Fox and James Woods in the leading roles, alongside Stephen Lang, Annabella Sciorra, Delroy Lindo and LL Cool J.

[1][2] In the film, a popular actor in search of credibility (Fox) uses his clout to become the partner of a streetwise cop with relationship problems (Woods), amidst the exactions of an elusive serial killer, "The Party Crasher" (Lang), who has vowed to clean up the streets of New York by executing various disenfranchised people in public.

A former child star and pop action hero, he desperately wants a serious role in an upcoming cop drama, Blood on the Asphalt, and he believes studying Moss up close will let him convey authenticity in his audition.

Even though Moss is convinced that the Party Crasher will flee the jurisdiction, Nick argues that the killer is acting out a theatrical revenge plot as part of his bid for media attention.

The Party Crasher abducts Susan, luring Moss and Lang into a confrontation on an advertising billboard featuring Nick's latest film and a brawl ensues.

[4] The original screenplay by Lem Dobbs was significantly reworked by Daniel Pyne, who also performed rewrites on Fox's next movie Doc Hollywood.

[5] The film was originally set in Chicago, and was going to be the first production of a new outfit formed by Badham and his partner Rob Cohen, simply called The Badham/Cohen Group.

[6] As Pyne had already moved on to his next movie, Jeff Reno and Ron Osborn contributed the script's final rewrites, but were not officially credited.

[7][8] The film's police consultant, Lieutenant Wood, recommended some roles be recast with people of color to better reflect the ethnic makeup of New York City law enforcement.

[6] Among those was Billy, played by James "LL Cool J" Smith, who made his true acting debut in the film (he had briefly appeared as himself in Krush Groove and Wildcats).

[13] Woods blamed The Hard Way's tepid audience reception on recent events in the Gulf War, which he thought had made the market unfavorable to a buddy comedy.

"[14] Vincent Canby of The New York Times said that it is "not a perfect comedy by any means, but it is a very entertaining one" and commended its "pure Hollywood" sensibility, writing that it is "sometimes slapdash in execution and sloppy in coherence, but it's written, directed and performed with a redeeming, self-mocking zest.

"[15] Time Out called it a "light, bright comedy" that "counterbalances Hollywood convention with some very funny swipes at the film industry" and stated, "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.

"[16] Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun-Times gave it three-and-a-half out of four stars and praised its "comic energy", calling the film "funny, fun, exciting, and [...] an example of professionals who know their crafts and enjoy doing them well.

Faced with a plot that was potentially predictable, Woods and Fox seem to have agreed to crank up the voltage, to take the chance of playing every scene flat-out.

[17]Ty Burr of Entertainment Weekly gave the film a C rating and criticized it as having "coyly self-conscious high concept", writing that "takes the [action-buddy-cop genre] to such a numbing dead end.

"[18] Burr panned its chase scenes and editing as "visual nonsense" and called its plot "all guns and gag lines", although he found Fox "secure enough to goof on his own image and inventive enough to do it well".