Written by: Jeffrey Boam (screenplay), Shane Black & Warren Murphy (story), Shane Black (characters)
Directed by: Richard Donner
Starring: Mel Gibson, Danny Glover, Joe Pesci
Rated: R
Watch the trailer
Plot
Murtaugh and Riggs are back tracking criminals hiding behind diplomatic immunity.
Verdict
Lethal Weapon 2 is more action and less story than the first movie, but that's not a bad thing. This is a classic. It manages to stand alone while still being a compliment to the original. Like most sequels the explosions are larger and the writing a little more clumsy, but these characters maintain their chemistry and draw you in.
Watch it.
Review
This one, compared to the original, is heavy on action and comedy, relying on the fact that we know these characters. Shane Black's original script was rejected for being too dark and bloody despite rave reviews from those in the industry. The studio wanted more comedy, and Black eventually quit.
Murtaugh is the conservative family man and Riggs is the loose cannon.
This is more of an Odd Couple comedy action movie. Both leads are less nuanced, but their chemistry is just as good. Murtaugh and Riggs share a moment with one of them on the toilet, and while the emotion is there it's just a bit sillier and less dark than the first one. That also helps make this more fun. That's what this movie sets out to do and it accomplishes that.
The writing is uneven, with a Chekhov's gun and skill trope coming into play later. This contains less detective work and more contrived coincidences so that we can get to the next action set piece.
It starts with an action packed opening. Murtaugh and Riggs are in pursuit of a suspect, with Murtaugh driving his brand new station wagon and not wanting to exceed the speed limit. Of course Riggs gets to drive and goes crazy.
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| Solid sequel and addition to the action movie genre. |
After the destruction from the car chase, Murtaugh and Riggs are assigned to protect a witness who just so happened to work for the same criminals related to the opening car chase. They uncover the conspiracy through no real detective work and Riggs turns into James Bond, wooing a woman working for the enemy. This just seemed strange. Of course, this was revealed to be a ruse to make the movie emotionally manipulative later.
This is a great action movie. If you like action over story, this improves the original. The ending is over the top and breaks suspension of disbelief. How many times can someone be shot and still live?
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