Lethal Weapon

One of my favorite action films from the 80s. I completely agree that on the surface it's a very traditional action movie story, that really has no business working as well as it does. In my opinion that's something it shares with Last Boyscout, which works on many of the same levels.

I think apart from a good script and the direction, they had two leads with great chemistry and some good bad guys to work with.

The movie may seem standard today, but it was a little different in it's time. I remember seeing it at the theater as like a twelve year old, and being quite shocked that Riggs was suicidal. You didn't see that everyday at the cinema in 1987. I think this is the movie, or one of a few, that created the action movie template of the mercenary bad guys, the special forces badasses wreaking havoc. Without this movie, would you have been able to make the leap to the vague Eurotrash baddies of Die Hard?

One of my fave action flicks of all time. Busey is great as Joshua and the ending fight between him and Riggs is one of the great fight scenes in cinema.

I personally prefer part 2, but it's hard to choose since they both are equal in quality, IMO.

48 HOURS sort of started the mismatched buddies trend for the 80's but LETHAL WEAPON perfected it. With the exception of a couple other Black scripted films not many have come close to matching WEAPON's combination of dialogue, characters, and action.

Dragon is right about the music. The Sanborn and Clapton stuff is great to hear as the duo rides around town. But I also love Kamen's work when the action really starts to move in the film's second half.

So to people who have seen the director's cut, what do you think of the scene with Riggs and the schoolyard gunman? I like the scene on its own but I wonder if having 2 scenes (this and the one in the tree lot) of Riggs proving how reckless he is so early is a bit much.

Absoloutly, it's amazing to watch that scene and then think of how the series evolved into being way too goofy by the time they got to 4. But that scene with the gun in his mouth, along with the one where Glover has the gun to Gibson's head are really well done. Those scenes could have come off laughable in other films but they never do here.

I must be the only person who absolutely hates LW2. I remember seeing it in the theater with my family, and they all loved it, but I was disgusted.

Totally off topic, but who do I have to kill to get rid of that Mirrormask pop up?

Neil Gaiman.

Let me know if you find that guy so I can kill him again, and so that I can pop up and kill him again, and again, and again.

Stunned to see the hate for LW2. To me the first 2 in this series are like the first 2 films in THE GODFATHER and TERMINATOR trilogies. I may have a preference but not enough to really argue about them because they're all perfect for their respective genres.

Yeah, Riggs does get more comical starting with 2 but some if it is genuinely funny stuff with the "Guys like you don't die on toilets" scene and the gags involving Murtagh's daughter in the condom commercial. I think I was talking a few weeks back how I love that the film snaps into serious mode when all of the fellow officers get killed off and Riggs finds out the truth about his wife's death. Those are the moments where part 2 really shows how great a sequel it is.

Add me to the list of those who don't care for LW2. Just doesn't add anything for me.

And I also think the Riggs/Joshua fight at the end of LW smacks of "Holy crap, the movie's almost over and we haven't had these two face off yet!" It just seems incredibly tacked on, especially the way they segue into it -- "You wanna go for the title?" Clumsy.

Thirded. Love the original it doesn't get much better. Gibson nails the role perfectly and the banter between Riggs and Murtaugh never comes off as tacky as it could have.

Yeah, LW2 was a harbinger of the even more brutal follow-ups in the franchise.

I remember the Lethal Weapon novelization being pretty decent, actually.

First one is fantastic beyond words, if for no other reason than -

Your winner, due to tap-out via triangle choke . . . RIGGS!

Need more realism like this in movie fights . . . nowadays more than ever.

Lethal Weapon is a great flick, but I prefer the second one, just a little bit.
Also, I wish there was a seamless branching bit for the DVD's of these, the theatrical version of Lethal Weapon is better than the "director's cut". Stuff like the schoolyard scene just came off as silly to me.

Lethal Weapon is one of the five greatest action films ever made.

Sign me up for not caring much for the second one. I guess my main problem was that I liked his wife's death being a senseless accident. It brought a more tragic element to his character's mood swings. If somebody was behind it, and he's able to take that person down, it sort of cheapens his character journey in the first film.

I wish they still made action movies with character development. Somebody needs to reinvent that.

Good point about the wife's death. Just out of curiosity, what are the other four films?

Good call about the senseless accident thing, I had actually forgotten all about that for some reason, it's been a few years. I still prefer it though, maybe I'll bust out my widescreen VHS tapes and watch them again.
I'd say Die Hard would be one of the other 4, what else?

This'd be perfect if it wasn't for that shitty song over the end credits: "Love is a lethal weapon", indeed.

Same goes for BIG TROUBLE IN LITTLE CHINA, actually.

Otherwise, LW1 kicks my ass and yours. Love Gibson's first bust, where he pulls out the Stooges routine before fucking up the bad guys (excellent headbutt!) and hyperventilating himself out of the zone. Nice use of the trademark Gibson crazy-eyes.

LW2 is a worthy sequel, and the fight between Gibson and Derrick O'Connor's nimble stunt double is pretty awesome. Made a lot more sense than the ridiculous Riggs-Mr Joshua face-off.

Let us not talk of 3 and 4.

Good to see the LW love. I've always thought that LW and Die Hard were probably the most influencial action films of the 80s. My favorite offshoot of the mismatched cop pairings, by the way, is definitely the disgruntled cop/dog subgenre popularized by the likes of K-9, Hooch, & Top Dog.

I still enjoy the climactic fight scene in LW. What's wonderful about it is that the bad guys have already been thwarted - there's no practical reason to fight. Doesn't matter though because a score must be settled! Excellent.

Good to see the LW love. I've always thought that LW and Die Hard were probably the most influencial action films of the 80s. My favorite offshoot of the mismatched cop pairings, by the way, is definitely the disgruntled cop/dog subgenre popularized by the likes of K-9, Hooch, & Top Dog.

I still enjoy the climactic fight scene in LW. What's wonderful about it is that the bad guys have already been thwarted - there's no practical reason to fight. Doesn't matter though because a score must be settled! Excellent.

But it's a fight the character Riggs has become at the end of the movie wouldn't fight. He doesn't need to prove anything anymore. He's gotten his victory.

I like the LW2 reveal that his wife was murdered. A lot of it has to do with how great Derrick O'Connor was at describing the incident. Then to toss Riggs into the water where he sees Patsy Kensit dead is just a 1-2 punch that really gets you anxious as to how Riggs is going to kill every single one of those guys.

I also love how LW2 opens with the title of the film (with the Looney Toons theme playing in the background) and then starts right in the middle of a chase scene. That's a testament to how well the characters were developed in the original that you could start the first sequel that way. There are other moments in part 2 that I always enjoy. Roger debating whether to take the drug money at the end, the death by surf board that occurs during the middle chase, and Pesci's rant about drive-in restaurants. His rants got tired by the time it got to LW4 but it was funny the first time around.

Couldn't agree more, Moltisanti.

Part 1 may be slightly better in quality but I feel LW2 does the best job at combining the series trademark humour and action. I also felt that Arjen Rudd and Peter (played by Derrick O' Conner) were a slimy pair of bad guys. None of the villains in LW 3 were very memorable and as flawed as it is, LW4 had a compelling baddie in Jet Li (though he still wasn't up to par with the baddies in Pts. 1&2).

Well now I have to actually think about what I said. Let's see...

Raiders of the Lost Ark. For some reason, people never think of this movie when they talk about action films. Well it is. And it's incredible.

Lethal Weapon. We've already gone over that.

Die Hard. Second only to Lethal Weapon in the way it combines blistering action with relatable, vulnerable heroes.

The Killer. Hey, I didn't say American action films, did I? You could substitute Hard Boiled for this without upsetting me. I think they're about neck in neck.

Mad Max 2/The Road Warrior. Some people would say this is a science fiction film, and therefore not an action film. Those people ride special buses to school. The second best chase scene ever filmed, after Raiders.

Roger Murtaugh must be the most hated man on his block. He has a constant parade of bad guys driving cars through his house and kidnapping his family. Plus, his kids' friends all end up dead.
I'm surprised his wife hasn't divorced him by now.

That action movie list is curiously devoid of anything older than 1981. The first Dirty Harry movie, Peckinpah's The Getaway, Bullitt for that matter, all these belong on a greatest action movie list. And no Walter Hill on there, for shame.

Pretty sure he means "five most influential action movies of the 80's."

48 Hrs. is pointedly missing, then. It created the template for every buddy action film ever since.

48 HOURS definitely started the buddy trend of the 80's and then those movies started to get better with RUNNING SCARED and perfected with LETHAL WEAPON.

I'd also say COMMANDO was pretty influential in the 80's. It wasn't the first of the "1 man against an army" films but it was the best and all the ones that would come later seemed to want to emulate it.

I'd credit THE TERMINATOR with kicking off the great sci-fi/action explosion that lasted about a decade.

Totally false.
Commando was a low rent Rambo rip-off.

Clark You Crazy Mutha!

When gay 80s fashion reached it's peak!

I'm on the ragged edge!
Somebody shoot this prick!
Shootmeshootmeshootmec'mongrrrgrgrllrrlglgrrr!

That's Detroit's finest!
They took down Jimmy Smits!

Jimmy Smits in TIGHT BIKINI BRIEFS. Every male character in this movie had to be shown in their 80s underwear at least once.

I'll never forget the scene of Dan Hedaya runnin' round in his tighty whiteys. So, so, sexy.

the only thing hedaya should be showing off is the MASSIVE SHOULDER HAIR he displayed in Alien Resurrection.

By Rambo do you mean FIRST BLOOD? Because I've always thought of that as more of a drama that was actually trying to send some sort of message than an action film. If you're talking about the actual follow up called RAMBO then COMMANDO is in no way a low rent rip-off. It only came out 5 months after RAMBO and it surpasses everything in RAMBO.

You guys can run those RUNNING SCARED photos all you want. It's a funnier film than 48 HOURS and the action is staged better. Deal with it.

He has medusa style shoulder hair that can strangle the life out of his foes.

Of course I meant First Blood Part 2. Don't you dare underestimate me.
Commando filmed fast, as rip-offs often did to cash in on a trend. This was when Ahnuld was still a poor man's Stallone and filmed dreck like Conan The Destroyer. And while history has revealed Commando to be the superior film, it was Rambo that sparked the One Man War phenomenon. Commando came and went. It was a mild hit at the time, but no where near as popular as Stallone's Vietnam opus.

And Police Academy 2 was also funnier than 48 Hrs.
That doesn't make it a better cop movie.

Maybe I'll concede you the RAMBO point, but like I said it's not just the humor that makes SCARED better than 48 HOURS. The action, the dialogue, and the villains (I like Landham and Remar, but Smits was better than both of them) are all better in RUNNING SCARED.

You must be smoking crack.
Nothing coompares to Remar using a whore as a human shield while shooting cops and yelling "C'MON PIG!"
And Sonny Landham driving a big bus. A BIG BUS! C'MON!

I'm with Moltisanti on this. Running Scared is one of my favorites. Though obviously not in the top five. Great comedy, great action, great cast. I will defend that movie to the death. You german shepherd bastard.

And incidentally, I don't quite understand why people would ask me to list my five favorite action films if they're going to argue with it. Just post your own lists. Then we can all argue. But in order to justify myself:

The original Dirty Harry really wasn't much of an action film, meaning it didn't actually have a lot of action sequences in it. The reason that the 80's is so prevalent on my list is that the modern action film as we know it was really invented in the eighties. I'm sure people will argue this, which is part of the point of these forums. Have at it.

What about it?

And I really don't see Rambo as being particularly influential. In point of fact, if any one film single-handedly destroyed Stallone's career as an actor, it was that one. He may as well have flushed his Academy Award nominations (that's weird to think about now, ain't it?) down the toilet at that point, because after that, he was a drooling, muscle-headed killing machine. Nobody would even consider him for a part that didn't involve a machine gun. And by the same token, the action movie in general began to take a downward turn after that film. Rambo became a nationwide joke for years to come, signifying everything that was wrongheaded about action films.

Remar and Landham were just slightly elevated DEATH WISH thugs. Smits was the real deal, a true class act villain. Just thinking of him yelling "Noooooo!!! My Coke!!!" makes me wish he'd drop the nice guy persona he's been forced to play the last 20 years on TV.