One of the best action movies of all time, the best cop-buddy picture of all time, and a smashing success still today, Lethal Weapon gives off an action-packed fun vibe that hasn't been felt as well as Raiders of the Lost Ark. And don't think that's crazy, Roger Ebert thinks so, too. Now let's get going.
Plot:
After the suicide of Amanda Hunsaker, Sergeant Roger Murtaugh investigates at the personal request of her father, who was an old-war buddy of Roger's. We are also introduced to Martin Riggs, a crazy cop who is out to seek vengeance for the death of his wife, whom we find out more about in the sequel, but he ends up partnering up with Murtaugh to find out why she committed suicide.
The autopsy of Amanda reveals she was poisoned, so she would have died anyways. They also find out that she had several types of drugs in her bloodstream, so they get a tip and go to find the dealer. He is killed by Riggs, in usual Riggs fashion, of course, and Murtaugh celebrates the victory by taking him home to dinner. There Riggs meets Roger's family, including his daughter Rianne.
They then remember a hooker who happened to be on the scene when Roger first showed up, Dixie, and go to question her, but the house is destroyed and Dixie with it. They interview a little boy who witnessed the set up, and identifies a tattoo on Riggs' arm. He says it is similar to one that represents The Shadow Company, a group of drug dealers who are ex-Vietnam soldiers, one of whom was connected to Michael Hunsacker.
Riggs and Rog go to Amanda's funeral, and Rog interrogates Michael. He spills the beans about McAllister, a leader of the Shadow Company, ordering the killing of Amanda after a business deal with Hunsacker didn't go well, but before they could get any further, Hunsacker is killed by Mr. Joshua, an agent of the Shadow Company.
Joshua and Company then try to assassinate Riggs, and thinking they succeeded go after Rog. Riggs reveals he's alive, and Rog hears on the radio about the death of a boy. Rog says it is Rianne's boyfriend. They head over to his home and find out that Rianne has been kidnapped. They are then told to come get her the next morning.
Riggs hides himself with a sniper rifle to cover Rog, who goes to get Rianne. After a brief attempt to get Rianne to escape and kill a few members of the Shadow Company, all are captured. Then all three are tortured, and finally Riggs escapes and frees the other two. Riggs goes after Joshua, and Rog goes after McAllister. Rog succeeds, but Joshua goes after Murtaugh's family.
Before he can realize they are not there, Joshua is arrested and fights with Riggs, who wants revenge. Eventually Riggs wins, but Joshua frees himself and prepares to shoot, but both Rog and Martin kill him before he can fire. By Christmas all is starting to come back together and Riggs comes over to Rog's house to have a nice dinner, until he brings his dog, who goes after the family cat.
So now for the grading scale:
Acting: 9 out of 10. Rianne comes off as slightly annoying, but the two main guys rock.
Entertainment: 10 out of 10. The film does not stop.
Screenplay: 9 out of 10. Extremely well done.
Directing: 9 out of 10. Richard Donner does a great job.
Technical Credits: 8 out of 10. Very well done on the editing, visual effects, and so on.
Genre Fit: 6 out of 10. Sometimes goes for straight out comedy, but by the last act, it's all action.
MPAA Rating: 10 out of 10. A pretty hard-core R rated flick. With violence, drug use, lots of language and some nudity, it's not trying for PG-13.
Stupid Scenes: 8 out of 10. The karate fight between Riggs and Joshua at the end is just filler and not necessary.
Deeper Message: 9 out of 10. Riggs represents the dark cop, and Murthaugh represents the good cop who is decent in an undecent time.
Beginning: 28 out of 30. A thrilling start.
Middle: 28 out of 30. We get into the characters and the action continues.
Ending: 29 out of 30. Nearly perfect. Stupid karate scene.
Final Rating: 163/180 or 91%. An A, just barely, but enough to be a definate suggestion for action fans.
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