Nolte clearly is the better actor of the two and gets to handle most of the suspense and all of the drama, although there is very little of the latter. Murphy is left with comedy and action.Perfect division of labour.
It's fun to see what they got away with of racism and sexism in the eighties. As humour, most of it would be completely shocking and unacceptable now. Cops calling girls sweetpants, calling african-americans watermelons, and always having a few punches for new prisoners. Not to mention what Nolte and Murphy call each other. The police captain in this movie is of course a loud-mouth, always talking at the top of his voice. And usually angry and threatening. At least they make a (rather good) joke out of it. And yes, the word "suspended" is used.
The interaction between Murphy and Nolte is very good, and their fist-fight is old-school and most cool (rhyme unintended). Violence can be most funny when done correctly and both men (particularly Nolte) really do fight dirty. As far as this genre goes, the leads need to bring something extra to the table, and the boys deliver in spades.
Walter Hill never was the best director when it came to suspense, and where some calm and quiet would serve him well, he drives along at the same pace and increases the music. Not a good idea. The action is good though, and the set-pieces not at all shabby.
As for the story, it's not terribly original but these films rarely triumph in that area and it is adequate. With a running time of 92 minutes it will keep you entertained for almost all of its duration. Very nice. And Nolte has one of the coldest look ever seen by a non-crooked cop during a shoot-out.
Though it has not completely passed the test of time, this still is a very good film for it's genre and well worth a re-visit.
7/10
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