tyrone Burroughs (played by: Brent Jennings from Red Heat and Alone in the Dark) and Arthur Brock. Jack is now under investigation after a situation involving the case. Blake Wilson (played by: Kevin Tighe from Road House, K-9, Men of War, Jade, and Eight Men Out), the head of the Internal Affairs division is all over Jack for his recent problems. Jack finds a picture that proves that the Iceman has put a price on the head of Reggie Hammond (played by: Eddie Murphy from Beverly Hills Cop franchise, The Golden Child, I-Spy, 48 Hrs, Trading Places, and Coming to America), who is scheduled to be released from prison the next day.  Reggie has completed his prison term. Jack tries to convince Reggie to help him clear his name and find the Iceman. Reggie requests that Jack gives him the $500,000 that Jack has been holding on to for him. Jack refuses to give Reggie the money unless Reggie helps him. Jack later forces Reggie to help him by having the hospital release Reggie into his custody. Reggie recognizes one of the two bikers as Richard “Cherry” Ganz (played by: Andrew Divoff from Wishmaster 1/2, The Hunt for Red October, Xtro 3, Blast, Toy Soldiers, Nemesis 4, Lost, and Graveyard Shift), the brother of Albert Ganz. Cherry and his partner Willie Hickok (played by: David Anthony Marshall from Lock Up and The Demolitionist) are the hitmen hired to kill Reggie. Burroughs, who works for the Iceman was trying to hire Brock as insurance to make sure the job got done regardless. Jack ends up saving Reggie after he captured. His co-workers Ben Kehoe (played by: Brion James from Tango and Cash, Blade Runner, The Fifth Element, 48 Hrs, and The Horror Show/House III) and Frank Cruise (played by: Ed O’Ross from The Cotton Club, Lethal Weapon, Full Metal Jacket, Action Jackson, Universal Soldier, Dick Tracy, and Red Heat) show up for backup against the vengeful bikers. Who is the mysterious Iceman that set all this chaos in motion? Can Jack and Reggie get along enough to solve these brutal crimes????

Another 48 Hrs is almost as good as the original. It’s a great follow up to the iconic buddy cop film. This one is actually a little darker compared to the first film. The names on the cover reversed for this sequel. Murphy was much bigger than Nolte when they made this. The script had a nice balance of action and comedy plus it had some solid twists towards the end. Eddie Murphy was on fire and he had Reggie Hammond completely down by this time. He is hilarious as the criminal that’s stuck helping a cop again. Nick Nolte never really wanted to be a big star when he did movies, he was all about the acting. He really increases the production value here as the hard nosed cop looking for redemption. Eddie Murphy and Nick Nolte still have amazing chemistry here. They are different from most buddy cop duos because they genre4ally hate each other but they still have that respect there. The highly under-rated Andrew Divoff is always a fantastic villain and he’s no different here in Another 48 Hrs. It’s excellent casting because you can really see him as James Remar brother from the original. His character actually has some deep motivations besides blood money. It’s personal for him and he’s out for revenge. This sequel has a solid supporting cast: Brion James returns from the first film, Kevin Tighe, Ed O’Ross, Bernie Casey, Tisha Campbell, Hoke Howell, Ted Markland, and Frank McRae. This follow up definitely deserves more attention because it rarely gets brought up anymore. It still holds up and it has solid replay value. It had a bigger budget and it was more over the top. It’s finally available on blu ray in the states for the very first time thanks to Paramount Presents, RECOMMENDED!!!!

Let’s talk about the high definition presentation from Paramount Pictures! This 1080p (1.85:1) transfer blows away the previous DVD and VHS versions with this brand new 4k remaster. There’s a major difference when you compare it to the past home video releases, this Paramount Presents version looks much sharper and more detailed in every aspect. It has a few different audio options which includes English: Dolby TrueHD 5.1, German: Dolby Digital 2.0, French: Dolby Digital 2.0, and Japanese: Dolby Digital 2.0 on the disc. All of the dialogue is very clean, non stop action is elevated, and the music has a killer boost to it. It also has English, English SDH, French, German, and Japanese subtitles.