Good story, Not enough for a whole film

Although it has its amusing moments, in eneral the plot does not convince.

Unshakable, witty and deeply felt, the film will be paying emotional dividends for a long, long time.

The plot isn't so bad, but the pace of storytelling is too slow which makes people bored. Certain moments are so obvious and unnecessary for the main plot. I would've fast-forwarded those moments if it was an online streaming. The ending looks like implying a sequel, not sure if this movie will get one

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.

A sharp star duo, solid supporting cast, and some well done sequences help to make this fairly standard buddy-cop action comedy satisfying if nothing exactly special. It's Billy Crystal, as detective Danny Costanzo, and Gregory Hines, as detective Ray Hughes, that really make the difference. They truly work nicely together as a pair of veteran but still somewhat immature guys on the Chicago force who are hellbent on righteously busting drug kingpin Julio Gonzales (Jimmy Smits). When they almost get themselves killed working the case, their boss Captain Logan (Dan Hedaya) tires of them and orders them on a vacation. They decide to check out Key West, Florida, and enjoy it so much that they think that maybe it's time to retire. (Another factor in that decision is the fact that Danny has come into a $40 K inheritance.) But when they get back from the vacation, and hear that Gonzales is still on the streets, they become more determined than ever to take care of their nemesis.Competently staged by director Peter Hyams (who serves as his own cinematographer), those aforementioned entertaining scenes include early ones with Danny and Ray making life miserable for the aptly named lowlife "Snake" (Joe Pantoliano), their intense pursuit of Gonzales that eventually leads to the Chicago El tracks (this is far and away the highlight of the movie), a sequence with a garbage truck, and the finale in Chicago's State Building. Danny and Ray aren't the most capable detectives you'll see in this sort of thing, and adding to the merriment is their constant humiliation of a pair of obnoxious rookies, played by Steven Bauer and Jon Gries. Bauer and Gries do a good job of being the butt of some jokes. Beautiful ladies Darlanne Fluegel and Tracy Reed are quite appealing as Danny's ex-wife Anna and Maryann, an object of Ray's affections. Other cast members include the always amusing Larry Hankin as talented mechanic Ace, and actors John DiSanti, Don Calfa, and Robert Lesser, all of whom have been regulars in Hyams' movies.The steady parade of pop songs are all very '80s sounding, but as is often the case, this only adds to the entertainment factor. Overall, this is a reasonably fun flick - a tad overlong, maybe, but still easy enough to watch while it lasts.Seven out of 10.

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.

Gregory Hines (Ray Hughes) and Billy Crystal (Danny Costanzo) form a cop-buddy duo who are after a bad guy called Julio Gonzales (Jimmy Smits).Running Scared (1986) is directed by Peter Hyams.Crystal and the late great Hines make a great pair as those two cops.And Smits makes a great villain.Joe Pantoliano also does neat job as a baddie they call Snake.Dan Hedaya is quite excellent as Captain.Darlanne Fluegel does very fine job as Anna Costanzo.Larry Hankin appears as Ace, and he's very good.John LaMotta is seen as Evidence Officer.Running Scared doesn't do anything that memorable to make it a classic, but it does entertain enough.The ending works, and the chase on train tracks looks pretty cool.To all those who dig buddy cop movies of the 80's this is worth checking out.