Seriously, this movie may as well be the older cousin of Die Hard, ESPECIALLY since they both just so happen to take place in LA and have score composed by Michael Kamen. I mean, DUH!
Hey Everyone! For this review, I have finally seen a movie that has easily made a stamp in 80’s action history, as well as cinematic history as a whole with Lethal Weapon. Now for those who don’t my “policy” on movie summaries, let me give you the good ol’ caveman rundown: “Me no givey movie summary so I get straight to good good parts. You, you use internet ple… please!”. Alright, I’ll give you guys the IMDb link; though given that I’m talking about Lethal Weapon for Keanu’s sake (yes I do praise Keanu Reeves as our lord and savior- DON’T JUDGE ME!), most of you probably won’t need it: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0093409/?ref_=nv_sr_srsg_0
Alright, now let’s get right into the chase! I really liked this movie and there is no reason that could any more obvious than the terrific buddy cop pairing of Martin Riggs and Roger Murtaugh. In case it wasn’t obvious enough, Mel Gibson and Danny Glover have some infectious chemistry with each other that makes every moment they interact memorable to watch onscreen. (And that ain’t just an exaggeration because sometimes there can be some REALLY bad chemistry in movies *cough Tom Hardy and Michelle Williams in Venom COUGH!*) Of course, their chemistry would be nothing if they weren’t both stellar in their own rights with performances that feel completely believable (particularly with Gibson ’cause damn is he awesome in this! …despite the fact that he is still Mel Gibson the VERY questionable person). With their forces combined, Gibson and Glover practically leap off the screen because they are just that dang great as a buddy cop duo.
Of course, it helps that Gibson and Glover are working with a script from the master of combining great duos, wit, and Christmas: Shane Black (You know, the guy who did Kiss Kiss Bang Bang and The Nice Guys? Wait, you don’t?! Wow, um… well he also did Iron Man 3 and I liked it at the very least so, yeah?!?!). Well, I would certainly recommend watching the movies that I just mentioned because Black’s writing style is filled to the brim with some really memorable dialogue and top-notch characterization that is here in Lethal Weapon and it makes the movie so much better for it. In a way, as someone who has seen this movie before Kiss Kiss Bang Bang and The Nice Guys, this movie is essentially the prototype of those two films–and yes, while the use of the word ‘prototype’ does imply that I like those movies more than this one, I still really dig what Shane Black was doing here on the writing side.
After all, Riggs and Murtaugh are such great characters that he created to where I am very excited to watch the sequels at some point. And yeah, it goes without saying that Richard Donner’s direction was another big factor into this movie’s success as he creates a visual style that is perfect for the tone they were going for. There’s a lot of really strong visual cues here that combined with the strong personality that Donner also implemented, make for a film that certainly leaves a lasting.
Now is this movie perfect? No, and that is NOT to say that I still don’t really like this movie because as we all know, modern day culture basically goes like “You don’t love it as much as my opinion which is so clearly right- SCREW YOU MAN!”…alright, just calm down me, those aren’t real voices (I mean, what?!).
Anyway, while the story of Lethal Weapon isn’t too bad, the plot in of itself is honestly really, really, BORING! I may be invested in Riggs’ and Murtaugh’s journeys, but I frankly find the plot and villains that they are chasing to be extremely generic and will never be the first thing I think about with this movie. Another little complaint I had is how the structure is just… odd, and I really don’t know any other way to describe it. I’m honestly not sure if this movie feels too long or too short and that is just an undeniably strong feeling to be left with when waling out (…of my bedroom since A) this movie is over 30 years old and B) Corona is still giving movie theaters a good kick in the crotch, so let’s kick Corona in the crotch back?!?!)
Regardless of those issues, I still found a lot to enjoy in Lethal Weapon and I don’t think it’s “too old for this s#$%” to quote Murtaugh (Holy self-censoring Batman!) because I am really glad I finally saw this and knocked it off of the ever-growing cinephile bucket list (oh trust me, THERE IS DEFINITELY A LIST!).
Rating: 8/10 and I liked it a lot!
Woof, another review another dollar! Oh wait, I don’t think I’ve even come close to monetizing this yet and I have no idea how many people are actually… I REALLY HOPED YOU LIKED THIS- PLEASE!!! Alright, in all seriousness thank you so much for reading this post. I’m sure most people reading this have assuredly seen this (depending on the age-range of course, no offense), but still feel free to let me know what you think of Lethal Weapon and of my own thoughts in the comments below. And as always, I think at this point you should all know who I am…
I’m Your Friendly Neighborhood Film Nerd!!!
P.S. I am definitely leaning towards Spider-Man as the subject of my first review-marathon, with plans of starting that on May 3rd (the 18th anniversary of the one that started it all). So be there or be… not there, I guess (?!?!)
Spinning the Cineweb 