“Are you really crazy, or are you as good as you say you are?”
Lethal Weapon is a better than the action genre ever promises. Shane Black’s whip-smart and sarcastic script centered around a completely original cop on the edge, starring actors instead of genre muscle-heads and directed by Richard Donner at his absolute best. Perfectly balancing a solid police investigation with big, exciting action, strong characters and hilarious comedy, this is his finest work and one of the 5 or 10 best directed action films of all time.
How many genre films take a moment like Gibson’s suicide attempt and make it tense and believable, let alone play a 2nd suicide attempt for laughs just 15 minutes later? The script hits all the emotional beats action films feel obliged to include, but there’s an emotional core here you never find. When Murtaugh’s old friend insists the cops find the people who murdered his daughter and kill them it’s a real punch to the gut, as is a later scene when Murtaugh antagonizes Riggs and discovers the suicidal tendencies are quite real. Murtaugh’s breakdown after discovering this is hilarious while remaining true to the character.
“Thirty years on the force. Not a scratch on me. Not a scar. I got a wife. Kids. House. Fishing boat. But I can kiss all that goodbye ’cause my new partner’s got a death wish.”
Note that everything I’m talking about happens in the first 40 minutes. That’s right, here’s an action film that takes time to set up characters and situations instead of rushing headlong into explosions. Donner knows he has an interesting story to tell and terrific characters in which to tell it. This may sound like a knock on Lethal Weapon 2, which comes out of the gate mid action scene, but this film sets up enough exposition for both (though not enough for the rest of the series.) Part 2 is definitely more shallow, though it’s also slightly more entertaining. If I could combine the first two Lethal Weapons – and there’s plenty of connective plot – you would have The Godfather of Action movies.
There’s the amazing chemistry between Gibson and Glover. Plus Gary Busey, the blues score by Eric Clapton and Michael Kamen, the Christmas references, that bullet going through the carton of eggnog and the greatest target practice scene of all time. “Have a Nice Day”
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