Running Scared

Directed by Peter Hyams, Running Scared follows wisecracking Chicago cops Ray Hughes (Gregory Hines) and Danny Costanzo (Billy Crystal) as they attempt to take down a vicious drug dealer named Julio Gonzales (Jimmy Smits). Filmmaker Hyams, working from Gary DeVore and Jimmy Huston’s screenplay, delivers a fairly standard buddy-cop comedy that benefits from its top-notch performances and smattering of engrossing, exciting action sequences, and there’s little doubt, certainly, that the strong chemistry between Hines and Crystal’s respective characters goes a long way towards compensating for the erratic atmosphere and, eventually, cementing the picture’s overall success (ie it’s impossible not to get a kick out of Ray and Danny’s ongoing banter, particularly as they encounter a series of exasperated authority figures and seedy bad guys.) And although the movie’s opening half hour is a little on the generic side, Running Scared picks up substantially once it takes a decidedly unexpected detour involving Ray and Danny’s decision to quit the force and relocate to Florida – with the film, beyond that point, transforming into a better-than-average ’80s actioner that’s elevated by its raft of surprisingly electrifying set-pieces (eg a car chase that eventually winds up on subway tracks) – which, when coupled with a fairly absorbing and satisfying climax, cements the whole thing’s place as a solid (albeit very familiar) piece of work that boasts a truly first-class villain (ie Smits’ irresistibly smug turn can’t be downplayed, ultimately).

*** out of ****