Popcorn Favorites 10.24.02: Lethal Weapon Posted by Chris Williams on 10.24.2002
I'm too old for this shit!
You're not trying to draw a psycho pension! You really are crazy! -Roger Murtaugh
Geeze, people can be so damn touchy!
Last week, I listed a top five list of "teen movies", and boy, was that a mistake! I realize St. Elmo's Fire was about adults, but like I said, it's basically Breakfast Club 2 with different characters that are older than the originals. I do see the argument, though, and we'll leave it a stalemate.
Unfortunately, I can't do that with the other mistake. Some were courteous in pointing out the error of my ways, while others were so outraged that you would think I had Kane'd Mother Theresa! How dare I forgot Ferris Bueller's Day Off! The truth is, I had never seen the movie until I bought it in late 2000, and even then, it took me a few months before I actually watched it. I love the movie, don't get me wrong, but I've seen all the other movies on the list (except for Not Another Teen Movie) roughly ten times apiece, so they stick in my mind a little better. So I apologize, and I promise, it'll never happen again!
Other films readers suggested were Stand By Me (Never seen it), Risky Business (Not that great, in my opinion), and the other three John Hughes classics (Pretty In Pink, Sixteen Candles, Weird Science), all of which I liked, but not enough to make the list.
Thanks to those of you who wrote in with feedback, especially the hot chick who does a trick with ice and her tounge that you wouldn't believe!
Anyways, let's go ahead and dim the lights and get this private screening started. And to the guy behind me...get your feet off my seat, asshole!
The Previews
When I was younger, no film genre got me more emotional than action. I used to come out of the theater after seeing the latest Van Damme or Schwarzenegger movie ready to take on the world! These days I'm more likely to be found weeping like a sissy at the "Prom Breakup" episode of Saved By The Bell, but that's besides the point. Action movies appeal to our primal nature, giving us a release from the stressful situations of our day-to-day lives that we're not allowed to solve with M16's and car chases.
These movies are, for the most part, incredibly unrealistic and have plots holes big enough to cause a vacuum, but that's half the fun. We don't care that the hero(es) are facing a force of people big enough to form their own army, nor do we care that supposedly highly-skilled professionals can't seem to ever hit their targets while shooting. We trade in our disbelief for two hours of high-octane entertainment, a deal that we definitely get the better of.
If there's anything I could say to filmmakers as it pertains to this genre, it would be this: Just because The Matrix was successful doesn't mean that you have to borrow from it in at least one scene of every action movie. I say this only because I'm still very much jaded at the script review I read for the new Superman movie. That's just one of the many Matrix-like sequences that's out there in the film world today, and dammit, that's one too many in my opinion!
The Feature Presentation
Along with my ability to sing the alphabet backwards without error, the fact that I can recite every single line of dialouge from Lethal Weapon is a testament to how much time I have on my hands. I can't help it, though; aside from Major League and Varsity Blues, there's no movie I've seen more times than this one. I was hooked from the very first time I saw it, and its greatness has never diminished over the years.
The film is centered around two characters: Martin Riggs (Mel Gibson) and Roger Murtaugh (Danny Glover). Riggs is a burnt-out cop that is considered to be an alcoholic, not to mention completely out of his mind. Murtaugh is a family man on the verge of retirement from the force, and he wants nothing more than to retire in one piece. Unfortunately for him, he's teamed with Riggs to stop a heroin ring that's running wild on L.A. Needless to say, all hell breaks loose, and the action never stops.
One of the many things that makes this movie so great is the never-ending contrasts you can find. Black&white, sane&insane, rich&poor, the stuff never ends in Lethal Weapon. There are several dark moments throughout the show, but they are evenly balanced with scenes full of humor and camaraderie. Director Richard Donner has a knack for taking his viewers on an emotional rollercoaster, and his most tried and trued way is to take us from scenes of despair, like Riggs' intense near-suicide, to scenes of excitement and laughter, like our first visit to the Murtaugh household.
The other main contributing factor to the success of this film (and it's sequels) is the chemistry between Gibson and Glover. From the moment they first meet, you just know that something special is going on, as Riggs displays a goofy grin while Roger demurs that he's "too old for this shit." The characters themselves are perfectly scripted to play off of each other in each scene, but I doubt that any other combination could pull it off as well as Mel and Danny do. They became close friends during filming, and it shows throughout the series. They seem like two kids up to no good, having the time of their lives and getting paid for it to boot.
Much can be said for the casting of supporting characters as well. I'm not much of a Gary Busey fan, but he's chilling in his role as Mr. Joshua, an ex-Special Forces soldier who served with Riggs in the Vietnam War. His superior in the film is General Peter McAllister, portrayed by Mitchell Ryan, who is as solid as ever in his career. The actors and actresses that make up Murtaugh's family haven't done much work outside of the series, but play their limited roles well here. The only two other characters of note (Captain Ed Murphy and psychiatrist Stephanie Woods) don't really develop until the sequels, but they are definitely favorites to fans of the franchise.
The action sequences in Lethal Weapon and it's sequels are as unrealistic as any film, but they are always exciting to watch. Explosions are the calling card of the series, whether it be a building, a car, or even a toilet! Combining that with exciting car chases, gunfights, and leaps off the top of buildings with suicidal businessmen, you have a very intense, yet often comical, series of mishaps and adventures with the two main characters.
In the end, this film pretty much defined the "buddy-cop" genre of action movies. The franchise itself has been highly successful in each of its outings, although the third entry was without a doubt the least well-received one. The possibility of a fifth outing is not out of the question, although Danny Glover has stated that he's not interested in coming back. Of course, Mel Gibson said that after Lethal Weapon 3, and we all saw how that turned out. There is talk that if Glover does not come back, they'll just pair Gibson up with Chris Rock's character, Lee Butters, who was introduced in LW4. I like the character and all, but there's no way that the film is anywhere near as entertaining without the Riggs&Murtaugh duo.
The Credits
Just a few bits of trivia from the Lethal Weapon series...
-Originally supposed to be just one film, and even had a completely different ending that has Riggs and Murtaugh go their seperate ways. Even before they knew a sequel was going to be made, Donner&Co. decided that the chemistry was too good between the characters, and filmed the ending we all know.
-The house that is firebombed in LW1 was the house used for The Patridge Family.
-The first film is dedicated the memory of Dar Robinson, a legendary stuntman who died shortly after principal photography was finished.
-In LW2, Rika Van Den Haas (Patsy Kensit) was scripted to survive, and the scene was even filmed, but it was later decided to kill her off in order to make Gibson's character more insane.
-There was a script floating around by the title of "Simon Says" that was being considered for use in LW3. They used a different one instead, and the "Simon Says" script eventually turned into Die Hard: With A Vegence.
-The character played by Jet Li in LW4 was originally to be played by Jackie Chan, who declined the role due to his not wanting to play a villain in a movie.
As usual, here's a top five list of my favorite films in this genre, really in no particular order. Hopefully it'll turn out a little better than last week.
5)Loaded Weapon 1-A great parody of the genre, largely based on Lethal Weapon, but it manages to poke fun at other films as well. Keep your eyes peeled for a hilarious Bruce Willis cameo.
4)Rush Hour-Chris Tucker is pretty hit and miss with me, but I loved him in this film. This was my formal introduction to Jackie Chan as well, so that's always a plus. Several memorable quotes, followed up by a so-so sequel.
3)Die Hard: With A Vegence-I know, Samuel L. Jackson isn't a cop in this film, and is only in the third film of the series, but this movie is great! The chemistry between these two is only rivaled by Gibson&Glover, evidenced by the fact that they have starred in three different films together!
2)Beverly Hills Cop: Not so much a buddy-cop film as it is Eddie Murphy and friends, but Judge Reinhold is great as Billy Rosewood, plus the soundtrack kicks ass, and Axel's laugh RULES IT BABY!
1)K-9-For whatever reason, this film always gets overlooked in favor of the infinitely suckier Turner&Hooch. It's sad that Jim Belushi has always been in the shadow of his famous brother, because he's had a lot of fantastic films, including this one. RIP Jerry Lee!
And that's that! Although Jesse Baker has already chimed in with a fantastic review of Creepers, I'm going to do one better and review the SCARIEST MOVIE OF ALL TIME!! A film so terrifying that it basically typecast everyone involved and pretty much ended the careers of two promising young actors. What could this film possibly be? Allow me to leave you a quote that will surely only add to your horror!
"Maggots, Michael. You're eating maggots. How do they taste?"
