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| LETHAL WEAPON (1987) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| MORGAN'S RATING | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Martin Riggs is no ordinary cop. He's a Mad Max gone maniacal, a man whose killing expertise and suicidal recklessness make him a Lethal Weapon to anyone he works against. Or with. Roger Murtaugh is an easy-going homicide detective with a loving family and a pension he doesn't want to lose. Imagine Murtaugh's shock when he learns his new partner is a guy with nothing left to lose: wild-eyed, burnt-out Martin Riggs. Lethal Weapon is the thrill-packed story of two Vietnam-vets-turned-cops who have just one other thing in common: both hate to work with partners. But their partnership becomes the key to survival when a routine murder investigation leads to all-out, take-no-prisoners, martial-arts-and-machine-guns war with an international heroin ring. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Mel Gibson (Martin Riggs), Danny Glover (Roger Murtaugh), Gary Busey (Mr. Joshua), Mitch Ryan (General Peter Mc Allister), Tom Atkins (Michael Hunsaker), Darlene Love (Trish Murtaugh), Traci Wolf (Rianne Murtaugh), Jackie Swanson (Amanda Hunsaker), Damon Hines (Nick Murtaugh), Ebonie Smith (Carrie Murtaugh), Bill Kalmenson (Beat Cop), Lycia Naff (Dixie), Jimmie F. Skaggs (Drug Dealer), Blackie Dammett (Drug Dealer), Mary Ellen Trainor (Police Psychiatrist Dr. Stephanie Woods), Steve Kahan (Capt. Ed Murphy), Jack Thibeau (McCaskey), Ed O'Ross (Mendez), Sven-Ole Thorsen (Mercenary), Al Leong (Endo). | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| TWO COPS. GLOVER CARRIES A WEAPON... GIBSON IS ONE. HE'S THE ONLY L.A. COP REGISTERED AS A LETHAL WEAPON | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
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PRODUCTION INFORMATION | |||||||||||||||||||||||
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| DIRECTOR: Richard Donner (Assassins). | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| WRITER: Shane Black. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| PRODUCERS: Joel Silver and Richard Donner. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| ASSOCIATE PRODUCER: Jennie Lew Tugend. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| ORIGINAL MUSIC: Eric Clapton and Michael Kamen. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| DISTRIBUTOR: Warner Bros. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| QUOTES | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Riggs: You want me to drive? Murtaugh: No, you're supposed to be suicidal, remember? I'll drive. Riggs: Anybody who drives around in this town is suicidal. |
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| Riggs: We both know why I was transferred. Everyone thinks I'm suicidal, in which case, I'm fucked and nobody wants to work with me; or they think I'm faking to draw a psycho pension, in which case, I'm fucked and nobody wants to work with me. Basically, I'm fucked. Murtaugh: Guess what? Riggs: What? Murtaugh: I don't want to work with you! Riggs: Hey, don't. Murtaugh: Ain't got no choice! Looks like we both are fucked. Riggs: Terrific. Murtaugh: God hates me. That's what it is. Riggs: Hate him back: it works for me. |
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| FACTS | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| RELEASE DATE: March 6th, 1987 (USA) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| BOX OFFICE RESULT: $65.1 million (USA) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| SHOOTING DATES: August 1986 -- November 1986 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| - Stuntman Dar Robinson died in a moterbike accident while filming the movie. The movie is dedicated to him. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| - An anti-apartheid bumper sticker is displayed on the refigerator in the Murtaugh's home. The sequel focuses on a group of South African bad guys. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| - Director Franco Zeferelli reportedly decided to offer Gibson the role of Hamlet after seeing his suicide contemplation scene in this film. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Riggs: Well, what do you wanna hear, man?! Do you wanna hear that sometimes I think about eatin' a bullet?! Huh? Well, I do! I even got a special bullet for the occasion with a hollow point, look! Make sure it blows the back of my goddamned head out and do the job right! Every single day I wake up and I think of a reason not to do it! Every single day! You know why I don't do it?! This is gonna make your laugh! You know why I don't do it?! The job! Doin' the job! Now that's the reason! | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| - Nominated for one Academy Award for Best Sound. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| - Followed by three even bigger sequels: Lethal Weapon 2, Lethal Weapon 3 and Lethal Weapon 4. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| CRITICAL COMMENTS | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| "This movie thrilled me from beginning to end." -- Roger Ebert | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Riggs: This is a real badge, I'm a real cop, and this is a real fucking gun! | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| "Loud, violent, trashy cop movie done to a turn; fast paced and entertaining so long as you don't think about it too much." -- Leonard Maltin | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Riggs: I don't make things difficult. That's the way they get, all by themselves. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| "One of the best, most exciting police action thrillers since The French Connection." -- Jeffrey Lyons, Sneak Previews/INN | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Murtaugh: I'm too old for this shit! | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Murtaugh: Have you ever met anybody you didn't kill? Riggs: Well, I haven't killed you yet. |
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| "Lethal Weapon is a vivid, visceral reminder of just how exciting an action film can be." -- Richard Harrington, Washington Post | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
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