Verdict
Summary
From stalwart genre filmmaker Peter Hyams, Running Scared is a breezy and fun buddy cop movie with much more chit-chat than action, but a stunt filled climax and a lively car chase on train tracks at the midway point really put this one in the higher echelon of the buddy cop subgenre. The two leads are incredibly appealing, and a really good song soundtrack keeps the pace upbeat.
Plot:
Two cops go after a drug lord in Chicago and consider retirement after a great vacation.
Review:
Partner detectives Ray (Gregory Hines) and Danny (Billy Crystal) are so close they basically finish each other’s sentences, and they never do anything without each other right by their side. Their latest case is going after drug lord Gonazales (Jimmy Smits) who they recently put away but is right back on the streets again. They nab a chatty informer (played by Joe Pantoliano) who gets them some valuable intel, but their boss (Dan Hedaya) is constantly exasperated at their excessive force rogue tactics and orders them to scale back. As punishment, their boss has them training and breaking in a couple of newbie undercover rookies (Steven Bauer and Jon Gries) who are more a hindrance than a help, and when Ray and Danny botch the case they’re mandated to take a paid vacation, and so they go to Florida, fall in love with the laid back beach life, and thanks to Danny’s recent inheritance they buy a bar and plan to renovate it after giving their 30-day notice of early retirement. But first, they need to close the Gonzales case, and when they get ahold of the drug lord’s drug shipment they rankle his ire to the point that he kidnaps Danny’s ex-wife (Darlanne Flugel) and forces them to take extreme measures to get her back and put an end to Gonzales once and for all.
From stalwart genre filmmaker Peter Hyams, Running Scared is a breezy and fun buddy cop movie with much more chit-chat than action, but a stunt filled climax and a lively car chase on train tracks at the midway point really put this one in the higher echelon of the buddy cop subgenre. The two leads are incredibly appealing, and a really good song soundtrack keeps the pace upbeat. The movie works on so many levels that it’s almost a shame they didn’t do a sequel. These guys really had great chemistry and it shows.
Kino Lorber has just reissued Running Scared on Blu-ray, and the disc comes with an audio commentary by Hyams, a making-of feature, outtakes, the trailer, and more. The high definition transfer is satisfyingly crisp, and there’s a slipcover as well.
