Review of Lethal Weapon (1987) by Stuart K — 05 Aug 2013
Directed by Richard Donner, then on a roll after Ladyhawke (1985) and The Goonies (1985). He was offered this action film, written by first time screenwriter Shane Black, who had got lucky when presenting his script to producer Joel Silver.
Little did they know that it would spawn an action franchise that would be a massive success, and it all started with this little action film. LAPD Sergeant Roger Murtaugh (Danny Glover), who has just turned 50, and is starting to feel his age.
But, when he gets a call from his old Vietnam buddy Michael Hunsacker (Tom Atkins), regarding the apparent suicide of his daughter Amanda (Jackie Swanson). To investigate this, Murtaugh is teamed up with Sgt.
Martin Riggs (Mel Gibson), who is suicidal after the death of his wife. Murtaugh is asked to keep an eye on Riggs, which he reluctantly does. Their investigations lead them to U.S. Army Special Forces mercenary Mr.
Joshua (Gary Busey), whose team leaves a trail of destruction in their wake, and Riggs and Murtaugh have to stop him. It's a very good action film, and it shows how the franchise went before it descended into comedic self-parody.
But, it made Gibson a superstar and put him on the road to superstardom. This is a gritty, hard-edged action film and that's what the sequels should have been like.
This review of Lethal Weapon (1987) was written by Stuart K on 05 Aug 2013.
Lethal Weapon has generally received very positive reviews.
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