Watch Running Scared For Free

Absolutely the worst movie.

As somebody who had not heard any of this before, it became a curious phenomenon to sit and watch a film and slowly have the realities begin to click into place.

The film's masterful storytelling did its job. The message was clear. No need to overdo.

An old-fashioned movie made with new-fashioned finesse.

Danny Costanzo (Billy Crystal) and Ray Hughes (Gregory Hines) are streetwise Chicago cops. They are surprised to see drug dealer Julio Gonzales (Jimmy Smits) out on the streets so soon after sending him to prison. They catch his associate Snake (Joe Pantoliano). They use Snake in a sting on Julio who seems to have new cash and trying to be the new Al Capone. It's a trap. Snake is killed and the guys are almost killed when Julio's associates turn out to be undercover cops. They manage to capture Julio but Captain Logan (Dan Hedaya) orders the guys to go on vacation for their sloppy work. They are enchanted by their Key West vacation and plan to open a bar there. They give their 30 day notice but Julio manages to get bail. They vow to get Julio before their time is up but Danny starts to be careful. The captain thinks the guys are short timers running scared and make them teach those undercover cops the ropes. Julio kidnaps Danny's beloved ex-wife Anna Costanzo (Darlanne Fluegel).I love the duo of Hines and Crystal. Their banter is hilarious and I love the 22 muggers scene. They've got great chemistry and I wish they could have made a sequel. At least, they should have made another buddy comedy. There is a great car chase onto the train tracks. I must admit that I didn't get the title when I was young. I kept thinking it's the bad guys who are running scared.

The plot is simple: two veteran Chicago cops, Billy Crystal and Gregory Hines, are set to retire but before doing so wish to take down drug dealer, Jimmy Smits (and he's a force to be reckoned with, too). Peter Hyams always had a directorial flair, and the gritty streets of cold Chicago are his playground; better still, he has a duo with an undeniable chemistry, so comfortable with each other their work on screen doesn't feel forced but quite natural, as if the two have been actual partners for quite some time. This is the cop buddy comedy with lots of guns firing, bloody, bullet-ridden bodies, and wise cracks. In other words, this is the kind of movie right up my alley. Hines and Crystal are the kind of team that constantly, lovingly ridicule one another, while causing their boss (played by Dan Hedaya, enjoyable to watch as always) more than his share of migraines. I loved how they're forced to "apprentice" young cops, Steven Bauer and Jon Gries, and do so with quite a bit of reservation. Darlanne Fluegel (To Live and Die in LA) is Crystal's hot love interest, with the likes of Joe Pantoliano (Bound), Don Calfa (Return of the Living Dead), and Larry Hankin (Armes and Dangerous) turning up in a fantastic cast. This is the kind of cop actioner with lots of familiar faces in its cast offering colorful bit parts that just makes investing in the hunt for Smits all the more worthwhile. But Crystal and Hines together is the obvious reason to watch this little movie…they're too much fun. There's just nothing like seeing Crystal and Hines stuck in a yellow taxi cab (equipped with bullet-proof glass even), lifted off the street by a garbage truck, telling Smits (looking up at them from a comfortable position as they seem precariously trapped and ready to be crushed inside) that he's in trouble! Of course they escape within an inch of their lives. There's this big scene in a mall that has plenty of gunfire and bloody wounds. I like this one particular scene where Hines and Crystal find themselves absent pants (in their long johns!) rescuing an innocent from certain harm when captured by an intense Smits (with a machine gun); forced to return to headquarters without their pants, their fellow cops get a good laugh at their expense. I don't think it is necessary to establish that the script is loaded with profanity--as the audience for this sort of film and the actors in it should know what they're getting into--and the comedy is rather "salty", with plenty of street talk (this does take place in the city and is populated by urban characters). One of the funniest scenes to me has a priest and nun, familiar with Smits for his contributions to their ministry (!) under constant smack by Hines and Crystal who think they're imposters posing as members of the Church! Hyams understood the audience for this kind of movie and gives us what we want, and he doesn't interfere in what Crystal and Hines do best.

"Running Scared" was released one year before "Lethal Weapon". Followed by "Tango & Cash", "Last Boy Scout", and "Showdown In Little Tokyo". "Running Scared" seems to be a forgotten 80's classic. Not many people mention it when discussing great buddy-cop films. But they should.The chemistry between Crystal and Hines is magical. Both actors bring a lot to the table and their comic timing is perfect. They make a great duo and it's a shame a sequel never followed. This film is ripe for rediscovery. Some great actors pop up in supporting roles as well. If you dig any of the buddy-cop movies that followed it, watch this film. Good action, good laughs, great movie.

Even though I consider "Running Scared" a guilty pleasure movie, I like to sit back every so often to watch this movie which i like to describe as a "poor man's" "Lethal Weapon". Although it's not the greatest buddy-cop film ever made, but it still ranks high in entertainment, witty dialog and to top it all off, the wonderful chemistry between the two leads (Billy Crystal and Gregory Hines). It feels as if the two knew each other since childhood, almost as if they were like brothers; they hug, they argue, they throw insults at one another, but most of all, they stick by each other especially when one or both are in danger. Most reviewers will tell you everything you need to know about "Running Scared", but I'll just make it short and straight to the point. Ray Hughes (Hines) and Danny Costanzo (Crystal)are a pair of devoted cops who are willing to sacrifice their own lives and maybe even their own jobs thanks to their reckless ways and their rule-breaking tactics. After spending a quiet time from the mean streets of Chicago, to the sunny skies in Florida,by order of their boss, a major drug ring operation is in tact. A familiar face named Julio Gonzales (Jimmy Smits) who has tried to kill them before, puts our two heroes in danger who try to play it safe and to avoid being killed. In an unorthodox manner, they call for backup and start sporting bulletproof vests. From other reviewers, many like me, compare this movie to "Lethal Weapon", and "Die Hard" which is a good comparison, but the genre is more reliant on action rather than comedy. "Beverly Hills Cop" is in the right direction, but the best connection to "Running Scared" is "Stakeout" starring Emilio Estevez and Richard Dreyfus which a buddy-cop comedy, with plenty of exciting comedy but the chemistry between Dreyfus and Estevez is very much like the chemistry Hines and Crystal depict here. But overall "Running Scared" has the chemistry between the two cops that can't be compared which is what makes this buddy-cop movie extraordinary. It deserves at least one look.