8. Lethal Weapon
Woah, what's this ginormous franchise about, then?Lethal Weapon chronicles the continuing adventures of "classic" buddy cop duo Martin Riggs and Roger Murtaugh, who were considered the "classic" buddy cop duo before that trope even really existed and we all got tired of it. Together, Riggs - who starts out borderline suicidal and ends up being just a little bit nuts by the series end - and Murtaugh - who stays pretty much the same all the way through, except he gets noticeably slower - are pretty much the maverick renegades of their police force, getting the job done but frequently causing millions of dollars of damage in the process. It's fun.
And it should quit? Why? Richard Donner, who has directed all four movies in the
Lethal Weapon franchise to date, pulled off a rather rare feat: he made four movies that don't rub one another the wrong way, or cause us to lose love and affection for our favourite characters. Though the third movie was panned somewhat for being a bit too silly, and the fourth movie got panned for being a bit too generic, they're both still pretty awesome as far as sequels go.
Lethal Weapon 4 also ended on the perfect note, one that tied up the series and left fans feeling totally satisfied. Though there's no plans to make another movie right now, it's not off the cards, according to everyone who was ever a part of this thing - all it'll take, apparently, is for Mel Gibson to decide he wants something to do. But considering the ages of our leads now, it'd just be embarrassing. Let's not ruin the legacy whilst it's still in tact.