They don't make em like they used to
They don’t make them like they used to and in the case of “Lethal Weapon’s” buddy cops, no one’s matched them since. Lonely, depressive Martin Riggs (Mel Gibson) and 50ish Roger Murtaugh (Danny Glover) are teamed together when the daughter of Murtaugh’s friend dies from laced heroin. And from there the uneasy, charismatic chemistry that grows between them only gets more endearing. Writer Shane Black creates two of the 80’s most perfect characters, two men torn between honor and emotion, the toughness of the Vietnam era and the sensitivity of the time period they now live in, and the dialogue is not just funny, its perfection.
Gibson is pure chaos; a man who doesn’t care about his own life, the only thing keeping him going is his own seething rage. Riggs has great reasons but Gibson gives them such harrowing life and has a brilliant way of playing lunacy (how he goes from a “Three Stooges” impression to far darker feelings is something only he could do) in exactly the same way- the joke about Riggs going to talk the suicidal man off the roof is classic. Glover’s Murtaugh is the older, more controlled, part of the team. His fear is possibly being perceived as over-the-hill, and to his chagrin, his purpose is trying to contain the chaos.
Murtaugh’s family, from his lousy-cook wife (Darlene Love) and Riggs-loving daughter (Traci Wolfe), also become people worth caring about. I’m not sure if the villains are as strong here as they are in “Lethal Weapons 2 and 4” but Gary Busey makes an impression as a sadistic henchman.
Director Richard Donner gives it exactly the pace it needs and every single explosion, chase, or fight is memorable. It's the great characters though (with more to come), and the way they grow together, that really make this series masterful.
** I’m doing a nostalgia series on 1987 in film, part of a larger review/ranking series on the 80’s.
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