Jack Cates (Nick Nolte) is a tough, super-jaded cop who springs a hard luck robber, Reggie Hammond (Eddie Murphy), from jail for two days to help nab his former partners. The two men form a kind of friendship (based on mutual hatred) as they chase a trio of remorseless villains through the streets of San Francisco and Cates finds that Hammond's streetwise method of finding the criminals is possibly even more effective than his own by-the-book police procedures. Rounded characters and crackling comedy balance out this this box-office hit. A sequel, ANOTHER 48 HOURS, was produced in 1990.