Today on Rhode Island Movie Corner, we’re celebrating one of the most famous action film franchises of all-time. This is a franchise whose first installment recently celebrated its 30th anniversary last year and is commonly regarded as being the definitive buddy cop franchise. Yes, folks, today we’re talking about the Lethal Weapon films, which follow the exploits of Martin Riggs (Mel Gibson) and Roger Murtagh (Danny Glover), a truly mismatched pair of police detectives in the LAPD’s Homicide Division. All four installments of the original film series were directed by Richard Donner (AKA the man who practically launched the live-action superhero film genre with 1978’s Superman: The Movie), with the first two also being written by Shane Black. All four films did solidly at the box-office amidst varying levels of critical reception, with the first film becoming a landmark entry in both the action film genre and the buddy cop genre, the latter of which always features two radically different protagonists being forced to work together. And while the film series technically ended with the release of the fourth film in 1998, it’s been reported that Donner, Gibson, and Glover are up for a potential fifth film. Aside from this, the franchise has seen new life recently via a TV series ‘reboot’ on Fox, starring Damon Wayans as Murtagh and Clayne Crawford as Riggs (though Crawford was fired after Season 2 following reports of hostile on-set behavior and will be replaced by a new character in Season 3). But today we’ll be focusing solely on the Lethal Weapon films, because contrary to what the series’ most famous line may suggest, I am not ‘getting too old for this s***’. Thus, without further ado, ‘eenie, meenie, miney, HEY MOE!’ (*BANG*)
LETHAL WEAPON (1987)
We start things off, of course, with the original Lethal Weapon from 1987, the first set of misadventures involving a suicidal daredevil detective and an aging veteran of the police force as they investigate into the homicide of the daughter of one of the latter’s war buddies from Vietnam. As noted in the intro, this film basically became the gold standard for buddy cop comedies while also being the film that launched Shane Black’s career as it was his screenwriting debut. The camaraderie between Mel Gibson and Danny Glover is superb, and it paves the way for plenty of great comedic moments (e.g. the police shooting range scene). However, unlike some of the films that came after it, the first Lethal Weapon maintains a generally serious manner throughout, which was the primary intent of Black’s initial script before he rewrote it to tone down some of its darkest elements. Whether it’s the exploration of how Riggs is always putting himself in harm’s way following the death of his wife or the serious threats made to Murtagh’s family by the film’s main antagonists (highlighted by Gary Busey as the sadistic henchman Mr. Joshua), Lethal Weapon doesn’t mess around. Because of this, those bits of humor that I mentioned earlier help to liven the mood at just the right times without ever overshadowing the drama of the plot. Add in some solid action sequences (though the final fight between Riggs and Joshua is a bit choppy on the editing) and a tight script from Black that ties it all together nicely and you have an undeniable classic in the action film genre. Sure, its plot may seem a bit basic by today’s standards, but really, who knows what the cinematic landscape would’ve been like without this film to define a whole generation of filmmakers?
Rating: 4.5/5
LETHAL WEAPON 2 (1989)
The success of the first film led to a sequel two years later, in which Riggs and Murtagh take on a South African drug cartel led by a consul-general who always gets away via diplomatic immunity, a plot that ‘may’ have been influenced by some of the backlash that Donner had gotten for the anti-apartheid imagery seen in the first film. And while Shane Black was still involved as a writer, he only has a story credit on this one due to screenwriter Jeffrey Boam rewriting the original script that he had written with Warren Murphy. Despite this, though, Lethal Weapon 2 is a well-handled follow-up to the original film. The chemistry between Gibson and Glover is great once again and this is paired nicely with arguably the series’ best villain, Joss Ackland’s Arjen Rudd, a delightfully despicable antagonist who constantly waves his diplomatic immunity around to avoid arrest. There’s also his main henchman, Pieter Vorstedt (Derrick O’Connor), who helps bring some additional emotional heft to the story when it’s revealed that he was the one who killed Riggs’ wife, leading to a far better final fight between the two compared to Riggs and Joshua’s fight from the previous film. Tonally speaking, this film is on par with the first film in terms of being a serious drama mixed with comedy. At the same time, though, it should be noted that Black’s original ending was to have Riggs die in the final battle. He survived instead, thus paving the way for films 3 and 4 which was either a good thing or a bad thing depending on one’s views of those sequels (i.e. simply put, Black was not a fan of the next two films, especially due to how they changed the character of Riggs). Still, because this film boasts the same great action sequences and excellent writing that made the first film the classic that it is, Lethal Weapon 2 is just as good as its predecessor if not possibly better.
Rating: 4.5/5
LETHAL WEAPON 3 (1992)
Lethal Weapon 3 was the first entry in the series not to be written by Shane Black, and that is apparent as soon as it begins. While there are some effectively serious moments, like the guilt that Murtagh has over shooting a gang member who was a friend of his son’s (which paves the way for the best emotional moment in the franchise when Riggs helps his long-time partner overcome it), this film is much more comedic in tone. In fact, to be perfectly blunt, it gets very damn goofy sometimes, like when Murtagh ends up having to tag along with a flirtatious armored truck driver during a car chase. With that said, though, I personally found this to be the funniest film of the series as it sports the most consistent humor out of any entry in the franchise, right from the opening scene where Riggs and Murtagh get into an argument when they try, and fail, to defuse a bomb (a moment that gets repeated in the film’s post-credits scene). And overall, this does make up for some of the film’s shortcomings, namely the series’ weakest villain, Jack Travis (Stuart Wilson). Despite the character being a former police officer, along with the added plotline of ‘cop-killing’ armor-piercing rounds popping up on the streets, this is all ultimately waylaid by the character’s limited screen-time, reportedly a decision made by Donner to allow for more attention to be spent on Riggs and Murtagh (not necessarily a bad move, but still…). Thankfully, this is counter-balanced by Rene Russo, a delightful new addition to the franchise as the tough-as-nails Internal Affairs officer Lorna Cole who becomes Riggs’ new love interest while still being just as badass as the series’ iconic lead duo. Because of this, while Lethal Weapon 3 is a noticeable step down in quality from the previous two films, namely due to it lacking the edginess of Shane Black’s writing, it’s arguably the most entertaining installment of the Lethal Weapon franchise if based solely on entertainment value.
Rating: 4/5
LETHAL WEAPON 4 (1998)
At the tail-end of the 90’s, Donner, Gibson, Glover, and the rest of the franchise’s ensemble cast returned for one last hurrah, Lethal Weapon 4. The film sees Riggs and Murtagh combating the vicious members of a Chinese triad primarily led by Wah Sing Ku, played by Jet Li in his first major American role. And simply put, Ku proves to be a far superior main antagonist compared to Travis in Lethal Weapon 3 as he does pose quite the threat to Riggs and Murtagh; in other words, this was very much Li’s breakout role. Of course, Gibson and Glover’s chemistry is still spot on as always and while Rene Russo doesn’t get as much to do in this one due to Lorna being pregnant with her and Riggs’ child, she still gets to have a few standout moments here and there. As for the action sequences, they are once again superb even if some of them do get a little overblown at times, like the ‘cold open’ where Riggs and Murtagh deal with a pyromaniac who is ultimately defeated when he gets distracted by Murtagh in his underwear and is sent flying into an exploding gas truck. And sure, like Lethal Weapon 3, this one is a step down in quality from the first two installments of the series; plus, it doesn’t necessarily boast the same great humor consistency that helped keep Lethal Weapon 3 from being a mediocre ‘threequel’. With that said, though, I also appreciate how this film, given that it’s the last of the series, does take the time for some genuinely heartfelt moments involving its characters. This even extends to the film’s credits, which highlight everyone who’s ever worked on the franchise while being set to the song ‘Why Can’t We Be Friends’. Because of this, I’d argue that Lethal Weapon 4 is quite underrated. Again, don’t get me wrong, like its immediate predecessor, it’s nowhere near as good as the first two Lethal Weapon films. Still, at the very least, I’d say that this film did manage to serve its purpose as a suitable conclusion to one of the most famous action film franchises of all time.
Rating: 4/5
And that concludes this retrospective on the Lethal Weapon films. Thanks for following along and be sure to sound off in the comments below with your own thoughts on this franchise, whether you’re part of the crowd that prefers the two entries that were written by Shane Black or the crowd who thinks that the third and fourth films are underrated.
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