Scarecrow-88 Michael J Fox. What a star. I think you look back to The Hard Way and it makes you really hate the disease that takes away not just from him but us as comedy fans. So full of energy and vitality, a very physical actor, a gifted comedian; Michael J Fox made even the more routine of comedies (this one a take on the street police buddy action comedy so popular in the 80s) palatable. James Woods has always been a star. A "powerhouse" as Leonard Maltin likes to refer to Woods, he commands and impresses with that intensity and charisma at all times. Here, it was his chance to play a cop—a good one who is after an unstable, blond-haired, wicked-grinned Stephen Lang (he carved himself a niche for villainy of all sorts; the moment he shows up in Seagal's Fire Down Below you know he's no good, or his military hard-ass in Avatar) picking off "street criminals" (pimp, drug dealer, underground gun-maker)—tasked with the burden of shouldering a prima-donna diva action star, played by Fox. Fox is about to star in a film about a cop, and it is part of Fox's "method" to follow Woods, so he can get down the mannerisms, speech, and personality of the real deal. Woods, of course, would rather focus on catching a killer on the street, not carrying around a egotistical actor (obviously, Fox is too likable and endearing to be as annoying and grating as real ego-rich Hollywood stars) hoping to hone his craft by following close to the hip of an authentic streetwise detective. So that's the film in a nutshell. Toss in a hot Annabella Sciorra as Woods' romantic interest (she was in EVERYTHING at this time in the early 90s), Delroy Lindo as Woods' boss (and Fox supporter), and plenty of shootouts, explosions, and car destruction (Guess what? Yep, you, got it; a fruit stand is barreled through and a cop car takes a couple flips!), The Hard Way has plenty to offer those with an affinity for action buddy comedies that involve two totally different guys, such polar opposites, eventually coming together to stop a killer.Memorable moments include Fox awakening to find himself handcuffed to a bed (with Woods leaving behind a sign to mock him), Woods staging a faux "accidental murder" to frighten Fox away (going so far as to use a cop portraying an innocent bystander shot by Fox in a staged "collateral damage" ruse!), Fox exchanging gunfire with a hood (running with two other punks) in a subway station (with Woods coming to the rescue), and the climactic billboard sign overlooking the city scene where Lang is responsible for Sciorra hanging for dear life from a giant cigarette, Woods having to grab hold to the bill of a hat (granted it's a HUGE hat), and Fox grabbing hold to his own eye (granted this eye is slightly larger) with a rope he swings across his face (granted…okay, you get the picture) to rescue Sciorra before her cigarette snaps into. Fox gives us the expected laughs, but Woods isn't too shabby as the straight part of the act, his frustrations and aggravation at enduring such a tag-along leading to some fun moments, too. Woods has always been a phenomenal heavy, but this proves he can take on the part of one of the good guys...I really liked this one scene where Woods calls out Sciorra for the old argument of "I don't want to attach myself to the man who may never come home" by retorting, "We are always the one, though, depended upon with the bad goes down." Fox and Woods have some solid chemistry, which certainly doesn't hurt. Lang plays the part of the colorful lunatic (the one you would see mocked in "Last Action Hero"), with no restraint.

elshikh4 The action buddy movie was there since the 1970s. However since Lethal Weapon's effect, in 1987, it became red-hot till the end of the 1990s, with always 2 totally different guys; mostly cops, and a bloody conflict to stop a certain criminal.But with many cops around the era, the yearn for variation got loud. And movies had to use someone, or some thing, instead of a cop as a partner. Based on my sincere studying, that idea lived a climax in 1991.Look at the buddy in these buddy-cop movies from the same year : a dog (K-9), an addicted rugby player (The Last Boy Scout), a genius serial killer (The Silence of the Lambs), special effects' expert (F-X2), and a spoiled movie star (The Hard Way).Yes, (Michael J. Fox) is cute, (James Woods) is nice, and (Annabella Sciorra) is beautiful, but still the only thing to be watched is the action. The chemistry between the 2 leads didn't work well. Something tells me that they both were miscast; sure they looked small in their roles. Most of the comedy couldn't be memorable. The plot doesn't move interestingly in terms of exploiting the differences of the main 2 characters. So it's nothing but (John Badham)'s action. And he made some masterpieces indeed, with sizzling pace and sweaty image.Hence forget about the boring scene of trying to teach the cop something about the women in the bar, and concentrate on how the criminal bursts into a theater where the action goes riotously and enjoyably. One of its best merits is sneering at the movies as big flashy lies. But eventually it wins for it, as much as the lead learns to be a hero behind the screen and in front of it (the key scene of the theater). Ahh, something deep in a light movie. Bravo !For an action comedy, it's one clever action. While it changed the partner, one of the formula's 2 basics has been vanished !

Paul Andrews The Hard Way is set in New York where detective John Moss (James Woods) is on the case of a ruthless killer nicknamed the Party Crasher (Stephen Lang) who taunts police as shoots people dead, he phones the police & invites them to watch as he kills people. While chasing the Party Crasher detective Moss is injured & his boss Captain Brix (Delroy Lindo) takes him off the case in order to babysit rich Hollywood action film star Nick Lang (Michael J. Fox) who is researching a role as a cop poses as Moss' new partner, Moss is horrified at having Lang follow him around as he won't let the Party Crasher case go & drags Lang into it...Directed by John Badham this action comedy thriller is the second Badham flick I have seen in the space of twenty four hours, I didn't plan it that way but the other was Blue Thunder (1983) & having watched both for the first time I am struck that while they are both decent enough action thrillers neither are particularly great & both feel rather routine. Here in The Hard Way we have the whole mismatched cop partners scenario with average results, a popular but over-crowed genre at the time there are better examples that spring to mind such as Lethal Weapon (1987), Red Heat (1988) & Tango & Cash (1989) to name but three. The difference fans of the film will point to is that Lang is an action film star but for all intents & purposes The Hard Way plays out like a straight cop thriller with little in the way of depth. The two main character's of Moss & Lang are great & equally great performances by Woods & Fox carry the lightweight script & it's them who make this as watchable as it is, the interplay between the two is funny at times & the gradual warming of the character's towards each other works pretty well. However beyond a spirited couple of leads The Hard Way is routine & clichéd, there's the grumpy police captain, the bad guy with a personal vendetta against the hero, the veteran cop & his rookie partner, a love interest & a final confrontation to the death. The Hard Way is also very predictable in the way it unfolds, at over 110 minutes it's maybe a little long, Moss or any other NYPD cop doesn't seem to do any real police-work other than what he wants & the Party Crasher is given virtually no background or motivation other than the excuse he was killing criminals which gets explored with all of one line of dialogue.There are some funny moments here for sure but maybe not quite enough, Moss screeching through New York shouting profanity as everyone around him or the one to one in a bar with Lang where he pretends to be Moss' girlfriend is also a highlight but beyond the energy & goodwill brought to the film by the two leads (both character's & actor's) there's just not that much here as any sort of plot takes a back seat. While not particularly violent The Hard Way is full of profanity so if you have sensitive ears in that regard be prepared. The action is pretty good but there's not enough of it, there's a couple of car chases & stunts, an explosion at a petrol pump & the final confrontation above Times Square in New York which looks impressive but lacks excitement. Apparently James Woods had his own hairdresser on set at a cost of $6000 a week.Flopping at the box-office I would suggest the buddy buddy cop film had lost it's appeal somewhat & The Hard Way is a fairly routine example anyway. This has that big budget Hollywood look about it & looks nice enough. The acting by the two leads is great with the always excellent James Woods taking first prize, Fox is very good too while rapper LL Cool J has a small role as a cop.The Hard Way is a standard mismatched cop action thriller that is made watchable by great performances by it's leading actor's & some pretty funny moments & one-liners but story-wise this is less than average & there's certainly not enough plot here to fill 110 minutes.

Robert J. Maxwell There is this hypomanic impatient fearless New York cop (James Woods, who else?) in pursuit of a serial killer known as The Party Crasher. Then there is this terribly wealthy, effete, spoiled Hollywood actor (Michael J. Fox) who's been churning out serial Nick Lang action movies, each followed by a Roman numeral.Fox happens to spot Woods' bloodied face on TV news and decides he wants to bunk with Woods, live Woods' life with him, do his job with him. He adores Woods as "the real thing". What he learns from Woods will be incorporated into the Nick Lang movies to lend them more verisimilitude.Basically, that's it. You could sit back for an hour or two and dream up most of the funny exchanges and ridiculous events. (It's a comedy.) The wisecracks are endless. A lot of the humor depends on insults aimed at Fox. He's called -- let me think, I have to be careful here -- a cheeseball, a maggot, a Dickless Tracy, and other things, some of them so shocking that no respectable viewer could possibly comprehend them.After a battle with a gang, Fox stops in his tracks, feels his eye, and remarks anxiously, "I think I lost a contact out there." I don't know how many mismatched cop movies you've seen, but I'll mention in passing all of the Dirty Harry movies, all of the Lethal Weapon movies, "Dragnet," one with Ryan O'Neal and John Hurt the name of which I forget, all of the Stakeout movies. One of them, "Foster and Laurie", is pretty good. At one point we get a brief trailer for a Nick Lang movie which parodies the cop movie genre. This entire movie is like that parody.What audience is it aimed at? Well, it starts off in the first scene with a car speeding through the streets of New York, banging into other vehicles, James Woods behind the wheel, screaming obscenities, gesticulating wildly, and doing odd topological things with his face -- because he's late for a date. The speeding car, however, leads directly to a shoot out in a crowded nightclub. The bodies fall in slow motion.If that opening grabs you, then this may be your movie.