Lethal Weapon 2 (1989)

Such a frustrating disappointment

Pretty Good

Perfect cast and a good story

Great story, amazing characters, superb action, enthralling cinematography. Yes, this is something I am glad I spent money on.

After the success of the original 'Lethal Weapon' a sequel was only to be expected. This story sees partners Riggs and Murtaugh investigating drug gang they discover is operating out of the South African consulate in Los Angeles. These are particularly dangerous criminals who are hiding behind their diplomatic immunity… of course that won't stop our protagonists; especially after Riggs learns that they were responsible for the death of his wife four years previously. If that weren't enough our duo have been tasked with babysitting Leo Getz, a federal witness who had previously laundered money for the South Africans.Having really enjoyed 'Lethal Weapon' I looked forward to the sequel but when I watched it I was somewhat disappointed; instead of being an action film with a degree of comedy the level of comedy is cranked up to a silly level… although I did like the running gag about Murtaugh's car taking more and more damage. The politics of having racist South Africans as the villains was about as subtle as a kick in the head meaning they felt like pantomime villains rather than truly menacing… some poor South African accents didn't exactly help. So much for the problems; on the plus side there are some great moments too; it opens with an impressive car chase and later includes shoot-outs, explosions and even a couple of villains getting dispatched with a nail gun. Mel Gibson and Danny Glover have a good chemistry as Riggs and Murtaugh and Joe Pesci provides plenty of laughs as Leo Getz. The romantic subplot involving Riggs and a South African secretary, played by Patsy Kensit, was a bit unnecessary and ended in a most ridiculous manner when Riggs takes her home after they are nearly killed at his place… he might as well have killed her himself! Overall this is by no means a bad film but it was disappointing after the excellent opening instalment in the franchise.

These are our bodies. Life is the parade of bodies before your eyes, and death is merely the place where all those bodies go. Death is a bank, no withdraws, deposit only. What is the value of the totality of all our struggles? What is the value of our individual struggles? The best of all the Lethal Weapon movies, but all that that means is a formula worked well once and has since then been less and less effective. This movie has action sequences, and comedy! This movie was made in the 1980's, 1989, but still, its an Eighties movie! Nostalgia is poison gas that is gingerbread scented, breathe deep! Yes, Lethal Weapon 2 has nudity, yes the bad guys die at the end.

Released in 1989, "Lethal Weapon 2" stars Mel Gibson and Danny Glover as L.A. cop team, Martin Riggs and Roger Murtaugh. In this sequel they team up with a witness (Joe Pesci) to take down big-league South African drug dealers who have diplomatic immunity. In the meantime Riggs romances an employee of the consulate (Patsy Kensit). Jenette Goldstein is on hand as a fellow cop.I wasn't impressed by the first 30-40 minutes, but the three main characters drew me in from there with their warm camaraderie mixed with a bit o' comedy. Like the original, this is an over-the-top, cartoony cop thriller with ludicrous James Bond-isms. You have to accept the outrageousness in order to enjoy it, just as you do with the Bond flicks and similar cop thrillers, like 1977's "The Gauntlet," although the latter's superior IMHO, as are the Dirty Harry films. While some aspects are predictable, there are a couple original and impressive parts, like the toilet sequence and the money-explosion scene. The film also scores pretty well on the babe front with Kensit and Goldstein, plus a couple others. Anyway, I marginally prefer this one to the original.The film runs 118 minutes (Director's Cut) and was shot in the greater Los Angeles area.GRADE: B

This didn't live up to the awesomeness of the first film for me but it was still a hell of a ride. Unfortunately there's so many big action scenes here that it loses a bit of its charm, heading into over-the-top territory. Joe Pesci's character didn't help either, and I found his interaction, as the third wheel with Riggs and Murtaugh extremely annoying. Thankfully the plot moves along at a supercharged rate and he gets overshadowed.Still this is better than a lot of sequels, as LA detective Riggs (Mel Gibson) and Murtaugh (Danny Glover) reprise their roles and chemistry this time battling a vicious South African drug cartel.I also enjoyed the quieter side here and seeing how Martin's relationship (and mental status) had progressed, in particular in his scenes with Rogers wife and family. Sadly he has bad luck in love again and a sore shoulder. 07.13