Veteran buttoned-down LAPD detective Roger Murtaugh is partnered with unhinged cop Martin Riggs, who -- distraught after his wife's death -- has a death wish and takes unnecessary risks with criminals at every turn. The odd couple embark on their first homicide investigation as partners, involving a young woman known to Murtaugh with ties to a drug and prostitution ring.
Similar titles
Reviews
Lethal Weapon is a fun, exciting movie that deserves its standing in the pantheon of great action films. Contrary to popular believe this film didn't make Mel Gibson a star- He already was one after Mad Max but it did make him a household name in the US. He and Danny Glover are amazing as the mismatched buddy cop duo and one can say Lethal Weapon restarted the sub genre after 48 hours had done so a few years ago. Featuring great sequences, dialogues worth remembering and great pace Lethal Weapon is a must watch.
Really great film to watch. Action packed with likable characters.
Don't read this review. It's bias in every which way! Singularly my favourite film ever. Maybe the main reason for me getting to geek status with the wonderful world of movies. Shane Black (wow) Richard Donner (wow) Mel Gibson (wow)! All my Christmas's at once. Many people will disagree with me but I love it! The ultimate in buddie movies which spawned 3 more fantastic films. The original crazed Mad max becomes the even crazier Martin Riggs. Gibson portrays the agony and heartache of a cop on the edge of losing wife. His face could tell a thousand stories of his pain. Richard Donner knows that Mel Gibson has this edge and frames it perfectly. He lets the actors generate an energy and rolls with it. This is seen even more on LW2. 80's action with amazing energy that doesn't stop. Danny (Murtagh) Glover could be the voice of reason but for Riggs but realised he is too much of a lose cannon to control. Perfect cop buddie, good cop, worst cop! "I'll never be to old for this shxx!"
"Lethal Weapon" is an American 110-minute film from 1987, so this one has its 20th anniversary this year. The writer is Shane Black and he was still very young back then, in his 20s, and this was his very first writing credit. Quite a way to start a career isn't it. The director was Richard Donner and he is a bit on the opposite side. Close to the age of 90 today he was way into his 50s already when he made this one. The stars here are of course the two lead actors Gibson and Glover and the fact that Gibson is first-credit says a lot already about his fame and popularity back then, even if he was still really young, but obviously very easy on the eye. Anyway, he plays a character who suffers terribly from the death of his significant other and his new partner (played by Glover) is a member of a big intact family. So things may become complicated when these two are instructed to work together as a team and they do and they get closer despite Gibson's character's suicidal tendencies. Together the two go up against a gang of drug smugglers who even kidnap Glover's character's daughter. Even if things were not always looking that way, there is a happy end eventually. This film was successful enough for 3 sequels to be made, all of these also starring the duo of lead actors we have in here.Black cop, white cop films were popular back then as for example also Nick Nolte and Eddie Murphy made a fairly famous film back then, two actually I think, even if the old cop was the white one there. By the way, Glover plays a character who is considerably older than he was back then. Anyway, the story is all a bit generic I must say, I bit too much focus on action and heartbreaking stuff without truly having the depth to pull it off. But it's the individual scenes that makes this film somehow a success, like the one with the other suicidal guy early on. The second half felt relatively empty to me I must say, which is quite a shame as the initial premise and some of the plot developments did not look bad. Still in the end, I guess I will be a bit generous here and still give the film a positive rating and recommendation. Even with the villains being really boring for the most part and not half as memorable as they could have been with better writing and/or acting, Gibson is just too much of a cool cat to not enjoy this film, quite a while before his days as an Oscar-winning filmmaker himself. "Lethal Weapon" gets a thumbs-up from me, even if I must say that it did not get me curious about any of the sequels at all and I am pretty sure I will not check them out too soon.
