Lethal Weapon (1987)

Lethal Weapon is a 1987 American buddy cop action comedy film directed by Richard Donner, and produced by Joel Silver, and written by Shane Black.

L.A. cop Martin Riggs (Mel Gibson), whose wife has recently died, is a loose cannon with a seeming death wish. This makes him indispensable in collaring dangerous criminals, but a liability to any potential partners. Roger Murtaugh (Danny Glover), a conservative family man who wants to stay alive for his upcoming 50th birthday, is partnered with Riggs. As Riggs gets to know Murtaugh and his family, he begins to mellow, though his insistence on using guerilla tactics to catch criminals is still (put mildly) above and beyond the call of duty. The main villain is The General (Mitchell Ryan), a drug dealer responsible for the death of the daughter of one of Murtaugh's oldest friends. The General is also in charge of a deadly, militia-like gang of smugglers. Adding fuel to the fire is The General's chief henchman, played with all stops out by Gary Busey. Moviegoers familiar only with the relatively tongue-in-cheek Lethal Weapon sequels may be amazed to find out how dangerous and unpredictable Riggs is in the first Lethal Weapon -- and how likely it seems that Murtaugh might not survive until fade-out time. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

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Original theatrical trailer for the 1987 film "Lethal Weapon." Starring Mel Gibson, Danny Glover, Gary Busey, Mitch Ryan, Tom Atkins.

"Lethal Weapon" is another one of those Bruised Forearm Movies, like "Raiders of the Lost Ark," a movie where you and your date grab each other's arm every four minutes and you walk out black and blue and grinning from ear to ear. It's a buddy movie about two homicide cops who chase a gang of drug dealers all over Southern California, and the plot makes an amazing amount of sense, considering that the action hardly ever stops for it.

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Directed by Richard Donner. With Mel Gibson, Danny Glover, Gary Busey, Mitchell Ryan. Two newly paired cops who are complete opposites must put aside their differences in order to catch a gang of drug smugglers.