Lethal Weapon: Best Buddy Cop Duo
Directed by Richard Donner
“What did one shepherd say to the other shepherd? Let’s get the flock out of here!”
Martin Riggs
Lethal Weapon, an American action film directed by Richard Donner and written by Shane Black, is a classically 80s film. With soulful to energetic guitar solos by Eric Clapton and Michael Kamen’s composition, this film is already elevated in my books. Our first introduction to one of our protagonists, Martin Riggs, already clues the audience in as to why and who is the lethal weapon in the film. Erratic, unafraid of death, and with nothing to lose, Sergeant Riggs is in mental anguish over the loss of his wife. Our second protagonist, Sergeant Roger Murtaugh enters the scene and he’s an all-around family man with everything at stake. After a recent homicide following a prostitute, he discovers that this prostitute is the daughter of his old friend from the Vietnam War. Emotionally invested in the case, Murtaugh is burdened to help an old friend.
Two worlds collide as Murtaugh is paired with Riggs to solve the case. Immediately, craziness ensues with massive explosions, kidnapping, tense fighting scenes, and a bit of comedy. Amazing chemistry develops between Riggs and Murtaugh after they come to an understanding, and we see the birth of a beautiful duo. Mel Gibson proved to be an interesting and compelling character as he played a broken man like Riggs perfectly. Danny Glover also did a stellar job as Sergeant Murtaugh, who was the ideal family man. The tone of the first movie seems to be the difference between this first film and all others. Much more seriously, the movie truly portrayed Riggs himself as a weapon. It all made for a compelling film because you always anticipated what move was going to be next. The film has compelling action sequences with a good enough plot line to follow, but it truly shines with its characterizations and relationship building between the leads. The only issue that dulled the movie was the extremely gratuitous fight scene toward the end of the film, which seemed too unrealistic. Regardless, the film is one of the best of the whole series and always constitutes a re-watch.
The Island Cinephile 
