Lethal Weapon 2

Today I am going to look at “Lethal Weapon 2,” the 1989 sequel to the highly successful and great “Lethal Weapon.” This film had been a box office hit, critically acclaimed, made even more money on home video, and became a classic. Shane Black returned, as did Richard Donner, Mel Gibson, and Danny Glover. All of them wanted to have a sequel, so Shane Black came back and wrote a story that involved the African American villains and furthered Riggs’ character. It was dark and action packed, and then Richard Donner came back as director, as well as co-producer, which he also was on the first film. Joel Silver came back as producer, and both of them were involved a lot with the writing. Although they stayed true to the idea of Black’s script, they had Jeffrey Boam as co-storywriter and screenwriter. He made really good changes to the script adding an anti-apartheid theme, and further deepening the characters. This made for an even better script but caused Black to leave the series. Jeffrey Boam is a great writer who co-screen wrote “Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade” as well as “The Lost Boys." Richard Donner was again a detailed director on the camera work, special visual effects, and the acting, although he again sometimes allowed for in-character improvisation, and Joe Pesci was added to the cast. Also, Michael Kamen came back as the music composer, and this time the film got a 25 million dollar budget. Now that might sound like the recipe for a great sequel, and it is.

“Lethal Weapon 2” has an original story centering on the gold trade and money involved in the drug business, as well as having to take down crime bosses with diplomatic immunity. People say the plot would be thin, but it isn’t. They have to discover where their base is, Riggs loses his love interest, they have to take down their home, Leo Getz gives them clues as to where to find the dealers, and he gets kidnapped. It is a thick and clever plot, and again we delve even deeper into the characters, seeing Riggs being happier and romantic, and finding a new loved one and losing her, but this time being proactive and constructive, and bonding further with Murtaugh. Murtaugh is shown as more supportive, humorous and relaxed, and Gibson and Glover are both great in their roles. Leo Getz is a great new character who is greedy and spoiled but not mean, and even helpful and supportive, becomes a new member of the family, and Joe Pesci adds very funny humor to him. The villain, Arjen Rudd (played by Joss Ackland) is very pompous, but also sadistic, and overconfident, as well as funny and menacing, and Pieter (played by Derrick O’Connor) is really intimidating and loyal. Rika, played by Patsy Kensit, is a great love interest. She is loyal, funny, but a bit insecure and vulnerable, but happy and playful. She is a more typical vulnerable woman, but what is actually refreshing in these films.

The film explores the theme of friendship, showing that even when we are stressed and angry, like Riggs, our friends can help us pull through, which we see when Murtaugh helps him take down the criminals, and that friends are more important than stuff. Leo finds more meaning in them, and it also shows we should always move forward with life, even when we lose our loved ones, and feel as though we cannot win. We can always move on, as we will still have some family, as Riggs finds in Murtaugh, and we can find that just being angry can help, if we don`t let it destroy us, as Riggs takes down the drug dealers. Due to dislocating his shoulder, he lives, and Riggs helps Murtaugh survive, showing true friendship goes both ways. They show that Apartheid is wrong, as often when you perceive yourself as better, you are actually evil for what you do, like selling drugs.

This film again had really deep dialogue, and also it is what the first film had as well, but I didn`t mention great humor, funny lines, scenarios, and slapstick. This can be seen in the part where Murtaugh wants to emigrate to South Africa, or where Riggs dislocates his shoulder, and these further the story and characters. The film also again had a dark tone, but combines it nicely with lighter moments. It has even better action, with more explosion and crashes, more detailed special visual effects, and emotional direction, music, and detailed exotic set-design, all which further the story, characterization, and themes. This a fantastic sequel! It really furthered the characters, like with Riggs growing further, as well as him gaining a new friend and love interest, yet it had a lot of the humor, action, as well as grittiness from the first film. It also had great continuity, with it building on Riggs and Murtaugh’s character, and including Murtaugh’s family.

So overall this is a great sequel, and gets a 10, it was an even bigger box office hit, and enlarged the Lethal Weapons fan base. It did great on home video as well, and it got great critical reviews, although not as good as the original, which is wrong as this film rocks, but I am glad as it mostly got its deserved praise, so go see it.

Also, make sure to check out reviewreviewer1's YouTube channel, as he again helped with this blog, and stay tuned for this Friday, where I look at "Lethal Weapon 3." That's right, special treat (since last week I did all the Superman films), this week I will review 2 Lethal Weapon movies.