10 Movies That Prove The '80s Was The Golden Age Of Action

4. Lethal Weapon

Die Hard
Warner Bros

Lethal Weapon was far from the first buddy cop movie to hit screens during the sub-genre's rise to prominence in the '80s, but it was definitely the one that managed to perfect the formula.

There's nothing particularly groundbreaking or innovative about the plot, but Shane Black's razor-sharp script and the effortless charisma and sparkling chemistry between stars Mel Gibson and Danny Glover quickly established Riggs and Murtaugh as one of cinema's greatest-ever double-acts.

The franchise may have become increasingly sanitized over the course of the three sequels, but the first installment treads the delicate balance between action movie absurdity and real dramatic stakes thanks largely to the work of the two leads, armed with Black's signature dialogue and a refreshingly straightforward narrative that never loses focus of the story at the expense of the set-pieces.

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