Customer Reviews

Lethal Weapon

5 star:		(63)
4 star:		(24)
3 star:		(12)
2 star:		(6)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

As much as i love this movie, I was turned off by the poor job that was done on the tranfer to Blue-Ray quality.
Save your money, Hopefully a better version will be released in the future.

The recent release of the director's cut of Lethal Weapon add depth to the film by the inclusion of approximately 7 minutes of new scenes. The additions are in the beginning of the film when the characters are still being developed. In one scene, Gibson's character walks into the line of fire of a sniper, and in another he has a rather violent reaction to a commercial on TV. In the context of this portion of the movie, it further establishes the pain Gibson's character is going through and his mental state...is he crazy or just not caring what happens to him? Additional scenes also establish Glover's character's concern at growing old...does he still have it?

The balance of the film is pretty much unchanged. Lethal Weapon is a fun buddy action/comedy movie, but shines more than the sequels, which emphasized comedy and cartoonish action. Gibson and Glover actually act here, Gibson in particular in the scenes where he is struggling with his wife's death. The interplay between the actors makes this movie a cut above the standard action movie.

I can't count how many times I've seen this movie, and I still don't get sick of it! I have to watch it all the way through once I start to watch a scene. Is there a better action movie with the depth of Glover's and Gibson's characters? I haven't found one. The interplay the guys have with each other is amazing. The dialogue and emotions are fluid and natural, much like the movement of the camera in recording this awesome spectacle. This new version finally gives everyone the opportunity to see the brilliant writing and thought processes behind the Glover and Gibson characters. The studio has added 7 minutes of footage to enhance the foundation of the characters' motivations. It's almost a new movie! The new DTS sound is as good as it gets with the old audio tracks. The picture is clean and crisp. The scene where Riggs is shot through the glass window of a store shows every cracking shard with absolute precision. The extra footage is seamless after being transfered brilliantly. I would recommend this disc as a starting piece for anyone looking to build a collection of solid movies. There is more to this movie than incredible action sequences. This is one of those action movies where you and your date are physically exhausted and sporting huge, goofy smiles at the end of the movie. There aren't many movies like this anymore. Magic like this only happens once in a great while. Get this disc and capture a little piece of it.

Retiring cop gets new partner. They don't get along, until they shoot a bunch of bad guys together. The formula has become cliché.

Who cares?!?

"Lethal Weapon" is such a great movie, that it defines the concept of a buddy-cop picture. Both lead actors give top-of-their game performances. Gibson is a standout, playing burned-out narc Martin Riggs, who's wallowing in grief for his dead wife.

(Ever notice that Mel Gibson always plays a widower? Wonder how Robin Gibson feels about this...)

Danny Glover plays the down-to-Earth Roger Murtaugh, who steps up to the plate when his family is threatened.

Heck, even Gary Busey deserves a nod for his portrayal of shadowy Mr. Joshua. Riggs and Mr. Joshua face off in a massive martial-arts brawl that apparently took four days to film.

One of my favorite supporting actors appears in "Lethal Weapon" - Al Leong, playing the guy who tortures Riggs with an electric shock apparatus. Riggs' payback is pretty bone-crushing, so don't expect to see Leong in the sequel!

This DVD version contains some footage not seen in previous releases. None of it adds much, thematically--but it's kind of fun to see Riggs stand off against a crazed sniper.

This is the one that started all the "lethal" action and introduced one of the most memorable cop teams in cinematic history. "Lethal Weapon," directed by Richard Donner, is a hard-hitting, fast-paced action/drama starring Mel Gibson as Detective Sergeant Martin Riggs, who once served in the Special Forces in Vietnam, and who now serves the city of Los Angeles. Riggs has some inner demons with which he must cope (the loss of his wife), and starts every day thinking of reasons why he shouldn't swallow a bullet. In the end, it's the job that keeps him going; it's what he does best in the world. Meanwhile, Detective Sergeant Roger Murtaugh (Danny Glover) is dealing with some issues in his own life: He just turned fifty, has a teenaged daughter who is suddenly grown-up and dating, and he's just been assigned a new partner, Riggs, whom he quickly learns has a propensity for dangerous situations and apparently has a death wish. His assessment of his situation is summed up with his now classic line, "I'm too old for this ----." And the adventure begins. The plot involves an investigation into the death of a young woman, Amanda Hunsaker (Jackie Swanson), the daughter of an old war buddy of Murtaugh's, Michael Hunsaker (Tom Atkins), who is now a successful banker. Ultimately, it leads Riggs and Murtaugh into some murky waters where they encounter a former General, Peter McAllister (Mitchell Ryan), and some ex-special forces mercenaries, including the especially psychotic Mr. Joshua (Gary Busey). There's some twists and turns along the way, but most importantly Donner keeps the action going and the tension building all the way to the climax. The dialogue is sharp, the story and characters are developed extremely well, and Donner wisely injects some humorous moments (courtesy of Gibson, with shades of The Three Stooges) that provide a respite to the intensity of the overall proceedings. But what really makes this movie is the pairing of Gibson and Glover. Perfectly cast as Riggs, Gibson is at his charismatic best here. He brings a depth to his character usually reserved for more dramatic fare, and layers him with a complexity that makes Riggs so much more than just another action hero. If you look deeply enough, you'll find a bit of McQueen's "Bullitt" in him. To his credit, Gibson took what could have been just another "star" outing and created a truly memorable character. Glover, as well, breathes real life into Murtaugh; he lets you in on what really makes his character tick, what his loyalties are and his perceptions of the world in which he lives. Like Gibson, he gets beneath the surface and gives you a lot more; much more than meets the eye. And there's a chemistry between the two that really clicks and makes it all work so well. Watching these guys operate is real kick; they give the audience something to relate to, and it's that connection they make with the viewer that is one of the reasons the "Lethal" films have been so successful. Also memorable in supporting roles are Darlene Love, as Roger's wife, Trish; and Traci Wolfe as their daughter, Rianne. In the end, "Lethal Weapon" is an exhilarating, entertaining movie that introduces some great characters that happily, for the audience, return in the sequels. It's like meeting good people who become your friends for life. But be prepared; once you've seen this one, you're going to HAVE to see the rest. And I guarantee, you're going to want to see them all more than once, so be ready to add to your DVD/video collection. These are keepers.

Again Warner Home Video offers another non-extended version for the HD audience. I had hopes that this would be another pristine presentation a-la Blazing Saddles. True, this film was shot in the sometimes woefully soft 1980s. Still I felt that the transfer could have been better. Yes, it bests all previous home video incarnations. Perhaps WHV will put forth an extra effort when (and if) they release the extended cut on HD-DVD. Still, for now, this is the disc to buy!

I really enjoyed seeing the additional footage on DVD and the picture quailty was GREAT, but what really was missing was the great sound of DTS. I've heard other moives in DTS and they would blow you away, but this moive leaves you flat. There is no surround sound rear speaker involvment to mention. I was disappointed with this aspect of the DVD.

This is strictly a review of the *technical aspects* of the Bluray version.

The quality of the transfer to Bluray is so-so. The description on Amazon states this is the Special Edition which has the extra and frankly relevant footage cut from the theatrical. It doesn't.

The audio is up to par but the transfer lacks the pop of a good session in the bay when it was done. Definitely tell this was not a "hands on" transfer.

I don't remember if the original movie was 2:35:1 or not, but this Bluray version is 1:85. I know the rest of the series on Bluray is 2:35:1 so it's kind of a let down that it's missing from here.

There was about 6 minutes of additional footage added to this. It changes several character archs too. Martin Riggs introduces even MROE iterest in the Three Stooges when he pays a hooker to watch TV with him. This version plays a bit darker than the original version. Martin Riggs has another early seen where he takes on a sniper, furthing the storyline that he does NOT care about himself.

Lethal Weapon is one of the best action movies ever made. But what made this different was it had a very interesting sense of humor to it. There was probably some unintentional humor too like all of the profanity seemed funny.

It's the story of two cops. One is a crazy, suicidal cop Martin Riggs(played awesomely by Gibson). The other is a by the book, good cop Roger Murtaugh(played equally good by Glover). Then they're teamed up together to solve a murder investigation. Once they get too close, the crooks get personal and kidnap Roger's daughter. They go after them by themselves and Riggs is enthusiastic about taking them on. Murtaugh on the other hand feels he is getting too old for his job.

This is a classic action flick and together with Die Hard from 1988 and Indiana Jones from 1981 and 1984, these 4 films have invented action as we know it today, great action scenes, great direction and comic scenes mixed with a bit of true feelings (like Mr. Action (producer), Jerry Bruckheimer tends to do often). Mel Gibson is great as the nutty / crazy Riggs and I love and somehow sympathies with him. The same counts for Murtaugh (Danny Glover) although I feel more for him, cause he has to work with Riggs. By the way I also love Gary Busey as the bad guy, he always plays them so well!!! This ain't the best one thou, the best one is part 3, then 1, 2, and at last 4 (that one's not too bad either, but just a tag too corny sometimes), but this really is a good movie + it is a classic, must see and have.