15 Best Movie Thrillers From The 1980s
6. Lethal Weapon
The Lethal Weapon franchise is best remembered for perfecting the buddy cop formula and for Danny Glover being increasingly too old for various things, but the first installment is predominantly a perfectly paced and performed thriller. The gags are still there, but they merely provide colour for a rollicking plot and a healthy dose of hard hitting action.
The film establishes the vibe right away: Mel Gibson is crazy, Glover is cantankerous; they may not see eye to eye on a personal level, but as a crime fighting duo, they’ve got that chemistry. The plot is a sprawling L.A noir, replete with drugs, betrayals, shoot outs and fist fights.
Perhaps the best scene is the climactic battle between Gibson and Gary Busey as a permanently grinning henchman and martial artist. It’s the Lethal Weapon franchise in a microcosm: it basically makes no sense in the real world, but it’s a blast all the same.
With a killer script from the ever reliable Shane Black, the original Lethal Weapon strikes the perfect balance of comedy, character, and plot. It’s a warm hearted, rollicking plot boiler which stands up against any of its myriad imitators.