NMR: 48 Hours

I caught this last night on Netflix's Instant Viewing and I have to say I wasn't impressed. I know this is supposed to be a classic 80s movie and one of the ones that jump started Eddie Murphy's film career, but I found it to be too gritty and depressing. The racially charged dialogue heard throughout the film was no doubt meant to be provocative, but I just found it to be crass and unnecessary. It just seemed so unprofessional that these two characters would take the time to have a lengthy fistfight when their attention needed to be on catching the criminal. I think a big problem with the film for me is that I have once again been spoiled by seeing parodies and knock-offs before the original material. In this case, I've seen and enjoyed films like Lethal Weapon and National Lampoon's Loaded Weapon 1 before, so nothing in this film seemed fresh, even if it did happen first. I won't begrudge anyone that does enjoy this movie, but I'm not likely to watch it again. Rating: **