During my collegiate studies, I took a few film courses.  One movie that was discussed in the textbooks as being an example of a well-done action film was 48 Hrs. (1982).  Now, please understand that when you take such a class, you do not see every title found in the pages of whatever tome is used for the more theoretical aspects of cinema.  If I recall correctly, the fact that it was included relates to how it highlights the urban decay of the 1970s, even if it came out in the following decade.  As a Catholic historian, I would further contextualize this as being a period of decline for the American church, but I digress.  Now that I have watched today’s entry, it is safe to say that it has not aged well, and you will see how.

The first thing we see in 48 Hrs. is a lone, ancient pickup truck driving down a dusty road towards a prison chain gang.  The person who gets out is Billy Bear (Sonny Landham), who is taken for a native person living on a nearby reservation.  Whoever he is, he asks for water to cool his engine, but is soon harassed by one of the inmates, Albert Ganz (James Remar).  The altercation turns violent, but it is a ruse to slip Albert a gun, and he and Billy open fire on the guards before making their escape.  Their destination is San Francisco, where Detective Jack Cates (Nick Nolte) is waking up next to his girlfriend, Elaine Marshall (Annette O’Toole).  Duty calls for him soon after they are out of bed, and it looks like it will keep him busy for the next title number of hours, much to her frustration.  He ends up driving to a hotel where the police have been tipped as to the presence of Albert and Billy.  The first to arrive are Detectives Algren (Jonathan Banks) and Van Zant (James Keane), but they are not entirely open to working with the hot headed, loner Detective Cates.  As such, Detective Cates is told to wait in the lobby while the others go upstairs.  Almost immediately, Detective Algren and Van Zant are shot by the fugitives, who head downstairs.  In the resulting standoff, Albert has a hostage, forcing Detective Cates to give up his gun, which is then used to kill Detective Algren.  Next, Albert and Billy find their old accomplice, Luther Kelly (David Patrick Kelly), who knows where there is a stash of money that the ones on the run want to acquire.  In order to make Luther keep his promise to produce the cash in a day’s time, Albert and Billy kidnap Luther’s girlfriend and take off.  Meanwhile, back at the station, few people are happy that Detective Cates had been on the scene where two of their comrades had been killed, and that the killer had used the cop’s gun.  The person most angry with Detective Cates is his boss, Captain Haden (Frank McRae).  Though it is not usual procedure, Detective Cates is given some time, but not much, to find the two criminals.  Looking up Albert’s known associates produces the name of one Reggie Hammond (Eddie Murphy), who is also in prison.  Hopeful of getting some kind of assistance, though not willing to admit he needs it, Detective Cates offers to get Reggie out of jail for a few days.  Reggie is not appreciative of the officer’s demeanor, but he accepts Detective Cates’ proposal because the prisoner has his own score to settle with Albert.  As is later revealed, the half a million dollars that Albert is after actually belongs to Reggie, and the latter is keen to protect it.  For now, this information is withheld from Detective Cates, and they begin by tracking down Luther.  Firing some shots at the authorities gets Luther a trip to the precinct, but Detective Cates and Reggie learn how they might be able to find Billy.  It involves going into the kind of establishment Reggie would not usually frequent, but they learn that his girlfriend, Casey (Margot Rose), lives nearby.  However, Billy is not there and it appears that Detective Cates and Reggie have hit a dead end, which is when the animosity between the two erstwhile partners boils over into fisticuffs.  Eventually, Reggie lets on his connection to this business, and they stake out the garage where he had stashed the loot in the trunk of his car.  The person who shows up to retrieve it is Luther, and they follow him to a subway station where they are going to make the exchange.  Unfortunately, Albert and Billy spot them, causing them to scatter in opposite directions.  Detective Cates chases the fugitives while Reggie goes after the money, but none of them are successful.  Yet, just when it appears that Detective Cates is about to be fired, he gets a call from Reggie to meet him at a nightclub.  Across the street, Luther has taken refuge, and Reggie is about to take his ease there with a woman (ahem!) when their target exits and gets into a bus driven by Billy.  Though a car chase ensues, Albert and Billy get away with the money.  Detective Cates and Reggie endure one last berating from Captain Haden before Detective Cates prepares to return his charge to prison.  As they enjoy a drink, Reggie reassures Detectives Cates that the idea of Billy returning to Casey is not a crazy one.  The hunch proves correct, and Albert and Billy are shot dead trying to escape.  This Catholic does not approve of how Detective Cates allows Reggie that “ease” I previously mentioned before he goes back to jail.

Actually, we do not see Reggie going back to jail at the end of 48 Hrs.  In sort of Western-esque conclusion, the two anti-heroes ride off into the night and the credits roll.  Further, the inmate is told that the money will be kept safe for him when he gets out in six months, and he apparently will have a woman waiting for him.  These deviations from the law are without mentioning the fact that he obtains a gun at one point and uses it to kill Billy.  As a practicing Catholic, it is difficult to get behind any of these proceedings, never mind the fact that there are a few nude scenes.  What is also troubling is the language used throughout, between enemies and supposed friends.  At different points, Detective Cates and Reggie fall under both these categories, so I will focus on them.  Between them, racial slurs flow, and even Captain Haden uses the “N” word on Reggie.  When relations between Detective Cates and Reggie finally cool, the cop admits that the language was meant to keep the inmate “down.”  There is a vast history behind this attitude, and racialized descriptions of groups of people have been utilized as an instrument of control.  Particularly in the United States, and sadly still prevalent today, whites have marginalized non-whites in order to maintain a social hierarchy with the former at the top.  The fact that the Church specifically preaches against such behavior, and has done so for centuries, is one of the reasons I love being Catholic.  To this point, paragraph 1935 of The Catechism of the Catholic Church says, “Every form of social or cultural discrimination in fundamental personal rights on the grounds of sex, race, color, social conditions, language, or religion must be curbed and eradicated as incompatible with God’s design.”  Such equality is sorely lacking in this movie.

Then again, one might look at 48 Hrs. and say, well, it was made in 1982 when attitudes on these subjects were different.  There is no denying that fact, but it only serves to prove how outdated is this material.  Either way, it was not good then, and the same holds even more true today.  Therefore, there is no reason to see what is ultimately just another action movie.