Lethal Weapon

Lethal Weapon (1987)

Director: Richard Donner

Writer: Shane Black

Cast: Mel Gibson, Danny Glover, Gary Busey, Mitchell Ryan, Tom Atkins, Darlene Love, Traci Wolfe

Synopsis:

The apparent murder of a young prostitute brings together LAPD detectives Roger Murtaugh (Glover), an aging veteran and family man, and Martin Riggs (Gibson), a suicidal hot shot grieving over the recent death of his wife. During their investigation, Murtaugh and Riggs uncover a massive heroin smuggling operation run by Peter McAllister (Ryan), a former Army general who commanded a special forces unit during Vietnam. As the investigation proceeds, it becomes personal, and the two mismatched detectives must learn to trust each other as they wage war against McAllister and his Lieutenant, Mr. Joshua (Busey).

First Impressions:

I was 11 years old when this movie came out, so naturally, I didn't see it in theaters due to its well-earned R-rating. Like many action movies of the era, I ended up seeing this on VHS in my teen years. Upon first viewing, I quite enjoyed the film, particularly the interplay between Gibson and Glover, who had tremendous chemistry. The action was pretty good too. This is the series that turned Gibson into a star through the remainder of the decade and through most of the 90s. It also is the quintessential buddy cop movie and is the standard against which all other buddy cop movies are measured. It's been a while since I've seen this movie and I'm excited to see how it holds up.

Story/Direction:

"You're not trying to draw a psycho pension! You really are crazy!"

As I mentioned in the earlier section, Lethal Weapon is the buddy cop movie to end all buddy cop movies. While I don't think it was the first, it certainly is referred to the most when discussing the sub-genre. As a result of its notoriety, the film contains many well-worn tropes, though they weren't necessarily well-worn at the time. The central trope at play is, of course, the two leads Murtaugh and Riggs. One is an older veteran, a family man, just trying to run out the clock on the job, while the other is a hot-shot with an apparent death wish. This is a dynamic that's been used countless times over the years, but Lethal Weapon probably did it the best. It's the interplay between these two characters that is really the main draw of this movie. While the primary plot surrounding murders and heroin smugglers is pushed to the forefront, it's the growing friendship between the two reluctant partners that really is what this movie is about. BUT, I leave more of the discussion on that topic for a different section.

As far as the aforementioned drug smuggling plot goes, it's pretty standard 80s fare and it really isn't that outstanding. It's not bad perse, but like most action movies of the era, it was really just an excuse to string together action set pieces. The story was written by Shane Black and as far as I can tell, it was his first script to make it to the big screen. There are some of his often-used tropes, such as taking place during Christmas, but you can tell he was still kind of finding his voice as a scriptwriter. One thing notably absent was Black's tendency for witty dialogue and dark humor, as, for the most part, Lethal Weapon was written mostly sincere with only a little bit of zaniness. 

The director was the great Richard Donner, which I'm learning as I do these reviews is one of my favorite directors. As I've mentioned on several occasions, Donner has a "get to the point" style of storytelling and doesn't bog down the film with unnecessary exposition. He also spends enough time with each of the main characters so we, as the audience, can get to know their individual headspaces and where they're coming from. The best example of this is the introduction to Martin Riggs at the beginning of the movie. With little to no dialogue, we can tell that Riggs has suffered some form of personal trauma and really doesn't care if he lives or dies. It's an effective way to introduce a character and it's a style of directing that Donner is especially adept at. 

Acting:

The success of this movie, and subsequent films in the series, hinge entirely on the chemistry between Riggs and Murtaugh. If the filmmakers failed to cast the right actors, the movie wouldn't have seen the success that it did. Happily, Donner and team selected correctly for both roles as Gibson and Glover really knock it out of the park. 

It's hard to remember how good an actor (and director) Gibson was in his heyday, especially considering all of the controversy surrounding his career over the past two decades. At the beginning of the movie, he plays Riggs as a tormented soul unable to come to terms with the death of his wife. However, as the story progresses, we see Riggs start to open up to Murtaugh, despite the latter's apparent dislike of him. It really is a great performance form Gibson, who turned what could have been a one-note character into a real (albeit outrageous) person. 

As Murtaugh, Glover was equally as good as his co-star playing the good-hearted but frequently exasperated cop to a tee. The performance is even more notable, considering he previously played a loathsome character in 1985's The Color Purple. Roger Murtaugh couldn't be any more different from that previous character, which showed a tremendous range for the veteran actor.

While both Gibson and Glover provide great individual performances, it's their chemistry that is the real draw. I've seen a lot of movies in my 44 years and I don't think I can recall a film where two co-stars acted off each other as well as these two. The conversations between the two flow so easily, and I'm forced to wonder how much of their dialogue with each other was scripted and how much was improvised. It really was a joy to watch.

Visuals:

Most of the visual effects in this film were centered on the standard 80s action movie explosions and gunplay. There's nothing new to see here, and it's neither outstanding nor underwhelming; it just is what it is. That being said, Donner is very good at setting up shots, and the film has a nice contrast between the blinding sunlight of LA during the day to the soft blue glow of the city at night. I guess I'm saying the film isn't hard on the eyes to watch.

Score/Music:

The music in this film was done by Michael Kamen, who basically made his career scoring action films in the 80s and 90s, and venerable rock icon Eric Clapton. My first thought regarding the music was that it was kind of...meh and not really noticeable. However, upon reflection, I realized that wasn't the case, and the music was actually a vital part of the film, and I just didn't notice because it was integrated so well. Don't get me wrong; the music is definitely in the background here, unlike more rousing scores from composers such as Williams or Shore. It's in the subtly, though, where I think the music really shines, particularly when it comes to the characterization of Murtaugh and Riggs. For Murtaugh, the music plays a soulful saxophone, epitomizing the character's connection to his family. Meanwhile, Riggs' theme is a bluesy guitar riff (no doubt performed by Clapton) highlighting the character's wilder tendencies. It's not a whistle in the showier-type of score, but it's effective nonetheless. 

Action:

High-octane action has always been a hallmark of this series and its first installment had plenty of exciting moments, though maybe not as many as future iterations. There are still some great moments, though, including a shootout in a Christmas tree lot, a shootout at a mansion, and a shootout in the desert (boy, that's a lot of shootouts). There's also the quintessential one-on-one showdown between Riggs and Mr. Joshua at the film's climax. I always find these scenes amusing because they're beating the crap out of each other, while a dozen cops watch with enthusiasm. It's one of the 80s action tropes that has never sat well with me. Nevertheless, the fight itself is quite visceral and choreographed well, as are the other action sequences. 

Final Verdict:

I still quite enjoy this movie, despite its well-used tropes. The action is satisfying, the characters are great and I just had fun watching it. As I explore the rest of the series, I'm interested to see whether it remains on my top of the list for the best film in the franchise. For action lovers, its a must-see.