How wonderful it is to see this fine actress carry a film and carry it so beautifully.

Watch something else. There are very few redeeming qualities to this film.

Unshakable, witty and deeply felt, the film will be paying emotional dividends for a long, long time.

The film may be flawed, but its message is not.

One of the best movies ever created! The two leading rolls is a great team.

LETHAL WEAPON is the film that kick-started the popular franchise and helped to usher in a new wave of buddy-buddy comedy cop movies. Watching it today, it does feel a little slow and dated in parts, with often laboured comedy and plotting that takes a long time to get anywhere. The reason the film still works lies in the casting of Mel Gibson and Danny Glover, two underrated actors who share an irresistible camaraderie.You know the score by now: Gibson's the crazy one (and never crazier than here), Glover the straight man, his by-the-book partner. The latter in particular is excellent, boosting the humour quotient of any given situation. The big stunt and explosion scenes are all well and good, although this doesn't really quality as an action flick until the last half hour, which has some good shoot-outs and a memorable torture-by-electrocution set-piece featuring DIE HARD's Al Leong. Gary Busey's larger-than-life baddie is the scene-stealer here, so it's a pity about all that doubling and dated choreography in the final scene.

Meet Martin Riggs (Mel Gibson) and Roger Murtaugh (Danny Glover). They're both Vietnam veterans and detectives on the L.A. police force. Roger is a stable family man, while Martin has been incredibly *unstable* ever since the death of his wife. As we see, Martin seems to have developed something of a death wish, and he's often acting recklessly. But the two of them end up working well together as they investigate the death of a young woman who took a nose dive from a massive apartment block. As it turns out, this ties into a much bigger case involving international drug smuggling."Lethal Weapon" is, quite simply, one of the kings in this particular sub genre of action and comedy known as the "buddy" movie. With a frequently funny Shane Black screenplay that has its fair share of quotable lines, it perfected a formula that has been imitated many, many times since, but has seldom been equalled. Gibson and Glover are indeed a wonderful team, their well defined personalities clashing in lively and sometimes humorous fashion. Glover is appropriately solid as a rock, and Gibson has fun with his colorful role. Directed with maximum efficiency by veteran mainstream filmmaker Richard Donner, it really does move along at a blazing speed, especially if you've seen it before and know what to expect. The action and violence are first rate, and the movie does have pathos going for it as well.Of course, as with so many movies, it always helps to have great villains. And Mitchell Ryan and Gary Busey admirably fill the bill. It's very cool to see a fairly fit Busey sink his teeth into the part of a stone cold psycho henchman who proves his loyalty to Ryan in a memorable scene early on.Contrasting with Riggs' unhappy home life is the bright, cheerful suburban existence of Rogers' family. Singer Darlene Love and the very sexy Traci Wolfe shine as Murtaughs' wife and daughter. Wolfe is particularly cute when her character develops a bit of a crush on Riggs.There are a great deal of familiar faces in roles big and small. Tom Atkins is wonderful as Murtaughs' old Army buddy. Other people you may recognize are Jackie Swanson, Don Gordon, Jimmie F. Skaggs, Blackie Dammett, Mary Ellen Trainor, Steve Kahan, Jack Thibeau, Grand L. Bush, Ed O'Ross, Sven-Ole Thorsen, and Al Leong.The music score by Michael Kamen and Eric Clapton is very atmospheric, and performed to perfection by Clapton, David Sanborn, and others.Very fine entertainment for action fans, and followed by three sequels and a current TV series.Eight out of 10.

The template for "buddy cop movies" had already been created some years before "Lethal Weapon" went into production and so its combination of action, comedy and a couple of mismatched cops didn't seem to offer anything particularly new. What it did offer, however, was an excellent plot, a couple of well-drawn characters and two actors whose extraordinary on-screen rapport contributed enormously to the phenomenal success that this movie justifiably achieved.Its story, which involves murder, drug-smuggling and kidnapping, is exciting, violent and often tense with some light relief being provided throughout by the bizarre behaviour of one of the cops and the entertaining banter that's an on-going feature of a relationship that, against the odds, develops into a strong friendship between two very different men.Homicide detective Roger Murtaugh (Danny Glover) is assigned to investigate the apparent suicide of a young woman who had leaped to her death from a penthouse balcony. He soon discovers that she was the daughter of his old Vietnam War buddy, Michael Hunsaker (Tom Atkins) and later receives evidence that confirms that she was murdered. At fifty years of age and with retirement approaching, Murtaugh is keen to avoid any unnecessary danger and so, when he's teamed up with detective Martin Riggs (Mel Gibson), who has a certain reputation for being unstable, he becomes very apprehensive.Riggs is an ex-Army Special Forces sniper who was classed as a "lethal weapon" and who, following the recent death of his wife, had become unpredictable and suicidal. His state of mind had become a source of concern for police psychiatrists because it had led to him taking great risks in his work and soon it becomes evident that he and Murtaugh have very different ways of doing things. The tensions caused by this situation initially makes their partnership difficult but as the investigation continues, some incidents that they confront, lead to them gaining more trust in each other.Hunsaker admits that he had, for some years, been involved in a drug smuggling operation which had been in existence since the Vietnam War and which was headed by General Peter McAllister (Mitchell Ryan) who, like his henchman, Mr Joshua (Gary Busey), is extremely ruthless and they had murdered his daughter as a consequence of his decision to get out of their racket. The ensuing pursuit of the smugglers leads to Murtaugh's daughter being kidnapped and both detectives being tortured before Riggs and Joshua meet in the movie's final confrontation.Mel Gibson gives a remarkable performance in this movie as he excels as an action hero but also brings incredible intensity to the passages of the film where Riggs struggles with his suicidal tendencies. It's also interesting to watch how his initially volatile and reckless character gradually becomes more rational as a result of his relationship with Murtaugh and his family. Danny Glover also does a brilliant job of showing Murtaugh's humanity, warmth and insecurities as he deals with the demands of his job and his family, whilst also coming to terms with his concerns about getting older."Lethal Weapon" is hugely enjoyable, exciting to watch and full of humorous moments. It's extremely well-written and its emphasis on the nature and development of its characters is what ultimately elevates it above the level of most other similar action movies.