The Hard Way
Release date: 1991-03-08
Votes: 442
Genres: Action, Comedy, Crime
Seeking to raise his credibility as an actor and to land a role as a tough cop on a new show, Hollywood action star Nick Lang works a deal with New York City Police Capt. Brix, who by chance is one of his fans. Nick will be paired with detective Lt. John Moss and learn how to act like a real cop. But when Nick drives John crazy with questions and imitating him, he gets in the way of John's pursuit of a serial killer.
Reviews
TheJonathanSim
What do you call an action comedy with no cool action and no funny comedy? The Hard Way.
John Chard
Will you open up? I just want to know what it feels like to be inside your skin. The Hard Way is directed by John Badham and collectively written by Lem Dobbs, Michael Kozoll and Daniel Pyne. It stars James Woods, Michael J. Fox, Stephen Lang, Annabella Sciorra, Luis Guzman, LL Cool J and Delroy Lindo. Music is by Arthur B. Rubinstein and cinematography is by Don McAlpine and Robert Primes. An action movie star researching a role is allowed to tag along with a hardboiled New York City policeman, who is less than enamoured with his company as he looks to stop the serial killer known as "The Party Crasher". Given John Badham's CV, The Hard Way looked to be right up his street, his career containing solid if unspectacular buddy buddy action comedy pictures. This is just above average thanks to the Woods and Fox pairing and some nifty dialogue one liners. The concept of a Hollywood star tagging along with a grizzled real copper is smart, but the pic ends up over stuffed, even if the action and comedy - courtesy of some high energy set-pieces - rewards enough to stop tedium setting in. Lang's maniacal villain is over the top, though he seems to be enjoying himself, while such is the brisk pace for the most part, when it sags into its quieter periods it strains the patience - the blend uneasy. Yet the finale rewards on basic action terms, with suspense intact, to ultimately give us a just above average pic of its type. 6/10
Movie Recommendation
Lucky Jo1964-11-12Lucky Jo and his three friends are little criminals, who try to live from small burglaries. But they never have luck - ever so often something inpredictable happens to Jo and gets one of them arrested. While Jo is in prison once again, they decide they'd better do without him in future. He decides to help them secretly...and unfortunately.More...
My Super Psycho Sweet 16: Part 22010-10-22Following the murders at the Rollerdome, Skye Rotter leaves town in search of a normal life. Reunited with the mother who abandoned her as a child, Skye's dream of a happier life starts to take shape - until her serial killer father returns.More...
Mi Mujer no es mi señora1978-07-23Juan Carlos, a businessman, falls in love with a woman much younger than him, and ends up marrying her. Juan Carlos' mother-in-law, following an incident with him, tells him a fabricated story: that the father of her daughter is a stranger, with whom she had sex in the car of a train. Coincidentally, this situation had happened to Juan Carlos many years ago, and now, with the doubts that his wife is his daughter, he does not even want to approach her on his wedding night.More...
Rogue Trader2021-10-27Ambitious investment banker Tom Walker is catapulted from the back office of a bank to its hectic trading floor, where quickly he is responsible for the most complex and important portfolio of an ailing financial institution.More...
The Three Musketeers2013-11-13Young d'Artagnan comes to Paris to be a musketeer. There, he meets three old musketeers, members of the glorious King's Guard, but actually realizes that they are not the great fighters who he thinks they are. While joining the musketeers he is faced with the hidden plots of Cardinal Richelieu, his spy Milady de Winter, and a possible war against England.More...
A Nest of Gentry1969-08-25A screen adaptation of the novel of the same name by Russian writer Ivan Turgenev. The film portrays the life of Russian landed gentry in the 1840s. After a long travel in Europe, nobleman Lavretsky returns back home. Everything in his estate is so familiar and dear to his heart. On his first visit to his neighbors, the Kalitins, he meets Lisa. He forgets his wife, left in Paris, forgets all his past. He desires only one thing – to always be with Lisa who is so unlike the women he used to know.More...
40 Years of Rocky: The Birth of a Classic2020-06-09Sylvester Stallone and John G. Avildsen narrate behind-the-scenes footage from the making of "Rocky" to mark the film's 40th anniversary.More...
Retroactive1997-01-01A psychiatrist makes multiple trips through time to save a woman that was murdered by her brutal husband.More...
A Simple Wish1997-07-11Murray is a male fairy godmother, and he is trying to help 8-year-old Anabel to fulfil her "simple wish" - that her father Oliver, who is a cab driver, would win the leading role in a Broadway musical. Unfortunately, Murray's magic wand is broken and the fairies convention is threatened by evil witches Claudia and Boots.More...
Girls Just Want to Have Fun1985-04-12Janey is new in town, and soon meets Lynne, who shares her passion for dancing in general, and "Dance TV" in particular. When a competition is announced to find a new Dance TV regular couple, Janey and Lynne are determined to audition. The only problem is that Janey's father doesn't approve of that kind of thing.More...
For Love or Money1993-10-01New York concierge Doug Ireland wants to go into business for himself and refurbish a hotel on Roosevelt Island, N.Y., but he needs an investor. With a few weeks left before his option on the site runs out, Doug agrees to help wealthy Christian Hanover conceal his affair with salesgirl Andy Hart from his wife. Despite his own attraction to Andy, Doug tries to stay focused on getting Christian to invest $3 million in his project.More...
Toy Soldiers1991-04-24After federal agents arrest a drug czar and put him on trial, the cartel leader's vicious son storms a prep school and takes its students hostage. They rebel against the armed intruders and try to take back their academy by any means necessary.More...
Vanishing Point1971-01-15Kowalski works for a car delivery service, and takes delivery of a 1970 Dodge Challenger to drive from Colorado to San Francisco. Shortly after pickup, he takes a bet to get the car there in less than 15 hours.More...
Rabbit Without Ears2007-12-01Rainbow press reporter Ludo is sentenced to 8 months, but is released on probation. But he has to work 300 hours for a local daycare center and meets Anna who has unfinished business with him.More...
Doc Hollywood1991-08-02After leaving Washington D.C. hospital, plastic surgeon Ben Stone heads for California, where a lucrative practice in Beverly Hills awaits. After a car accident, he's sentenced to perform as the community's general practitioner.More...
City Slickers1991-06-07Three New York businessmen decide to take a "Wild West" vacation that turns out not to be the relaxing vacation they had envisioned.More...
Air America1990-08-10Air America was the CIA's private airline operating in Laos during the Vietnam War, running anything and everything from soldiers to foodstuffs for local villagers. After losing his pilot's license, Billy Covington is recruited, and ends up in the middle of a bunch of lunatic pilots, gun-running by his friend Gene Ryack, and opium smuggling by his own superiors.More...
The Bouncer2018-08-22A tough nightclub bouncer struggling to raise his 8-year-old daughter is forced to go undercover after an unfortunate event.More...
15 Minutes2001-03-01When Eastern European criminals Oleg and Emil come to New York City to pick up their share of a heist score, Oleg steals a video camera and starts filming their activities, both legal and illegal. When they learn how the American media circus can make a remorseless killer look like the victim and make them rich, they target media-savvy NYPD Homicide Detective Eddie Flemming and media-naive FDNY Fire Marshal Jordy Warsaw, the cops investigating their murder and torching of their former criminal partner, filming everything to sell to the local tabloid TV show "Top Story."More...
The Secret of My Success1987-04-10Brantley Foster, a well-educated kid from Kansas, has always dreamed of making it big in New York, but once in New York, he learns that jobs - and girls - are hard to get. When Brantley visits his uncle, Howard Prescott, who runs a multi-million-dollar company, he is given a job in the company's mail room.More...
Similar Movies
Out of the Past
1947-11-25The peaceful life of a gas station owner is disrupted when a man from his past arrives in town and forces him to return to the dark world he had tried to escape.Manhattan
1979-04-25Manhattan explores how the life of a middle-aged television writer dating a teenage girl is further complicated when he falls in love with his best friend's mistress.V for Vendetta
2006-02-23In a world in which Great Britain has become a fascist state, a masked vigilante known only as “V” conducts guerrilla warfare against the oppressive British government. When V rescues a young woman from the secret police, he finds in her an ally with whom he can continue his fight to free the people of Britain.The Fatal Raid
2019-09-26An ultraviolent cops vs. gangsters bloodbath leaves casualties on both sides. Twenty years later, surviving team member Madam Fong leads a new squad in pursuit of reckless young anarchists terrorizing Macao.Knockin' on Heaven's ...
1997-02-20Two young men, Martin and Rudi, both suffering from terminal cancer, get to know each other in a hospital room. They drown their desperation in tequila and decide to take one last trip to the sea. Drunk and still in pajamas they steal the first fancy car they find, a 60's Mercedes convertible. The car happens to belong to a bunch of gangsters, which immediately start to chase it, since it contains more than the pistol Martin finds in the glove box.Saw
2004-10-01Two men wake up to find themselves shackled in a grimy, abandoned bathroom. As they struggle to comprehend their predicament, they discover a disturbing tape left behind by the sadistic mastermind known as Jigsaw. With a chilling voice and cryptic instructions, Jigsaw informs them that they must partake in a gruesome game in order to secure their freedom.Jackie Brown
1997-12-25Jackie Brown is a flight attendant who gets caught in the middle of smuggling cash into the country for her gunrunner boss. When the cops try to use Jackie to get to her boss, she hatches a plan — with help from a bail bondsman — to keep the money for herself.Lucky Number Slevin
2006-02-24Slevin is mistakenly put in the middle of a personal war between the city’s biggest criminal bosses. Under constant watch, Slevin must try not to get killed by an infamous assassin and come up with an idea of how to get out of his current dilemma.Sin City: A Dame to K...
2014-08-20Some of Sin City's most hard-boiled citizens cross paths with a few of its more reviled inhabitants.Mean Streets
1973-10-14A small-time hood must choose from among love, friendship and the chance to rise within the mob.Boys Don't Cry
1999-09-02A young transgender man explores his gender identity and searches for love in rural Nebraska.Live and Let Die
1973-06-27James Bond must investigate a mysterious murder case of a British agent in New Orleans. Soon he finds himself up against a gangster boss named Mr. Big.Stolen Kisses
1968-09-04The third in a series of films featuring François Truffaut's alter-ego, Antoine Doinel, the story resumes with Antoine being discharged from military service. His sweetheart Christine's father lands Antoine a job as a security guard, which he promptly loses. Stumbling into a position assisting a private detective, Antoine falls for his employers' seductive wife, Fabienne, and finds that he must choose between the older woman and Christine.Blue Velvet
1986-09-19The discovery of a severed human ear found in a field leads a young man on an investigation related to a beautiful, mysterious nightclub singer and a group of psychopathic criminals who have kidnapped her child.Se7en
1995-09-22Two homicide detectives are on a desperate hunt for a serial killer whose crimes are based on the "seven deadly sins" in this dark and haunting film that takes viewers from the tortured remains of one victim to the next. The seasoned Det. Somerset researches each sin in an effort to get inside the killer's mind, while his novice partner, Mills, scoffs at his efforts to unravel the case.Strangers on a Train
1951-06-27Having met on a train, a smooth-talking psychotic socialite shares his theory on how two complete strangers can get away with murder to an amateur tennis player — a theory he plans to test out.The Mask
1994-07-29When timid bank clerk Stanley Ipkiss discovers a magical mask containing the spirit of the Norse god Loki, his entire life changes. While wearing the mask, Ipkiss becomes a supernatural playboy exuding charm and confidence which allows him to catch the eye of local nightclub singer Tina Carlyle. Unfortunately, under the mask's influence, Ipkiss also robs a bank, which angers junior crime lord Dorian Tyrell, whose goons get blamed for the heist.Who Framed Roger Rabb...
1988-06-22'Toon star Roger is worried that his wife Jessica is playing pattycake with someone else, so the studio hires detective Eddie Valiant to snoop on her. But the stakes are quickly raised when Marvin Acme is found dead and Roger is the prime suspect.Tsotsi
2005-12-23A young South African boy from the Johannesburg ghetto named Tsotsi, meaning Gangster, leaves home as a child to get away from his helpless parents. Now a teenage thug, Tsotsi finds a baby in the back seat of a car he's just stolen. He decides that it is his responsibility to care for the infant and in the process learns that maybe the criminal life isn’t the best way.School for Buglars
1958-05-09The police plan to capture a killer by using a double that looks exactly as one of his victims.