Lethal Weapon

"If these two can learn to stand each other... the bad guys don't stand a chance."

1987 1h 50m EN

👍

7.3

SOLID

★7.3TMDB · 5,253

ActionThrillerCrime

Synopsis

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A veteran cop and an unstable detective become partners who must put their differences aside in order to bring down a heroin-smuggling ring run by ex-Special Forces.

“If these two can learn to stand each other... the bad guys don't stand a chance.”

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Cast

Mel Gibson
Martin Riggs
Danny Glover
Roger Murtaugh
Gary Busey
Mr. Joshua
Mitchell Ryan
General Peter McAllister
Tom Atkins
Michael Hunsaker
Darlene Love
Trish Murtaugh
Traci Wolfe
Rianne Murtaugh
Jackie Swanson
Amanda Hunsaker

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Richard Donner
Writers: Shane Black
Languages: English
Countries: United States of America

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

MONEY

Did you know

Made its money back 8.0× over at the box office.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

ERA

Did you know

39 years old — old enough to be someone's favourite childhood film.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

CINEMA

Did you know

Part of the "Lethal Weapon Collection" — so the characters or world continue elsewhere.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

ERA

Did you know

Directed by Richard Donner, shot by Stephen Goldblatt. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by Michael Kamen. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Stuart Baird shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

CAST

Did you know

Mel Gibson and Danny Glover and Gary Busey carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

FACT

Did you know

Marketing tagline: "If these two can learn to stand each other... the bad guys don't stand a chance.".

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Richard Donner directs. Stephen Goldblatt behind the camera. Michael Kamen scores. Stuart Baird cuts. Made its budget back several times over at the box office. Produced in United States of America. Dialogue in English.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

1Made its money back 8.0× over at the box office.
239 years old — old enough to be someone's favourite childhood film.
3Part of the "Lethal Weapon Collection" — so the characters or world continue elsewhere.
4Directed by Richard Donner, shot by Stephen Goldblatt. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
5Original score by Michael Kamen. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
6Editor Stuart Baird shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
7Mel Gibson and Danny Glover and Gary Busey carry the top of the cast.
8Marketing tagline: "If these two can learn to stand each other... the bad guys don't stand a chance.".
9IMDB entry: tt0093409 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
10Classified under 18 themes, including "showdown", "police", "self-destruction", "christmas party".

The technical file

Cinematography: Stephen Goldblatt
Original score: Michael Kamen
Editing: Stuart Baird
Production design: J. Michael Riva
Costume design: Mary Malin
Makeup / hair: Scott H. Eddo
Sound: Les Fresholtz
Stunt coordinator: Bobby Bass
Runtime: 110 min · 1h 50m
Aspect ratio (typical): 1.37:1 (Academy)
Status: Released
Budget: $15,000,000
Box office: $120,207,127
Return: 801% of budget
Original language: EN
Certification (US): R
IMDB: Lethal Weapon (1987)

Part of

Lethal Weapon Collection

Lethal Weapon is a buddy cop movie series starring Mel Gibson and Danny Glover. A total of four films have been made since the first one in 1987, and all have been a success at the box-office.

Also by

Richard Donner

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Community reviews

What people are saying

John Chard2018-12-31
★ 8/10
We got the edge Cochise. Close to retirement, Detective Sergeant Roger Murtaugh is a bit disturbed to find he's breaking in a new partner. Even more so when it turns out to be fellow Detective Martin Riggs, who since the death of his wife has scant regard for life, his own or those around him. Light on plot and character development, Lethal Weapon none the less shines bright as a beacon of how a buddy buddy action film should be done. Roughly an hour and forty five minutes of quips, action, villainy, heroics and cross generational/cultural divides. All what else is needed is a star duo with buoyant chemistry - thankfully Richard Donner's movie has it by the clip load. Mel Gibson is Riggs, a trigger happy suspected loony on the ragged edge, wonderfully playing off of Danny Glover's (superb) "too old for this nonsense" sage old copper. Riggs is a hard dude who quickly became a cinematic hero to many, an unstoppable force with a quip on the tongue and a glint in his eye, to which Gibson is terrific and perfectly cast. Gary Busey's "psycho's are us" henchman flits in and out the picture with gleeful nastiness and Shane Black's script crackles as the super stunt work starts to take a hold. Chief villain Mitchell Ryan as The General is almost a bystander though, and there's the odd piece of careless editing, but really Lethal Weapon has a winning formula that the box office punters promptly lapped up. Three sequels, all of which are of differing quality, would follow it, but this is a template movie for the genre and worthy of nostalgic revisits any time of day. 8/10
JPV8522019-08-28
★ 9/10
One of the best action movies of all-time in my book, and right there with Die Hard, Lethal Weapon still holds up so well thanks to the chemistry between Mel Gibson and Danny Glover. Even with the over-the-top staged fight scene at the end, this is just an all around entertaining flick. (Reason I decided to watch it again today was saw it was on A&E and rather than watch a crappy edited version, why not watch the real deal in 1080p HD?)
The Movie Mob2022-10-02
★ 7/10
You’re never too old for this! Lethal Weapon is the ultimate buddy cop action movie. Mel Gibson and Danny Glover’s chemistry delights as the crazed young gun and the old experienced cop grow to respect and trust each other. Mel Gibson gives another iconic performance in his catalog of outstanding characters as the quirky and lovable but traumatizing Martin Riggs struggling to find a reason to hope. Danny Glover’s grouchy but endearing Roger Murtaugh is a perfect balance to Riggs. The two develop a loyalty throughout the film that makes the audience invest and care. At its core, Lethal Weapon is an epic action movie where the good guys kick some serious butt! For the 80s, this movie raised the bar for the action genre. My only complaint would be the first few minutes have some nudity that, if left out, would have made this a contender for the ultimate holiday action movie.