I feel a little bit stupid writing this review, but in the days of the drive-in we took the good with the bad. Lifeless action sequels were a big draw. I saw a lot of them and usually had a good time.

1990 was a time of cinematic stasis. The exuberant eighties were drawing to a close. Spielberg family fantasies were falling out of fashion. The teen phenomenon was dead in the water. Horror comedies were fading fast. The old slasher standbys were hobbling on, but in dire need of mercy killings. The independent movie revolution of the nineties was still ahead.

Hollywood was cranking out unnecessary and mostly unwanted sequels. Weird Al lampooned the situation with his Gandi 2 parody in UHF. We had more Ghostbusters, Marty McFly was stumbling around throughout history, and Indiana Jones was becoming a tired old relic. Dirty Harry made no one's day with the embarrassing Dead Pool. The fresh and clever Gremlins 2 is a rare exception.

I heard about Another 48 Hours, but I couldn't summon the slightest interest. Oh, I loved the first movie. 48 Hours is an excellent Walter Hill action yarn, and it made a movie star out of Eddie Murphy.

Unfortunately Murphy's starlight dimmed by 1990. The Golden Child and Beverly Hills Cop 2 showed he wasn't destined to be a great action star. His ambitious dream project, Harlem Nights, fizzled. As did my interest in the man's movies.

Another 48 Hours made decent box office revenue, but critics savaged the film. Murphy was back to comedy.

So why go back to Another 48 Hours at this late date? Well, I enjoy returning to the days before CGI and digital trickery. I grabbed a copy of the DVD at a thrift store for a buck and I watched it very early the next morning.

Is Another 48 Hours as bad as they claim it is?

Well, frankly, yes. The screenplay is exceedingly lazy. They essentially made the same movie over again. You had Murphy in jail and coming out for an uneasy alliance with Nick Nolte. Eddie even sings "Roxanne" like in the first film. The two leads sucker punch one another and Murphy nonchalantly shoots someone in the leg. Again.

Plus there are innumerable action movie cliches. Lots and lots of breaking glass. Screaming tires and renegade cop Nolte is in big trouble with I.A. again. Bullets and one-liners fly with reckless abandon.

And yet I watched Another 48 Hours to the end. For one thing, despite its glaring flaws, the movie looks great. Walter Hill returned as director, which is the only reason I even gave it a chance. The man knew his way around a movie set. Hill fans will see the man's stamp over the whole movie. The opening is straight out of a gritty Walter Hill modern western.

The two leads have a decent amount of chemistry together. It's always good to see the great Brion James in anything. Murphy is endlessly watchable. If you can get over his trademark annoying laugh, that is.

But man, they couldn't come up with a better finish than Eddie stealing Nolte's lighter? That's it?

I had a nice time going back to these characters, despite it being a tired rehash. The real shame is the missed opportunity. Murphy was on top of the world and he could have gotten nearly any project off the ground with his Eddie Murphy Productions company. Why didn't he have his people call Martin Scorcese's people and work out some kind of project together? They are both New York boys.

Speaking of the boys, it's a blessing they never came back to town again after Another 48 Hours.

Written by Mark Sieber

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