Lethal Weapon (1987) • 4K Ultra HD [Warner Bros.] — buddy cop classic feels less innovative decades later
Two newly paired cops who are complete opposites must put aside their differences in order to catch a gang of drug smugglers.
Acornerstone action cop film of the 1980s — alongside 48 Hrs. (1982) and Beverly Hills Cop (1984) — Richard Donner’s Lethal Weapondistinguished itself by toning down the humour and emphasising the characterisations of its heroes, Martin Riggs (Mel Gibson) and Roger Murtaugh (Danny Glover). While it built on what had come before, Shane Black’s famously rule-breaking screenplay, which he sold for $250,000, contained an innovative spirit that seemed to cement what this type of film should be. A slew of blatant imitators followed in the late-’80s (Red Heat, Tango & Cash), and Lethal Weapon itself got three sequels.
Decades later, the concept of Lethal Weapon seems laden with genre clichés, and was itself spoofed in Loaded Weapon (1993) just six years later — although the buddy-cop fad was over by then. We’re introduced to two opposing Sergeants in the LAPD: gruff homicide cop Murtaugh, famously getting “too old for this shit” having turned 50, who’s married with kids in the suburbs; and former Special Forces narcotics cop Riggs, who lives alone in a messy trailer following the death of his wife, routinely considering suicide over this tragedy, while using his death wish as a form of “superpower” by walking into dangerous situations because dying on the job may come as blessed relief.
Strikingly, veteran cop Murtaugh is surrounded by signs of personal and professional success thanks to his years on the force, but there’s the subtext he’s also henpecked and a little emasculated at home by his many girls. Riggs is almost a basket case, if sympathetically quirky, but he’s also a crack shot and bad-ass in almost everything he does without anyone or anything tying him down to a normal life.
It’s pretty dark stuff, and even darker before rewrites helped to lighten Black’s acerbic tone by layering more action and comedy into the story. The balance proved highly successful, as it made $120M at the box office, having only cost $15M to make, and the rest is history.
The plot is fairly generic fare, beginning with the apparent suicide of a prostitute who throws herself off an apartment balcony. Murtaugh soon realises the dead girl was the daughter of an old Vietnam War buddy of his, Michael Hunsaker (Tom Atkins), who was recently trying to get in touch with him. We eventually realise Hunsaker’s been helping a gang of CIA mercenaries smuggle heroin into the country and was about to confess to helping the gang’s leader, retired General McAllister (Mitchell Ryan), who’s protected by his loyal enforcer Mr Joshua (Gary Busey). We were deep into the “war on drugs” era in the US, so it felt like every action film had ilegal cocaine or heroin shipments as the focus.
But the film is ultimately about Riggs and Murtaugh’s relationship, which in classic “odd couple” tradition starts off frosty and begins to thaw as they learn to respect each other. The healing power of friendship is what brings Riggs back from the brink of self-annihilation, and while Murtaugh isn’t sure his new partner is sane enough for active duty (his misogynist boss dismisses a bad psychological profile of Riggs from a woman), the two cops learn to trust each other and build a good partnership that can get the job done in extreme circumstances.
Gibson’s a difficult figure to talk about these days, having torpedoed his career in 2006 after making antisemitic remarks, before allegations of domestic violence and racist/sexist rants were leaked in 2010, but Lethal Weapon is a reminder that he was once a true Hollywood hunk and mega-star. After making his breakthrough with the Mad Max trilogy (1979–1985), Lethal Weapon was the movie that solidified him as a major player and action hero.
Mad Max wasn’t a particularly talkative guy, so whether or not Gibson was more than just a pretty face with roguish Aussie charisma was a question still hanging over him. Riggs is more verbose and, while a little cartoonishly depicted at times, especially regarding his insane skills as a marksman (able to punch ‘smiley faces’ onto range targets), the part allows Gibson to sink into dark and unusual places.
Honestly, there aren’t any crowd-pleasing blockbusters today where a hero spends minutes silently contemplating whether or not to blow his own brains out with a handgun rammed in his own mouth, then shortly after doing a Three Stooges routine with drug sellers. So even if Gibson’s riffing on Max, as Riggs is another family man driven crazy by losing everyone dear to him, it helps that he’s at least more open about his inner turmoil.
Glover was then best known for his roles in The Color Purple (1985), Witness(1985), and Silverado (1985), but wasn’t quite a household name. Lethal Weapon made him a bigger star, and he brings a grouchy warmth to Murtaugh that proves to be a perfect counterpoint to Gibson’s mullet-haired oddball. It’s certainly amusing that his character turns 50 as the movie begins (surrounded by his family while naked in the bath, oddly…), while Glover was actually nine years younger at 41, but either way the character plays older to me. Or do I just want my childhood ’80s heroes to remain a few decades older than I am?
There are plenty of questionable choices in Lethal Weapon when seen today, after years of imitators and its sub-genre being torn apart for study. But some of the weirder things surely didn’t go unnoticed even in ’87. The Director’s Cut (released in 2000) contains a weird scene when Riggs goes to pick up a sex worker from an L.A street corner, but only to take her home to watch The Three Stooges on TV with him. Sweet, huh? But he does this shortly after confirming she’s 16. Huh. Suddenly, small moments of Murtaugh’s eldest daughter making eyes at Riggs take on a different feel, as you’re left wondering if Riggs is calculating her age at the dinner table. He also expresses disgust at the idea two women may be sleeping together, so yeah.
The climax also left a weird taste in my mouth, as it boils down to Riggs and Mr Joshua having a public fist-fight on Murtaugh’s lawn beneath the spray of a broken fire hydrant. It’s all very cool and vaguely homoerotic to see the two muscled men wrestling each other, Gibson taking his top off to show the abs he spent time on, but the scene is given a strange context with Murtaugh letting this violence continue even when surrounded by fellow cops and nosy neighbours. We, the audience, may want to see Joshua beaten up for his crimes, but Murtaugh’s essentially letting a scene of police brutality play out in public and, at one point, even yells for Riggs to break his opponent’s neck. I suppose ’80s audiences weren’t getting hung up over boring real-life procedure and rules, but something about the almost gleeful way everyone is standing around watching an arrested man get kicked half to death didn’t feel right to me — no matter how much he deserved it. Busey made for a great henchman back in those days too; part grinning bad-ass, part sadistic crackpot.
Ultimately, Lethal Weapon remains watchable and entertaining thanks to the charisma of its two leads and some enjoyable direction from Richard Donner behind the camera. It looks great and Black’s script still has some sizzle to it, but it’s nevertheless a movie that’s catching up to Murtaugh’s retirement age. Genre expectations have evolved and what once felt fresh and invigorating has lapsed into cliché, but this brief era of mismatched cops having to work together to bust criminal gangs remains charming. And any newcomers should enjoy the easygoing chemistry of Gibson and Glover, which was palpable enough to fuel many sequels, while wincing at some of its odd creative choices along the way.
USA | 1987 | 110 MINUTES (THEATRICAL) • 117 MINUTES (DIRECTOR’S CUT) | 1.85:1 | COLOUR | ENGLISH
4K Ultra HD Blu-ray Special Features:
This 2025 release of Lethal Weapon boasts a 4K restoration of both the Theatrical Cut and Director’s Cut of the film, and it’s a remarkable piece of work for a movie I remember best from analogue TV repeats in the early-1990s and VHS. This 4K Ultra HD disc’s 2160p image is beautiful work, retaining a lovely patina of film grain across the 1.85:1 ratio picture. The HDR10 results in luscious colours and deeply solid blacks too, perfectly capturing the look and feel of daytime and nighttime scenes of L.A. It’s like seeing it again for the first time, and films that are shot on film tend to look incredible when restored.
A Dolby Atmos track is available for the Director’s Cut, while the Theatrical has a DTS-HD Master Audio stereo track. To be honest, the original sound mix is perhaps the best way to go, as the Atmos didn’t bring the film another dimension as I’d hoped. It mostly felt like a stereo track to me anyway, with dialogue occasionally difficult to discern, perhaps due to the ambience of other channels slightly drowning it the mix. It’s hard to say, as older films do show their age in ways that weren’t as obvious at the time, but I certainly didn’t feel like Lethal Weapon’ s Dolby Atmos track was blowing me away. Although a big house explosion and the characteristically overblown gunshots sounds are enjoyably boomy.
A Legacy of Inspiration: Remembering Richard Donner.
‘I’m Too Old or This…’: A Chemistry That Became Iconic.
Theatrical & Director’s Cut in 4K and Blu-ray [Collector’s Edition Exclusive].
SteelBook casing. [Collector’s Edition Exclusive].
Rigid Slipcase with Removable Sleeve (Target Outlines) [Collector’s Edition Exclusive].
Double-sided A3 theatrical poster [Collector’s Edition Exclusive].
4x Character Art Cards [Collector’s Edition Exclusive].
3x Behind-the-Scenes Art Cards [Collector’s Edition Exclusive].
Cast & Crew
director: Richard Donner.
writer: Shane Black.
starring: Mel Gibson, Danny Glover, Gary Busey, Mitchell Ryan, Tom Atkins, Darlene Love & Traci Wolfe.
Originally published at https://www.framerated.co.uk on June 22, 2025. All images are used according to the Fair Use doctrine in US & UK law for review, commentary, and education.
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