IMDb > Lethal Weapon (1987)
Lethal Weapon
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Lethal Weapon (1987) More at IMDbPro »

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Lethal Weapon (1987) -- A veteran cop, Murtough, is partnered with a young homicidal cop, Riggs. Both having one thing in common, hating working in pairs. Now they must learn to work with one and other to stop a gang of drug smugglers.
Lethal Weapon (1987) -- Theatrical Preview
Lethal Weapon (1987) -- CineMagia.ro - Trailer (Flash)

Overview

User Rating:
7.6/10   50,253 votes
MOVIEmeter: ?
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Director:
Richard Donner
Writer:
Shane Black (written by)
Contact:
View company contact information for Lethal Weapon on IMDbPro.
Release Date:
6 March 1987 (USA) more
Genre:
Action | Crime | Thriller more
Tagline:
If these two can learn to stand each other... the bad guys don't stand a chance. more
Plot:
A veteran cop, Murtough, is partnered with a young homicidal cop, Riggs. Both having one thing in common, hating working in pairs. Now they must learn to work with one and other to stop a gang of drug smugglers. full summary | full synopsis
Plot Keywords:
more
Awards:
Nominated for Oscar. Another 5 wins & 1 nomination more
NewsDesk:
(242 articles)
The Sunday Movie Quiz
 (From HeyUGuys. 28 November 2009, 4:01 PM, PST)
Your Thanksgiving TV marathon guide: Saturday
 (From EW.com - PopWatch. 28 November 2009, 5:00 AM, PST)
User Comments:
This is the classic action film that introduces one of the best action duos ever to come to the big screen. more (182 total)

Cast

  (Cast overview, first billed only)

Mel Gibson ... Sergeant Martin Riggs

Danny Glover ... Sergeant Roger Murtaugh

Gary Busey ... Mr. Joshua

Mitch Ryan ... General Peter McAllister (as Mitchell Ryan)
Tom Atkins ... Michael Hunsaker
Darlene Love ... Trish Murtaugh
Traci Wolfe ... Rianne Murtaugh
Jackie Swanson ... Amanda Hunsaker
Damon Hines ... Nick Murtaugh
Ebonie Smith ... Carrie Murtaugh
Bill Kalmenson ... Beat Cop

Lycia Naff ... Dixie
Patrick Cameron ... Cop #1
Don Gordon ... Cop #2
Jimmie F. Skaggs ... Drug Dealer #1
more
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Additional Details

Parents Guide:
View content advisory for parents
Runtime:
110 min | Germany:108 min (cut version) | USA:117 min (director's cut) | Turkey:104 min (TV version)
Country:
USA
Language:
English
Colour:
Colour (Technicolor)
Aspect Ratio:
1.33 : 1 more
Sound Mix:
70 mm 6-Track (70 mm prints) | Dolby (35 mm prints)
Certification:
Australia:M | Iceland:16 | Finland:K-15 (director's cut) (DVD version) | Finland:K-18 (1987) | Brazil:16 (1999 re-rating) | Brazil:18 (original rating) | New Zealand:M | Hungary:16 | Italy:VM14 | Argentina:16 | Canada:18A | Chile:18 | France:-12 | Ireland:18 | Norway:18 | Singapore:NC-16 | South Korea:15 | South Korea:18 (director's cut) | Sweden:15 | UK:18 | USA:R | USA:Unrated (director's cut) | West Germany:16 (director's cut) | West Germany:18 | Canada:13+ (Quebec)
Filming Locations:
2817 Via Segovia, Palos Verdes Peninsula, California, USA more
Company:
Silver Pictures more

Fun Stuff

Trivia:
An alternate opening and ending were both filmed (and are available on the Lethal Weapon 4 (1998) DVD). The alternate opening featured Martin Riggs drinking alone in a bar where he is accosted by a couple of thugs who want his money. Riggs claims all of his is in the bank and tells the thugs "not to fuck with him." The thugs attack him, but Riggs easily subdues them. He is then allowed to take a free bottle of booze from the bar in exchange for never returning. Director Richard Donner felt the movie should open with a brighter look at Riggs and filmed the scene with Riggs awakening in his trailer to replace it. The alternate ending featured Riggs and Murtaugh saying good-bye to one another. Murtaugh tells Riggs he's thinking of retiring, but Riggs tells him not to. more
Goofs:
Continuity: When Joshua is in the helicopter talking to McAllister, the copter is show flying with the sun already set and the clouds are highlighted by the setting sun, but when you see McAllister the sun is still low in the sky, but not set. They switch back and forth between Helicopter and Rv yet two different sun locations more
Quotes:
Martin Riggs: You don't trust me at all, do you?
Roger Murtaugh: Well, I'll tell you what. You make it through tomorrow without killing anybody, especially me, or yourself, then I'll start trusting you.
Martin Riggs: Fair enough.
more
Movie Connections:
Featured in Lethal Weapon 4 (1998) more
Soundtrack:
Lethal Weapon more

FAQ

What type of sniper rifle is used by Riggs in the "limo shootout"?
more

User Comments

   (Comment on this title)
22 out of 27 people found the following comment useful.
This is the classic action film that introduces one of the best action duos ever to come to the big screen., 12 November 2000
9/10
Author: Michael DeZubiria (miked32@hotmail.com) from Luoyang, China

Lethal Weapon is a nearly perfectly structured action movie. The acting, the story, the script, the directing, even the IDEA of the movie all combine to make up a fascinating and thrill-packed police film. The cross-cutting at the beginning of the film was particularly effective, in my opinion, as Martin Riggs (Mel Gibson) and Roger Murtaugh (Danny Glover) are introduced. The startling difference between their separate lives provides for tons of fun to be had later in the movie. Roger starts his day off as the family man reluctantly celebrating his 50th birthday party with his numerous children and his loving wife in the big family house, while Riggs is shown waking up naked in his trashy trailer and beginning his day with a healthy breakfast of a cigarette and a beer.

The fact that both Roger and Riggs hated that they had to work together was especially effective in creating a touching atmosphere as they grew to be closer and closer friends. They worked so well together in this movie; it was a symbiotic relationship. It was almost like they fed off of each other, and kept each other in line and out of trouble. I also liked the way that they showed that Riggs was deeply angered when he learned that the bad guys had taken Murtaugh's daughter. Things like this, when done right, can really get you to sit up and really get into the movie, and it was definitely done right here. Riggs was also very amusing in his anxiousness about being a cop (`Why don't you let me go to sleep?' `No, come on, we gotta get up and catch bad guys!'), and Gary Busey delivers an excellent performance as the lead bad guy. This is the type of role that he plays best (see "Under Siege").

Although the violence was painfully present in some parts (the torture scenes were short but extremely difficult to watch), the film never relied on violence to pull it along or keep the audience's attention. The story was sufficient enough so that there was no overindulgence necessary in anything like that. In this film you see the first of the now traditional Lethal Weapon scenes in which Riggs and Murtaugh stagger away from a smoking crime scene, seeming to hold each other up. The final fight scene between Riggs and Mr. Joshua (Busey) was a little excessive, and there were a few scenes which were a bit faulty (how did the guy on the building ledge expect to kill himself when there was such a huge air bag inflated on the ground directly below him?), but overall this was a spectacular crime thriller. The movie rushes along at a feverish pace, and particularly Gibson's and Glover's success working together on screen make this a timeless action film that is not to be missed.

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Delete your post Lethal Weapon style! xerocliche
Riggs...man! leereed2009
How old is Riggs? CassyJane
Lethal Weapon Blu-ray spidervenom1992
Are all the Lethal Weapon films as humorous as the 4th one? Nikolaj_Costas9
Suicide Scene steviebhoy719
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