Lethal Weapon, 1987.
Directed by Richard Donner.
Starring Mel Gibson, Danny Glover, Gary Busey, Mitchell Ryan, Darlene Love, Al Leong, Tom Atkins, and Don Gordon.
SYNOPSIS:
Two mismatched LA cops must learn to get along with each other in order to take down a drugs racket.
It has been a long time coming but Richard Donner’s buddy cop classic Lethal Weapon comes to 4K UHD in a brand new restoration that should authentically bring the 1980s kicking and screaming into your 2020s media setup. Does it still deliver the goods, or is the movie too old for this… well, you know.
If anyone is in need of a plot rundown, Lethal Weapon sees mismatched cops Martin Riggs (Mel Gibson) and Roger Murtaugh (Danny Glover) being put together to investigate the suspected murder of a young woman, which connects Murtaugh to an old Vietnam buddy and a ring of drug smugglers, led by the ruthless The General (Mitchell Ryan) and his henchman Mr. Joshua (Gary Busey), both former Special Forces mercenaries.
However, Riggs – who is also ex-Special Forces – is a loose cannon, still in mourning over the death of his wife and is seconds away from putting a bullet in his head at any given time of the day. Murtaugh is a family man, just turned 50 and thinking about retirement, which makes his partnership with Riggs all the more fractious as the two cops have very different methods of how to get results. Can they put aside their differences and work together to crack the drugs ring?
Of course they can, otherwise there wouldn’t be three sequels. Despite there being buddy cop movies before this, Lethal Weapon was the one that cemented the formula, presenting characters that audiences really do care about. Danny Glover brings such warmth to Murtaugh that you cannot help but be on his side, even if he is coming across as grumpy or a little bit of a fuddy-duddy, although Glover is also adept at playing the tough guy and Murtaugh is a man who stands behind his principles to protect his family. He uses a revolver, which Riggs sees as old-fashioned compared to his automatic, but Murtaugh never needs more than six shots and is just as sharp as Riggs when it comes to a firefight.
But Riggs is the lethal weapon of the title, and Mel Gibson has never brought more intensity or insanity to a role than he does here. The scene where Riggs tries to talk down a potential suicide jumper tells you everything you need to know about Martin Riggs, and the look in Gibson’s eyes when he tells the jumper they’re going over the edge – both physically and mentally – is still frightening, perhaps even more so given what we know in 2025. Nevertheless, Gibson plays Riggs as a fragile bomb, ready to explode if given the right push, but he sells the quiet, introspective moments too, such as when Riggs tries to blow his brains out but just can’t bring himself to move his trigger finger that extra little bit. It would have been easy to make Riggs a blunt instrument with no soul, but the combination of Shane Black’s writing and Mel Gibson’s performance make Riggs a much deeper and engaging lunatic than audiences were used to at the time.
And speaking of lunatics, there is also Gary Busey as henchman Mr. Joshua, who is every bit as brutal and psychopathic as Riggs, albeit without the humanity that separates the cops from the criminals. Busey is intense as he tries to remain calm and business-like – although his best bit is when he shoots a television playing an old Christmas movie – and, like in the Bond movies, is a bigger threat to our heroes than the big bad boss that is The General, although Mitchell Ryan is still intimidating when he needs to be. That said, ‘80 action henchman royalty Al Leong also puts in an appearance, so you know this movie is the real deal.
All of which makes Lethal Weapon a fun and entertaining time at the movies whatever format you watch it on, so what does this 4K UHD disc bring to the table? Well, Lethal Weapon has never looked so fresh and vibrant as it does here. The skin tones all look natural, the colours of the cop car lights all pop without being over-saturated and the level of detail is incredible, such as in the scene where Murtaugh goes to rescue his daughter in the desert. As well as the swirling clouds of sand and the stitching in Gary Busey’s rather fetching sweater all being very visible, you can even see Danny Glover’s stubble and shave rash on his neck; okay, you don’t necessarily need to see such intimate detailing, but the fact that the restoration brings these tiny technicalities out means that care and attention has been applied.
Elsewhere, like the scene where Riggs and Murtaugh are involved in an explosion and have to question a group of child witnesses, the combination of colours and sharpness work to make what was once a fairly drab-looking scene leap out and sizzle with a dynamic energy. Add to that the excellent Dolby Atmos audio and Lethal Weapon has a new lease of life nearly four decades later.
For extras, you get two short featurettes. A Legacy of Inspiration: Remembering Dick Donner, which is exactly what you expect given the title, that being a touching talking heads tribute to the late director from contributors such as Danny Glover, writer Shane Black and Donner’s wife Lauren Shuler Donner. There is also “I am Too Old for This…” – A Chemistry that Became Iconic, which explores the onscreen partnership of Danny Glover and Mel Gibson, and although both are neat little extras, neither are essential or add anything to the movie.
So, as is the norm with these UHD re-releases of classic movies, there is no question that Lethal Weapon is a great movie and still delivers when it comes to action, drama, emotion and all-round entertainment, but is it worth shelling out for again if you already own it? You bet it is, as watching it now in this restored version is like watching it for the first time all over again, the quips still working, the chemistry between Gibson and Glover still charming and the Richard Donner’s grasp of how to make a movie exciting is still masterful, but all of it looks pristine and, haircuts aside, almost new. Both the Theatrical and Director’s Cuts are included – only the Theatrical Cut has previously had a Blu-ray release in the UK – so that means that this UHD package is now the definitive way to enjoy the ultimate Christmas action movie…
Flickering Myth Rating – Film: ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ / Movie: ★ ★ ★ ★ ★
Chris Ward
