48 Hrs.

Everything About Fiction You Never Wanted to Know.

There's a new sheriff in town!

Directed by Walter Hill, 48 Hrs. is a buddy cop film series starring Eddie Murphy and Nick Nolte. It was Eddie Murphy's first film role. Another 48 Hrs. made in 1990 is the direct sequel to the 1982 film.

Tropes used in 48 Hrs. include:
  • Badass: Jack Cates, expecially how he kills Ganz who took Reggie as an hostage, without even scratch Reggie, totally stone faced ("You're done, end of the story"). Reggie can be it too, like the famous Red Neck's bar sequence, althought not on Jack's levels.
  • Bar Brawl: Jack ends up in one in Another, when he meets a guy he arrested couple years back:

"I don't want to get in a bar fight. People are always gettin' in bar fights. It's such a damn cliché. You hear about it all the time and you see it in the motion pictures, people are gettin' hit in the head with beer bottles, and furniture, and—" (* breaks bottle over man's head* )

  • Bedmate Reveal: During the beginning of the film after the opening credits end, we see a close up of a sleepy Jack Cates lying on his pillow and then his watch awakens him. Then the camera cuts to a woman named Elane Marshall who is wearing Jack's blue shirt.
  • Boxed Crook: Reggie's problem in the first film.
  • Bulletproof Vest: Jack wears one from time to time in Another.
  • Captain Obvious: During the showdown between Ganz and Cates at the end of the first film Cates shoots Ganz while Ganz is holding Reggie hostage, Ganz replies " YOU HIT ME!! I GOT SHOT!!
  • Catch Phrase: Although, Jack dosen't says this more often, this was said once in both movies whenever a gunfight occurs:

Jack: Call for help now!

  • Combat Pragmatist: Jack Cates.
  • Crouching Moron, Hidden Badass: Reggie's bar scene in the first film.
  • Da Chief: McRae in both movies.
  • Dirty Cop: Jack's buddies Frank and Bob are revealed to be drug dealers in the second film.
  • Fake-Out Opening: The opening of 48 Hrs. shows a chain gang in the middle of the desert.
  • Fight Scene: The hilarious fist-fight scene between Nolte and Murphy in the first 48 Hrs film. Nolte and Murphy each punch each other the exact same number of times. The fight begins with Murphy landing more punches on Nolte, but then Nolte catches up by the end of the sequence. However, if you count correctly, you'll notice that Nolte is still one punch behind Murphy. That's why once they are both back sitting in the car, about to drive off, Nolte suddenly lands one last knuckle sandwich squarely on Murphy's jaw, and they are even.
  • Give Me Back My Wallet: Murphy's character tells Nolte that he intends to go straight after he's paroled, "But just in case I don't, what makes you think you can catch me?" Nick replies: "Can I have my lighter back?"
  • Hand Cannon
  • Hollywood Silencer: Used when Price is shot in Another
  • Human Shield: A variation of this trope occurs in 48 Hrs. Ganz gets Jack to drop his gun by threatening a wounded cop. Since Ganz kills the cop anyway, when he uses Reggie as a true Human Shield at the end of the movie, Jack just kills him.
    • Same situation in Another 48 Hrs. Jack shoots the bad guy through Reggie.
  • Internal Affairs: Blake Wilson, who is investigating Jack in the sequel.
  • Lovable Sex Maniac: Reggie.
  • Love Hotel
  • Modesty Bedsheet: Angel Lee.
  • Once Per Episode: Reggie's complaints about his car being so dusty.
  • The Oner: The first scene at the police station in the first film.
  • Put Your Gun Down and Step Away: Averted in 48 Hrs. When the Big Bad holds Reggie hostage at gunpoint, he orders Jack to drop his weapon. Reggie insists that Jack shoot him. Which Jack does. After which Reggie berates Jack for nearly killing him.
    • Played straight at the beginning, however, where Jack giving up his gun gets one cop killed and lets the bad guys get away.
    • And in the sequel, Another 48 Hrs., Reggie tells Jack, "Why don't you just shoot me yourself?" which Jack does (NOT in the head, though. Then Jack shoots the villain. The look on the villain's face in between the two shots is priceless.
  • Revolvers Are Just Better: Several characters use Colt and Smith & Wesson revolvers in both films. Jack Cates uses a Smith & Wesson 29 on his job, for example.
  • Salt and Pepper
  • Shoot the Hostage: In Another 48 Hrs., Eddie Murphy is taken hostage, and with his characteristically big mouth, asks the cop to "Just shoot me!" Which he then does. He doesn't even bother aiming for the legs.
  • Sound-Only Death: Subverted in one scene in which the Iceman kills Malcolm Price after Malcolm lets him in and shuts the door offering him some backup.
  • Treacherous Advisor: In Another 48 Hrs., a Retcon makes Jack Cates' fellow officer and longtime friend, Ben, the Big Bad, whom Reggie Hammond had robbed in the Backstory to the first film, and the one who has been feeding Jack misinformation all along.
  • Uncle Tomfoolery
  • We Need a Distraction: One of the chain gang prisoners provokes a fight with a Native American who turns up asking for water for his truck. As the guards go to break them up, the two men pull out pistols and open fire.
  • Window Pain: Another 48 Hrs. must set a record for most broken glass in a single film.
  • Working on the Chain Gang
  • You Have 48 Hours: Well, yeah.
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