Lethal Weapon Review

MPAA Rating: R
Released: 1987

Lethal Weapon stars Mel Gibson and Danny Glover as a pair of mismatched cops that find themselves forcibly working together to take down a team of ruthless drug runners that are employing ex-special forces members. But the investigation takes a deadly turn when the criminal gang turns its attention (and weapons) towards the cops as well as their family.

Combining over the top action, star power and some splashes of humor, Lethal Weapon was the perfect formula for success, as evident by the multiple sequels that would be spawned from this original.

Martin Riggs (Mel Gibson) is a cop on the edge, haunted by the loss of his wife. When he's not cleaning the streets of crime with reckless disregard for his own safety, he's drinking his sorrows away and contemplating joining his wife via the barrel of his gun.

Roger Murtaugh (Danny Glover) is a content family man and veteran police officer that just recently celebrated his 50th birthday. He's never been wounded in the line of service, nor has he ever been in trouble. Quite simply, he plays it safe.

What happens when the two of them are suddenly forced to work together as partners? Equal parts high-octane action and humor. Immediately upon being assigned to work with one another, they must conduct an investigation into the suicide of a young woman that fell into the world of pornography and drugs. This investigation eventually leads to a drug kingpin, General Peter McAllister (Mitch Ryan), and his loyal and deadly right hand, Mr. Joshua (Gary Busey).

When the two cops get too close, Murtaugh's family is targeted and his daughter kidnapped. Using the daughter as bait, McAllister lays out a plan to capture the two meddlesome police officers…

The Lethal Weapon series, directed by Richard Donner, has long held the reputation of being a comedy, and while it the series as a whole was indeed an action-comedy, those that recall the latter entries may be surprised at just how dark the original was. In the later entries Martin Riggs was a zany and daring character, but in the original he wasn't trying to be funny – he was truly a suicidal man on the edge. While it does set up some humorous scenarios, there's always that dark undertone.

One of the amusing scenarios that the edgy Riggs gets himself into is the rescue of a man threatening to commit suicide by jumping off a building. Riggs steps onto the ledge with the man, gains his trust and then slaps a handcuff to the man's wrist as well as his own. Why? Well, as he explains to the suicidal guy, if he jumps he'll take a cop with him and thus be a cop killer. Of course the fellow tries to bluff Riggs… biiiig mistake:

Man: F**k you, I'm jumping.
Riggs: Do ya really wanna jump? Do ya wanna? Well, that's fine with me. Come on, let's do it a**hole. Let's do it. I wanna do it. I wanna do it.

And with that, Riggs jumps off the building, taking the man with him. Naturally they land on a prepared air cushion on the floor before, but watching Riggs show the bluffer who was truly the more suicidal of the two was hilarious. As the jumper is taken off the cushion and cuffed away, he changes his tune by shouting for help and accusing Riggs of being a madman that tried to kill him.

Action? Yep, there's plenty of that in Lethal Weapon too. In fact it's extremely over the top, just like you would expect from a great 80's action flick. For example, Mr. Joshua is heading to Murtaugh's home to kill his family, but the cops get their first and prepare an ambush. You're thinking, "No big deal… everyone does that," right?

Well, rather than lie in wait to catch the murderer by surprise, they allow him to enter the house and then choose to surprise him by driving a police car right through the front wall of the house! Murtaugh must have had one hell of an insurance plan to provide coverage for such antics!

The car through the wall technique works (I'd sure hope so after all the expense) and the two partners capture the ex-special forces assassin, but do they handcuff him, read him his rights and call it a day? Nope! This is the 80's, baby, so we're going all the way. Murtaugh releases Mr. Joshua and Riggs challenges him to a brutal fight, mano a mano. As the two are pounding each other and Riggs' is getting his butt handed to him, Murtaugh just sits back and watches, only taking the time to tell all the other police officers that just arrived on the scene to back off. "I'll take full responsibility. The S.O.B. just killed two of our men." Ahhhh… well thaaat's the reason for throwing away police procedure in favor of adopting the tactics of a pit fighter. That explains everything.

Lethal Weapon is a fun and action-packed film that is given added depth by Riggs' struggle against his dark internal torment. Pairing Danny Glover as the experienced veteran with Mel Gibson as the reckless youth was genius – the two actors possessed some great onscreen chemistry together. Gary Busey was equally fantastic as a cold-blooded killer since he doesn't accidentally ham it up, something many lesser onscreen villains tend to do.

If you're looking for an engaging, high-octane buddy cop movie that also served as a springboard for making Mel Gibson one of Hollywood's biggest names, Lethal Weapon is just the movie for you.

Movie rating: 8 stars

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