Plot Details: This opinion reveals major details about the movie's plot.

"God hates me; that's what it is!" Sgt. Murtaugh
"Well, hate him back. It works for me." Sgt. Riggs

Buddy cop films are nothing new, but Lethal Weapon, the first of a four-part series, is an enjoyable mix of comedy and heart-stopping thrills that rivals the best of them.

Mel Gibson and Danny Glover are Sgts. Riggs and Murtaugh, respectively. Glover has just turned fifty and has a running joke about "getting too old for this kinda &^%$." Gibson is a cop on the edge, takes too many chances, and may be psychotic. Fellow cops think he's bucking for a psycho pension and nobody wants to work with him. Neither does Glover, but he gets Gibson assigned as his new partner, so they're "both &^$*%)#," as he says.

The film starts out with a beautiful and barely dressed young woman who swan dives out of a high rise hotel window. It happens that she was the daughter of an old army buddy of Glover's - wouldn't you know it? Gotta love these coincidences. The autopsy reveals that she had ingested a fatal dose of rat poison before taking the dive, so somebody definitely wanted her out of the picture. The question is who?

Lots of action ensues, including a big shootout with drug dealers in a Christmas tree lot. Gibson plays the crazy part almost too well, huffing, puffing, and grimacing. Glover is trying to stay out of the line of fire and especially is keeping an eye on Gibson who he really does think is crazy...

Richard Donner directed Lethal Weapon and got good performances out of all the players, Gibson and Glover, of course, but also bad guy Gary Busey who plays an albino commando from hell, Mitchell Ryan - another bad guy, and Traci Wolfe, whose acting career has been confined to the Lethal Weapon series. She plays Murtaugh's daughter Rianne in each of the films.

The film was shot by Stephen Goldblatt, who did a good job of capturing the flavor of Lost Angeles, and edited by Stuart Baird who kept the pace moving right along. Gunhandling was fairly flaky, coming from a gun aficionado's perspective. Gibson kept thumb cocking his Beretta for emphasis in the middle of action sequences. It's just a distraction to me and will probably go unnoticed by most viewers.

The Warner Bros. DVD comes in a Director's Cut version with 7 minutes of extra footage - I believe it is the schoolyard sniper scene that is added. The film is in 1.85: 1 Widescreen format. The film is well preserved and the audio has been remastered in Dolby Digital 5.1. Blues legend Eric Clapton collaborated on the soundtrack, for you rock music fans.

Those who like buddy cop films should check out the whole Lethal Weapon series which keeps several of the same characters throughout. For those who are fans of Mel Gibson, I also recommend Payback and We Were Soldiers. Danny Glover's fans will enjoy Switchback and Silverado. Fans of buddy cop movies will want to see three of the best: 48 Hours, Red Heat, and Tango and Cash.

Happy viewing!


Recommended: Yes

Viewing Format: DVD
Video Occasion: Fit for Friday Evening

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