Lethal Weapon (A or 4/4 stars)
Richard Donner's thrilling 1987 buddy cop action/thriller, 'Lethal Weapon' is spectacular on every level, and a perfect example of a genre movie doing just about everything right. The dynamite duo of Mel Gibson & Danny Glover stars as Narcotics Sgt. Martin Riggs & Homicide Sgt. Roger Murtaugh, a mismatched pair of LAPD detectives. Riggs is a loose cannon with suicidal tendencies, but he has good reason; as he heavily grieves the tragic death of his wife in a car accident for which he wholly blames himself. On the other side of the spectrum, Murtaugh is a conventional family man whose looming concern with retirement approaching is that he experience some quiet last weeks on the work force. His habitual refrain: "I'm getting too old for this".
When the captain pairs volatile rogue cop Riggs with calm, cool Murtaugh, it is a given that they will clash, then rub-off on each other ... & eventually bond. The plot opens with Murtaugh being assigned to investigate the 'seeming' suicide of the daughter of an ex-Vietnam War compatriot, Michael Hunsaker (Tom Atkins). He & new partner, Riggs, do some digging to find that the daughter's suspect death is just the tip of the iceberg of an enormous drug smuggling operation lead by mercenary Gen. Peter McAllister (Mitchell Ryan) & his right-hand henchman, the explosive Mr. Joshua (Gary Busey). The tone of the film is frantic, yet smoothly-executed and, the great character development btwn. our heroes grounds it all. We see the sorrow in Riggs' eyes; the way he envies Murtaugh's family life; and his playful, but innocuous flirtation with Rianne (Traci Wolfe), Murtaugh's teen daughter -- whose kidnapping provides the fuel for the volcanic last act. Though McAllister is the lead villain, Mr. Joshua is the main adversary and, because Riggs & he are so damaged, it is fitting that they face-off in the end.
The reason why this movie works as incredibly as it does, is that its marriage of propulsive, ingenious action + wry humor + meaningful character development; which makes us wholly involved in the outcome of these beloved characters & their families. Rigg's complete unpredictability is one of the main reasons that we are kept on the edge of our seats. For 109 breathless minutes {where you're either catching air from laughing so much or you're recovering from one of these action set pieces}, the film is so tightly wound-up that you wonder if it can sustain & contain the intensity. There is artistry to the action, here; whereas other 'action flicks' feel standard and, even mind-numbingly boring. The action elements here are not pointless because we care so much about the outcome. Action here includes a great desert shoot-out, a clash with an armed helicopter, & an elongated climax involving torture/rescue/final face-off that is utterly stirring.
Mel Gibson, already a star by 1987 due to Mad Max, The Bounty & Gallipoli, is perfect as Riggs - the wild-haired, foul-mouthed, sloppy-dressed, emotionally miserable live-wire with a heart of gold. Additionally, because Riggs is so suicidal, it adds extra interest to the action because he's not scared to do anything & everything to win the day; that element of spontaneity is so gripping as we watch. And he is the perfect counterpoint to Glover's Murtaugh, who couldn't be more opposite to Riggs. Glover had been well-known by '87 for his roles in Places in the Heart, Silverado & as the villain in The Color Purple, but due to his lively, yin-&-yang chemistry with Gibson, he, too became a superstar. You wish you knew these guys in real life.
It is odd, for me, to give an action film like this an A rating, but 'Lethal Weapon' fully deserves it. This film received very good reviews when it released, made a ton of $$ and, of course, spawned 3 eventual sequels; all varying degrees of okay or good, but none having the lightning-in-a-bottle magic of the 1st film. The thoroughly winning combination of stellar exposition set-up, character depth, exhilarating chases, rousing explosions, scintillating bantering humor from our odd-couple heroes, & some truly nasty villains, makes this an action classic for all-time; the likes that you rarely, rarely see.
When the captain pairs volatile rogue cop Riggs with calm, cool Murtaugh, it is a given that they will clash, then rub-off on each other ... & eventually bond. The plot opens with Murtaugh being assigned to investigate the 'seeming' suicide of the daughter of an ex-Vietnam War compatriot, Michael Hunsaker (Tom Atkins). He & new partner, Riggs, do some digging to find that the daughter's suspect death is just the tip of the iceberg of an enormous drug smuggling operation lead by mercenary Gen. Peter McAllister (Mitchell Ryan) & his right-hand henchman, the explosive Mr. Joshua (Gary Busey). The tone of the film is frantic, yet smoothly-executed and, the great character development btwn. our heroes grounds it all. We see the sorrow in Riggs' eyes; the way he envies Murtaugh's family life; and his playful, but innocuous flirtation with Rianne (Traci Wolfe), Murtaugh's teen daughter -- whose kidnapping provides the fuel for the volcanic last act. Though McAllister is the lead villain, Mr. Joshua is the main adversary and, because Riggs & he are so damaged, it is fitting that they face-off in the end.
The reason why this movie works as incredibly as it does, is that its marriage of propulsive, ingenious action + wry humor + meaningful character development; which makes us wholly involved in the outcome of these beloved characters & their families. Rigg's complete unpredictability is one of the main reasons that we are kept on the edge of our seats. For 109 breathless minutes {where you're either catching air from laughing so much or you're recovering from one of these action set pieces}, the film is so tightly wound-up that you wonder if it can sustain & contain the intensity. There is artistry to the action, here; whereas other 'action flicks' feel standard and, even mind-numbingly boring. The action elements here are not pointless because we care so much about the outcome. Action here includes a great desert shoot-out, a clash with an armed helicopter, & an elongated climax involving torture/rescue/final face-off that is utterly stirring.
Mel Gibson, already a star by 1987 due to Mad Max, The Bounty & Gallipoli, is perfect as Riggs - the wild-haired, foul-mouthed, sloppy-dressed, emotionally miserable live-wire with a heart of gold. Additionally, because Riggs is so suicidal, it adds extra interest to the action because he's not scared to do anything & everything to win the day; that element of spontaneity is so gripping as we watch. And he is the perfect counterpoint to Glover's Murtaugh, who couldn't be more opposite to Riggs. Glover had been well-known by '87 for his roles in Places in the Heart, Silverado & as the villain in The Color Purple, but due to his lively, yin-&-yang chemistry with Gibson, he, too became a superstar. You wish you knew these guys in real life.
It is odd, for me, to give an action film like this an A rating, but 'Lethal Weapon' fully deserves it. This film received very good reviews when it released, made a ton of $$ and, of course, spawned 3 eventual sequels; all varying degrees of okay or good, but none having the lightning-in-a-bottle magic of the 1st film. The thoroughly winning combination of stellar exposition set-up, character depth, exhilarating chases, rousing explosions, scintillating bantering humor from our odd-couple heroes, & some truly nasty villains, makes this an action classic for all-time; the likes that you rarely, rarely see.