Lethal Weapon 2
1989 Directed by Richard Donner
Synopsis
The magic is back!
In the opening chase, Martin Riggs and Roger Murtaugh stumble across a trunk full of Krugerrands. They follow the trail to a South African diplomat who's using his immunity to conceal a smuggling operation. When he plants a bomb under Murtaugh's toilet, the action explodes!
Cast
Studios
Popular reviews
More-
"Because you're blick!"
Lethal Weapon 2 is bordering on being an excellent sequel to the rather more serious original, in the end only falling short of the original by trying to pack in a bit too much and attempting to pull off an ill-advised effort at resolving why Riggs' wife was killed in a car smash before the previous film.
I think I am probably one of about seven people in the world who really did not mind Joe Pesci's entry into the series. OK, OK, OK, they probably overuse him somewhat and watching him terrifying everyone the year after this in Goodfellas made for something of a culture shock to say the least. He doesn't upset the chemistry of…
-
I wish when I did anything cool or dramatic some smooth sax shit would start playing.
-
Two rare things happened here. The first is that this is a sequel that might be better than the original. The second is that a bigger budget made that possible.
It's nearly universale for sequels to be a step down in quality from the original, but in this case, they took a page from the Alien franchise and took the time they didn't need for character development and put their big new budget into non-stop action. The whole movie moves pretty fast. The thing opens in the middle of car chase and it doesn't ever really let up.
When you add to that the addition of the ever-brilliant Joe Pesci in one of his most memorable roles, you end up…
-
Part of Dastardly Difficult December: film nr.36
Quick question.
How do you become a diplomat? I so want to be one and go to other countries and commit a variety of crimes all the while shouting: 'Diplomatic immunity!! Diplomatic immunity!!!' and totally get away with it.As for the film, I guess I'm getting too old for this shit.
-
With the characters already established, Lethal Weapon 2 hits the ground running and rarely lets up. While Riggs is much less of a loose-cannon this time around, it works with the lighter, jokier tone established in the first half of the movie.There are more action scenes and shootouts, and with Joe Pesci's Leo Getz added to the mix, Riggs and Murtaugh get a lot more chances for jokes. While Getz wears out his welcome rather quickly (the main reason this doesn't get 5 stars), the utter contempt I had for the South African bad guys in this movie more than makes up for it. Sometimes you just want 1-dimensional villains made of pure evil, and these guys more than fit the bill. It's ridiculously satisfying watching them die, and Danny Glover gets the best line of the series after dispatching one. Even with Leo Getz, this is one of the rare sequels that's better than its predecessor.
-
That irresistible chemistry between Mel Gibson and Danny Glover is still there from the last film and it's very strong. Just as entertaining and fun as the last film. I'd say it's even better than the first.
Recent reviews
More-
This review reportedly contains spoilers. I can handle the truth.
-
Okayokayokay, if it wasn't for the okayokayokay annoying Leo okayokayokay Getz, this okayokayokay sequel could easily get an okayokayokay greater rating.
-
"Because you're blick!"
Lethal Weapon 2 is bordering on being an excellent sequel to the rather more serious original, in the end only falling short of the original by trying to pack in a bit too much and attempting to pull off an ill-advised effort at resolving why Riggs' wife was killed in a car smash before the previous film.
I think I am probably one of about seven people in the world who really did not mind Joe Pesci's entry into the series. OK, OK, OK, they probably overuse him somewhat and watching him terrifying everyone the year after this in Goodfellas made for something of a culture shock to say the least. He doesn't upset the chemistry of…
-
Even better than the first!
And Danny Glover laughing makes my dick hard. He's one charming ass mofo. -
What was once irreverent and eccentric is now broad and borderline-misanthropic.
-
IRON MAN 3 definitely got me thinking about Shane Black's career, and upon rewatch (of a movie I've seen thousands of times since I was a kid), it seems now that this is perhaps the least "Shane Black" of his oeuvre . Apparently Black didn't want to write this but was eventually convinced ($?) to at least help develop the story, and it shows. Where LETHAL WEAPON was the movie to establish the buddy-cop, action flick, this is the movie to hyperbolize all of that into cliche. Everything is pushed over the edge in some sort of blockbuster experiment that says everything about commercial exploitation. The connective threads make little to no sense, ultimately adding up to a collage of…
-
a very lazy film and the buddy cop movie.
-
"Diplomatic immunity!"
Possibly just edges the first for both comedy and action, aided by the fact that the dynamic is already established and so it can launch straight in.
The script is pacier, the banter slicker and Riggs' character just that bit toned down. The scenarios dart between being both more amusing and also managing to raise the emotional stakes.
It does slightly suffer from an egregious use of foreshadowing in the set-up though. Oh, a nail gun, how does that work? Oh, Riggs, you're able to escape straitjackets? Oh, your lair is built on stilts is it?
Can't see any of those things being of use later in the film...
-
Surprised that the sequel was better than the first one! There's something about killing Nazis—or in this case something really close to Nazis where they abandon the distinction halfway through—that makes you feel not only innocent, but good about yourself.