Film
What's on at the cinema plus reviews of the latest movie and DVD releases
Bookmark this pageThe Hard Way (1991)
Director: John Badham
Movie review
From Time Out Film Guide
Action-man actor Nick Lang (Fox), tired of cartoon characters (his latest is 'Smoking Gunn II') wants to land the part of a gritty New York homicide detective, so his agent fixes up some real-life experience with John Moss (Woods). But this reluctant 'Yoda among cops' has no intention of babysitting, and continues his search for a dangerous killer, all the while dragging the movie star through his chaotic and dangerous life. This light, bright comedy counterbalances Hollywood convention with some very funny swipes at the film industry. A breathtaking opening chase sequence gives way to a gloriously playful, carping exchange between Lang and his agent (Marshall) as they review the current state of Hollywood, ranging from the success of Henry V ('It won awards for that little Scottish fellow') to the unstoppable career of Mel Gibson. Badham handles the numerous action sequences with confidence, but the real enjoyment comes from the interplay between the two leads, who revel in the opportunity to send up their images. The ever-amazing Woods recalls Cop during speeches about his life, and Fox's 'dickless Tracy' tries to debunk nice-guy McFly.Author: CM
Cast & crew
Director: John Badham
Producer: William Sackheim, Rob Cohen
Cast: Michael J Fox, James Woods, Stephen Lang, Annabella Sciorra, Delroy Lindo, Luis Guzmán, Mary Mara, Christina Ricci, Penny Marshall full cast
Genre(s): Comedy
Duration: 111 mins
Most popular on this site
Top Stories
Time Out's 101 Films of the Decade
Ten years, thousands of movies and millions of dollars in international box office, and it all boils down to this
Martin Provost discusses 'Séraphine'
Trevor Johnston talks to the director of 'Séraphine' about bringing a little known French painter back to life
Our verdict on Peter Jackson's The Lovely Bones
Peter Jackson ends a triumphant decade with a sentimental misfire with this lush Alice Sebold adaptation
On the set of Ken Loach's 'Route Irish'
Dave Calhoun meets Ken Loach on the set of his forthcoming Iraq war movie
Stephen Poliakoff discusses 'Glorious 39'
Stephen Poliakoff’s ‘Glorious 39’ is his first film for cinema since ‘Food of Love’ in 1997. Dave Calhoun met him
Is 'Paranormal Activity' the new 'Blair Witch'?
How does a film go from DIY experiment to box-office smash? 'Paranormal Activity' director Oren Peli explains
Steven Soderbergh on 'The Informant!' and 'The Girlfriend Experience'
We talk to Steven Soderbergh about his two forthcoming films: one featuring a porn star, the other a chubby Matt Damon
A gateway to all things 'New Moon'
In anticipation of 'The Twilight Saga: New Moon', Time Out is offering the chance to pick up a limited edition pack with three exclusive magazines and a free poster.
The films that deserve a TV spin-off
With Roland Emmerich suggesting he'd like to make a '2012' TV spin-off, we propose some more movie-to-TV serialisations
Time Out's 50 greatest animated films with commentary by Terry Gilliam
In celebration of the release of Pixar's 'Up' and Wes Anderson's 'Fantastic Mr Fox', read our rundown of fifty classic feature length animations
What do you think?
Post your review now