Most people tend to think of the Lethal Weapon series as relatively funny exercises in the action genre, given their buddy cop premises' and the fact that Joe Pesci plays a major part in the antics. Though thats mostly true of second, third and fourth chapters in the franchise, the original Lethal Weapon is a dark and occasionally morbid affair, as Mel Gibsons suicidal cop the Lethal Weapon of the movies title is forcibly teamed with family man Danny Glover as the pair investigate a drug ring that links all the back to the Vietnam war. As Riggs and Murtaugh, they make for cinemas best and most dynamic cop duo, and the brilliance of Richard Donner's best film - sorry, Superman - mostly stems from the chemistry between these unlikely partners. That said, the action scenes inherent to Lethal Weapon are - like Riggs himself - edgy and anxious. There are several stand-out moments, one of which has Gibson's hero rolling around on the floor and dodging bullets at a Christmas tree lot. Most folk, however, will recall the rain-drenched final battle that sees Riggs facing off against Gary Busey's disposable henchman Mr. Joshua on Murtaugh's front lawn. Badass defined.
Sam Hill is an ardent cinephile and has been writing about film professionally since 2008. He harbours a particular fondness for western and sci-fi movies.
