Some claim this to be the original buddy cop movie; not even close: Freebie and the Bean (1974), Beverly Hills Cop (1985), To Live and Die in LA (1985) to name a few. Two plain clothes buddy cops childishly traipse around freezing cold Chicago abusing their police power in pursuit of Gonzales (a forgettable villain played by Jimmy Smits). Our buddy cops arrest some people, shoot at some people; a car chase or two; they get their asses chewed out at the police station/precinct house by their captain (cliched even by 80's standards). Then the two wise cracking buddies have had enough and/or are suspended, so they retire to Miami. Sun bathing gets boring so they return to freezing cold Chicago and once again they're on the trial of Gonzales. A car/train chase. Wow. People are impressed by that. But I saw something similar in Code of Silence (1985) also set in freezing Chicago. And a supposedly climactic shootout in a big, empty steel and glass building; Gregory Hines swings from a rope and fires a sub machine gun. Wow. This film's not funny: the jokes aren't humorous; it's about as funny as the level of humor in a TV sitcom with canned laughter. The two buddy cops are infantile, smart arses who I don't feel anything for. In Lethal Weapon (1987) I felt for Martin Riggs (Mel Gibson) and to some extent his partner Murtaugh (Danny Glover). But here the protagonists are largely one dimensional. Overrated. 5/10.
Review of Running Scared
