"Go tie your dick in a knot!".

John Badham when he gets it right is a talented director. "Stakeout" was one of those late eighties comedy/ thrillers that hit the mark with that special mix of sarcastic wit and violent action. Here he lets James Woods off the leash with a performance of sheer brilliance that has so many quotable outbursts he must have relished the chance to go ga-ga. Crude,sexist and with just enough thrills and energy to be a memorable addition to both Michael J. Fox and James Woods's cv,this was so entertaining.
The story of a no-nonsense NY detective who gets saddled with a Hollywood actor intent on learning what it's like to be a cop. Researching…

Part of Dastardly Difficult December: film nr.28

There is a considerable amount of films I haven't seen for no reason at all, yet going by what they are and the talent involved, I really should have seen them already. The Hard Way is such a film and boy have I been missing out all these years!!

This film should get a lot more credit than it has been getting. It is fun,Badham's direction paces it beautifully and it has two favourites of mine charging this film with infectious energy.

Fox does what he does best. He brings youthful exuberance to his role and completely and utterly annoying for the better part of the film. This makes the way he bounces…

James Woods is great and it's fun seeing him play an absolute badass. He has some funny and intense moments. Michael J. Fox steals the show. He's hilarious and you can tell he is having an absolute blast playing the role. Both Woods and Fox have terrific chemistry and it's great watching their witty exchange amongst one another. Stephen Lang makes a great creepy villain, though he isn't given as much screen time as I would have hoped. Nice supporting cast work from the likes of Luiz Guzman, Annabella Sciorra, and Delroy Lindo though I thought LL Cool J was pointless. Nothing against the guy. He's one of my favorite rappers (Mama Said Knock You Out is one of my…

"Go tie your dick in a knot!".

John Badham when he gets it right is a talented director. "Stakeout" was one of those late eighties comedy/ thrillers that hit the mark with that special mix of sarcastic wit and violent action. Here he lets James Woods off the leash with a performance of sheer brilliance that has so many quotable outbursts he must have relished the chance to go ga-ga. Crude,sexist and with just enough thrills and energy to be a memorable addition to both Michael J. Fox and James Woods's cv,this was so entertaining.
The story of a no-nonsense NY detective who gets saddled with a Hollywood actor intent on learning what it's like to be a cop. Researching…

Michael J. Fox, an action-film star doing research for an upcoming role, grafts himself to the hip of unwilling cop James Woods. The idea sounds a lot funnier than it turns out to be. This action-comedy sends up other action-comedies while simultaneously doing all the predictable things that action-comedies do; characters are always saying "This isn't a movie — that doesn't happen in real life," and then — presto! — it does happen! A movie like this should never have characters saying "This isn't a movie." There are a few in-jokes for Premiere subscribers (the movie rewards you for getting references to "pay or play"), and Woods has some classic Woods dialogue ("Yeah, when my asshole learns how to chew…

Part of Dastardly Difficult December: film nr.28

There is a considerable amount of films I haven't seen for no reason at all, yet going by what they are and the talent involved, I really should have seen them already. The Hard Way is such a film and boy have I been missing out all these years!!

This film should get a lot more credit than it has been getting. It is fun,Badham's direction paces it beautifully and it has two favourites of mine charging this film with infectious energy.

Fox does what he does best. He brings youthful exuberance to his role and completely and utterly annoying for the better part of the film. This makes the way he bounces…

Offers nothing necessarily fresh or innovative in the genre of buddy cop movies, but we're not generally looking for something groundbreaking when experiencing a film like this. At least I know I'm not. All I need with a film like this is excellent chemistry between the leads and a sense of humor that always takes precedent over seriousness, and a fair amount of energetic action to accompany all of it. John Badham delivers a decent amount of that here, but it is the performances that make it worth the watch.

James Woods has played a hot-headed, borderline psychotic character countless times in his career...and whether it be for comic or dramatic purposes, the guy was born to do it. Of…