48 Hrs. poster

48 Hrs. (1982)

Film · 1h 36m · Rated R

Action, Comedy, Crime

A gritty, darkly comic crime story unfolds as a cop and a criminal reluctantly partner to catch a killer.

Pulpy, with dry wit. A party watch at a brisk pace. Emotionally it carries some weight.

Streaming on MGM+.

48 Hrs. parents guide

Nothing past what an R promises: moderate sex and nudity, and strong violence.

Scare
Not scary
Jump scares
None noted
Gore
Light gore
Some blood or injury, briefly.
Violence
Strong violence
Violence is frequent or intense.
Sex and nudity
Moderate
Moderate means a sex scene or nudity on screen, even brief, or sexual violence that is described or implied but never shown.
Language
Strong
Frequent strong profanity or slurs.

How we rate: an AI reads what is known about each title and tags it 0 to 3; we check the tags against a hand-rated set and correct them by hand when readers tell us. Estimates, not a scene-by-scene review. Spot a mistake? Tell us.

Three questions

How gory is 48 Hrs.?
Light gore and strong violence.
What is 48 Hrs. rated, and is it OK for kids?
Moderate sex and nudity, strong violence, and frequent strong language. The R is earned, so not for kids.

What is 48 Hrs. about?

A hard-nosed cop reluctantly teams up with a wise-cracking criminal temporarily paroled to him, in order to track down a killer.

Does it have a happy ending? (spoiler-safe)

Yes. It lands on a happy note.

Cast and crew

Directed byWalter Hill
StarringNick Nolte, Eddie Murphy, Annette O'Toole, Frank McRae, James Remar, David Patrick Kelly

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Uses the TMDB API; not endorsed or certified by TMDB. Intensity, content, tone and pace tags are CouchRot's own.