Lethal Weapon

Lethal Weapon

Written by Shane Black

Directed by Richard Donner

I have a long history with 80's action movies. In my opinion, the action movies made from the late 1970's the roughly the mid 90's represent the golden age of action cinema. During this time we saw countless universally praised flicks like the Dirty Harry series (The Dead Pool not withstanding), some of Sylvester Stallone's movies (a personal favorite is the ultra-cheesy and ultra over-the-top Cobra), absolutely anything starring Arnold Schwarzenegger (some standouts are Predator, Commando, Kindergarten Cop and Total Recall), the Die Hard Series, and even Steven Segall's earlier movies. Perhaps one of the best movies of this golden age is the fantastic Lethal Weapon.

Lethal Weapon has a lot of star power behind it. Most visible are the two leads, Mel Gibson and Danny Glover. But the director, Richard Donner, has a long history in film and television and has directed several classics; aside from the Lethal Weapon franchise (of which he directed all four movies) he directed the original Superman film with Christopher Reeves and directed a personal favorite of mine, The Goonies. This star power can also be found in the writer, Shane Black. If you don't recognize the name, he played the guy with glasses in Predator. Since then he has written countless excellent action movies, the first Lethal Weapon, Last Action Hero, Iron Man 3, The Monster Squad, and The Nice Guys to name several (he also wrote the pilot episode of the television show Lethal Weapon). All of these stars combine in the near-perfect 80's buddy cop action flick Lethal Weapon to great effect.

The film follows LAPD cops Martin Riggs (Mel Gibson) and Roger Murtaugh (Danny Glover). Murtaugh turns fifty years old when the daughter of an old friend kills herself and he is put on the case. Riggs is a depressed and suicidal widower who, after making a big cocaine bust is placed with Murtaugh because no one else will work with him. The two look further into the death of the woman and stumble upon a larger conspiracy involving CIA black operations, heroin trafficking and a bad guy played by Gary Busey (who would have guessed he'd be the bad guy?).

The story isn't exactly deep and there aren't a lot of twists and turns, I don't think it's even a half hour before we meet Busey and the other assorted bad guys. The focus of the story isn't it's plot but the interactions between Riggs and Murtaugh. Murtaugh is a dedicated father, family man, and a by-the-book police officer while Riggs is a crazy, off-the-wall undercover cop who is as likely to shoot you as he is arrest you; hijinks ensue as the two butt heads because of their attitudes and dispositions. It's definitely a trope, two cops who are completely different, butt heads constantly, but by the end of the movie come to respect each other, but damn if it isn't absolutely spectacular in this film. About every great trope or cliché you can think of is present and the cast has a lot of fun with them.

The acting in the film is absolutely stellar in that silly 80's action movie way. Each character hits the comedic beats they should, often with great success, but they sometimes hit the more dramatic and serious beats just as effectively.

I don't think you can talk about this movie in any capacity without talking about Mel Gibson. Because of his more recent off-screen actions and his directing ability, many people don't seem to remember or realize that he is actually a really great actor. Watch any of the original Mad Max films (I recommend both Mad Max and The Road Warrior personally, Beyond Thunderdome just isn't as good) or even some of his later films like Braveheart or Edge of Darkness to see what I mean. This is to demonstrate that Gibson is nothing short of fantastic in this film. He has a lot of work to do as his character oscillates between a somewhat childish man, crazy cop, and suicidal widower and he nails it for the most part. I think what really sold me on his performance is an early scene where he sits alone in his mobile home and almost commits suicide while crying and looking at a picture of his late wife. Gibson actually cries, which is a lot more rare of a thing in movies than you would think if you actually look for it, and chokes up. It's a fantastically acted and directed scene.

Another scene I really like is one with a man who is threatening to jump off of a building to his death. Riggs goes to the ledge with him and handcuffs himself to the man, telling him "Now if you jump you take me with you, that makes you a murderer." As the guy starts to freak out, Riggs gets crazier and says "do you really wanna jump? Do you wanna?! Alright, then, let's do it!" He jumps, taking the man with him and they land on an inflatable that the police have set up, saving the man. It's a riveting performance and probably my favorite out of the entire film.

This isn't to downplay Danny Glover's performance. Glover is a fantastic actor and he was the perfect choice for the aging Sergeant Murtaugh. He begins the film as a very straightforward veteran cop who is very by-the-book but as they get further into the conspiracy and the stakes are raised he evolves to become more of a restrained Riggs and gets Riggs to act a bit more like him. His relationship with Riggs is perfectly executed and you can feel the chemistry between the two.

The other performances are fine, but they are so overshadowed by the two leads that it isn't really even worth mentioning. The bad guys play the bad guys, the kind of stock villains that don't really need complex backstories because you just know that they're evil. Gary Busey isn't as crazy in this one as you would expect but he plays a decent villain. He is imposing, physical and even a little crazy, but not too much.

The direction is great. Donner expertly shoots the film, everything that he wants you to see is clear and there aren't a lot of quick cuts that obscure the action. There is one scene that breaks this trend of good shooting and directing. At the end, Busey and Gibson square off in a tense and exciting fist fight that is a spin on the "Battle in the Rain" trope. While it is a good scene, it isn't shot in the best way possible. It is up close, there are a lot of quick edits, it's dark and the rain obscures the action somewhat. It is a good capstone on the action of the film and seeing Murtaugh and the other cops cheering on Riggs as he and Busey fight is cool it is a bit messy and could have been much better. If you want a great example of the trope shot very well, I'd point to the fight between Daredevil and the hitman in the very first episode of Daredevil Season One on Netflix.

I also have to mention the soundtrack. It's nothing short of fantastic. I love the heavy use of saxophone that gives the film an almost film noir-esque sound. It reminded me a bit of Vangelis' work on Blade Runner's soundtrack, and that is never a bad thing.

This film is also set during Christmas, so does that mean it's a Christmas movie? I think yes, and while it isn't Die Hard (by far the best Christmas film) I think it is a great addition to your Christmas collection.

Lethal Weapon is an essential part of the 80's action film era. This is, in my opinion, the buddy cop movie. It wasn't the first, Dirty Harry: The Enforcer was released just over ten years beforehand, but I think it's definitely in the running for the best. Don't go in expecting a highly artistic, thought provoking experience, but if you do go in wanting a great popcorn action movie you can't go wrong.

Riggs: "I'm too old for this shit."