Lethal Weapon
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Lethal Weapon is the first of a series of American movies that were released in 1987, 1989, 1992, and 1998, all starring Mel Gibson and Danny Glover as a mismatched pair of Los Angeles police officers. These movies fall into the action-comedy genre, and are generally considered to typify the "Buddy Cop" cliché. Gene Shalit jokingly declared "Lethal Weapon has to be the greatest film of all time. No doubt."
The story begins in December of 1987 with the apparent suicide of Amanda Hunsacker, the daughter of Michael Hunsacker (Tom Atkins), who is an old friend of LAPD officer Roger Murtaugh. A veteran cop of 20 years, Roger Murtaugh gets stuck with a new partner on his 50th birthday. That partner is 37-year-old Martin Riggs, whose wife of eleven years was killed just a few months earlier. As a result Riggs is considering suicide, has become a borderline alcoholic, and has become so reckless and violent in his law-enforcement methods that he is considered a "lethal weapon". Sergeant Murtaugh is not happy about having a partner 'on the ragged edge', but is soon indebted to the younger man for saving his life.
While investigating Amanda Hunsacker's death, the two uncover a heroin-smuggling operation organised by Vietnam War veteran special force troops, known as 'Shadow Company', through their war-era CIA contacts in Air America - a front company used for drug smuggling from the Golden Triangle. The scheme is masterminded by evil, ruthless General McAllister (Mitch Ryan) - the former commander of Shadow Company - and his malevolent right-hand man, Mr. Joshua (Gary Busey). Murtaugh and Riggs - both Vietnam War veterans - discover that Michael Hunsacker was "laundering" the profits through his bank, and McAllister engineered the murder of Amanda Hunsacker to keep Michael from confessing all he knows about the heroin-smuggling ring; shortly after the pair confront Michael Hunsacker, Mr. Joshua kills him.
As Riggs and Murtaugh discover more about Shadow Company's network, the increasingly violent members of Shadow Company kidnap Murtaugh's daughter Rianne to pressure him to reveal everything Michael Hunsacker had told him. Riggs, though initially captured by McAllister, frees himself and then liberates both Murtaugh and Rianne. The pair then attack Shadow Company and shoot down most of its' members; McAllister perishes in an explosion (along with his shipment of heroin) and both Riggs and Murtaugh shoot Mr. Joshua after Riggs beats him in unarmed combat Murtaugh's front lawn.
Murtaugh and Riggs are now solid friends, and Riggs spends Christmas Day at the Murtaugh home with Roger's family; Riggs brings his dog Sam to be a friend to the Murtaugh family cat, Burbank.
Reaction
The movie received a highly positive reception, thanks to the movie's relentlessly fast-paced, upbeat tone, with a deeper plot than most other action movies. The film, which had a moderate budget of $15 million, grossed $65 million domestically and $55 million abroad, ranking it among the Top 10 movies of 1987. The movie was released in the spring, a rather unusual time for action movies. It also solidified the careers of both Gibson and Glover.
The film's success inspired a number of sequels, each one generally considered to be funnier and more extravagant (but not necessarily smarter) than the last. Each film also introduced a new main character: Leo Getz (Joe Pesci) in 1989's Lethal Weapon 2, Lorna Cole (Rene Russo) in 1992's Lethal Weapon 3, and Detective Lee Butters(Chris Rock) in 1998's Lethal Weapon 4.
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