There's only one way these two are going to get along...
Director: John Badham
Producer: Lem Dobbs, Michael Kozoll, Rob Cohen, William Sackheim
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.
111 min
Rating: 6.15/10
Released
Watch Trailer
Top Cast
Michael J. Fox
Nick Lang
James Woods
John Moss
Stephen Lang
Party Crasher
Annabella Sciorra
Susan
John Capodice
Grainy
Luis Guzmán
Pooley
Movie Info
Director: John Badham
Producer: Lem Dobbs, Michael Kozoll, Rob Cohen, William Sackheim
Production Companies: The Badham-Cohen Group, Universal Pictures
Countries: United States of America
Similar Movies
Earthquake in New York
1998-10-11
Unknown
2006-11-03
Hostage: Missing Celebrity
2021-08-18
Cellular
2004-09-06
Agonies
1964-01-01
Batman & Robin
1997-06-20
Klute
1971-06-23
Shaft
1971-06-25
Being John Malkovich
1999-10-29
Notting Hill
1999-05-21
Dial M for Murder
1954-05-29
Blue Velvet
1986-09-19
Se7en
1995-09-22
Strangers on a Train
1951-06-27
The Mask
1994-07-29
Who Framed Roger Rabbit
1988-06-22
Tsotsi
2005-12-23
Justicia Privada
1991-01-01
Scarface
1932-04-09User Reviews
What Others Said
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