Lethal Weapon 2 (1989)

User Rating:

7.0/10   

Director:

Richard Donner

Writers (WGA):

Shane Black (characters)
Shane Black (story) ...

Release Date:

7 July 1989 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Comedy | Crime | Thriller

Tagline:

The magic is back!

Plot:

Riggs and Murtaugh are on the trail of South African diplomats who are using their immunity to engage in criminal activities.

Plot Keywords:

Police | Car | Consulate | Chase | Police Officer

Awards:

Nominated for Oscar. Another 1 win

US TV Schedule:

Sun. July 5

4:00 PM

TNT

Cast

Mel Gibson	...	Martin Riggs
Danny Glover	...	Sergeant Roger Murtaugh
Joe Pesci	...	Leo Getz
Joss Ackland	...	Arjen Rudd
Derrick O'Connor	...	Pieter Vorstedt
Patsy Kensit	...	Rika van den Haas
Darlene Love	...	Trish Murtaugh
Traci Wolfe	...	Rianne Murtaugh
Steve Kahan	...	Captain Ed Murphy
Mark Rolston	...	Hans
Jenette Goldstein	...	Officer Meagan Shapiro
Dean Norris	...	Tim Cavanaugh
Juney Smith	...	Tom Wyler
Nestor Serrano	...	Eddie Estaban
Philip Suriano	...	Joseph Ragucci

Runtime:

114 min | Germany:108 min (cut version) | USA:118 min (director's cut)

Country:

USA

Language:

Afrikaans | English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Sound Mix:

70 mm 6-Track (70 mm prints) | Dolby (35 mm prints)

Certification:

USA:R (certificate #29848) | Brazil:16 | Iceland:16 | Finland:K-15 (director's cut) | New Zealand:M | South Korea:15 | Argentina:16 | Australia:M | Canada:13+ (Quebec) | Canada:18A | Chile:18 | Finland:K-16 | France:U | Ireland:18 | Netherlands:12 | Norway:18 | Singapore:M18 | South Korea:18 (director's cut) | Sweden:15 | UK:15 (original rating) (cut) | UK:18 (video rating) (cut) | USA:Unrated (director's cut) | West Germany:16 | West Germany:18 (director's cut) | Thailand:R-14

Filming Locations:

2nd Street Tunnel, Downtown, Los Angeles, California, USA

Company:

Silver Pictures

Trivia:

The films' writer, Shane Black, walked away from this sequel after he decided to kill off the character of Martin Riggs. Warner Brothers disagreed with that decision, and he left the project.

Goofs:

Continuity: While seated on the toilet, Murtaugh is wearing an explosion-proof jacket that disappears briefly while he is getting instructions from the bomb squad leader.

Quotes:

[after the envoys states that Murtaugh can't go to South Africa because he's black]
Roger Murtaugh: Of course I'm black. That's why I want to go to South Africa.
Roger Murtaugh: [louder and more militant] To join my oppressed brothers as they take up the struggle against this racist, fascist, White Minority Regime!
Leo Getz: Racist White Regime!
Roger Murtaugh: One man, one vote!
Leo Getz: One man, one vote!
Roger Murtaugh: [Loudly] Free South Africa you dumb son of a bitch!
Leo Getz: You dumb son of a bitch!
Consulate Envoy: That's quite enough! Get out!
[Security tries to remove Getz and Murtaugh, resuting in a full scale riot inside and outside the Consulate]

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Family Guy: Lois Kills Stewie (#6.5)" (2007)

Soundtrack:

This I Swear

God, I love this job!

First of all this movie is almost as good as the original. It retains all of the elements that made the first film so darn entertaining and adds some new elements.

As all actors from the first movie appear in the second one as well its pretty clear what you can expect acting wise and surprise, surprise: The acting is still stellar, close to perfection. Mel Gibson is always good and in the second installment of the series he gets to be a little more wild and add even more nuances to the character. For example we get to see Riggs hit on women which adds an entire new side to him as the side we saw in the first film was of him mourning. Also we find out how his wife dies in a beautifully underacted scene (if you want to know how she dies you'll have to see the movie). Danny Glover returns as well and he plays the character pretty much as he did in the first film which is good because the character he plays is the one who is not supposed to change. He is meant to be square and combined with the character of Riggs this becomes highly entertaining. However, a new element is put into the mix to make it even more entertaining, Leo Getz, played beautifully by Joe Pesci and is to this day still one of his most memorable characters. He is funny and fast talking but most importantly: he is a crook and when you put him together with Riggs and Murtaugh the mix becomes explosive. The main villains are played by Joss Ackland and Derrick O'Connor and they are also good and a bit more developed than the villains of the first movie obviously because they had to focus more on the relationship between Riggs and Murtaugh in the first movie. Riggs' love interest is played Patsy Kensit and she is good if a bit underdeveloped.

The story is excellent and is almost better than the story in the first one. It is entertaining and funny and best of all the incredible chemistry between Mel Gibson and Danny Glover is maintained and is almost as good as it was in the first movie. Furthermore the addition of Joe Pesci was a very nice touch because he immediately makes the scenes with him, Gibson and Glover even more interesting and entertaining. The plot with the villains is kept relatively simple like in the first film, which is good because the goal for the film is entertainment not to be thought provoking.

The action of the film is kept in the same style as in the first movie and it is still both exhilarating and entertaining. The effects are still relatively realistic and this of course gives the movie a level of credibility that is sorely needed in many modern action movies.

All in all a worthy sequel and an excellent film on its own.

8/10