Cinematical

I was technically not allowed by my parents to see R-rated movies until I was seventeen. Luckily, I had friends whose parents weren't as concerned about maintaining the innocence of their children. My best friend had an enormous collection of the action extravaganzas I craved as a boy, and many a Saturday night was spent in the company of forbidden friends like John McClane, John Rambo, and John Connor (lotta Johns). And I'll never forget the night I met Sergeants Martin Riggs and Roger Murtaugh.

I knew right away Lethal Weapon was special when it opened with nudity! (Keep in mind, I was about eleven). It kicks off with a half-naked girl jumping to her death and just doesn't let up from there. Lethal Weapon didn't create the "buddy movie," but, for better or worse, it helped make the genre what it is today. Lethal more than earns its place alongside the glorious Midnight Run on a very short list of the eighties' finest blends of action, character, and comedy. It's been endlessly ripped off, (and did some minor ripping off of its own -- see William Friedkin's fantastic To Live and Die in LA, released two years earlier. Even Murtaugh's immortal line -- "I'm getting too old for this shit," was used there first), but, as is the case with all rip-offs, the heart and soul tend to get forgotten. Hell, the heart and soul were forgotten as the Lethal Weapon movies went along -- but I'll get to that later in the week.

If all you remember is the goofy, lovable Martin Riggs (Mel Gibson) from the Lethal sequels, watching the original might come as a bit of a shock. Remember, the "lethal weapon" that gives the movie its title is Riggs himself. As the film begins, Riggs is a depressed alcoholic, torn apart by the recent death of his wife. He truly doesn't care if he lives or dies, and he's even picked out the bullet he plans to end it all with. That suicidal outlook leads to a lot of the film's most highly charged confrontations, like the justly famous sequence in which Riggs talks a potential jumper down from a ledge -- by handcuffing himself to the man, throwing the key to the ground below, and jumping right along with him. It also leads to several pretty harrowing scenes, like the one where Riggs -- alone in his trailer -- stares at a picture of his deceased wife and bites down on a gun, tears streaming down his cheeks. It's scenes like these -- one jaw-dropping in its audacity, one jaw-dropping in its bare emotional intimacy -- that set this film apart.

And let's just pause for a moment and remember what a vital, thrilling screen presence Mel Gibson can be. These days, he's known more for his directing and his views on world religion, but my God, Gibson is electric in this thing. Acting rarely gets noticed in action pictures, but this is great, gutsy, vulnerable work; physically and emotionally powerful. If Gibson has a counterpart today, it would have to be Russell Crowe, but Crowe doesn't have one tenth of Gibson's charm.

And where would Gibson's "wild man" be without his rock? Doing excellent work in a far less showy role is Danny Glover, who unfortunately seems to have misplaced his talent these days (Anyone see Shooter? Did Glover know he was in it?). The movie simply wouldn't work without Glover, who is absolutely delightful in the scenes with his family, absolutely convincing and tough in his scenes as a cop. Seeing Glover's interaction with his wife and children gives his character -- and the film -- another dimension. The first time we see Murtaugh, it's at home in the tub on his birthday, not your standard action hero introduction (I did find it a little odd that that Murtaugh's entire family walks in on him while he's in a nearly bubble-less bath. I know all families are different, but in my house, we certainly didn't bring my father birthday wishes while his penis was visible).

Murtaugh's happy family dynamic and Riggs' angst over his dead wife are the sort of character details that can so easily elevate genre films, but few screenwriters take the time for them. When Murtaugh, wearing the world's largest pair of reading glasses, watches his friend's young daughter dance naked in an adult video, it's clear that he's thinking about how easily that could be his teenage daughter. Riggs has a heartbreaking moment when he picks up a young prostitute. He offers her a hundred bucks to come back to his place...to watch The Three Stooges with him, presumably like his wife used to. You'd be hard-pressed to find moments like these in most action movies. You'd be hard-pressed to find moments like these in future installments of this series. It's telling that the original was the only Lethal movie written by Shane Black (The Last Boy Scout, The Long Kiss Goodnight), an outrageously talented action screenwriter who doesn't work nearly enough and who really didn't get his critical due until his directorial debut -- the terrific Kiss Kiss Bang Bang. Lethal Weapon has a hell of a script, and director Richard Donner (The Goonies, Superman, Scrooged), a real pro, totally nails it and makes it shine.

You'll note I haven't even mentioned the plot, which is solid, but nothing groundbreaking -- the dead girl is the daughter of one of Murtaugh's shady Vietnam buddies, there's drug trafficking, etc. The villains are pretty token -- and fans of the current "biting the heads off midgets crazy" Gary Busey may be shocked by his reasonably subdued turn here as the chief bad guy, Mr. Joshua. A major highlight of the film is the wonderful climactic martial arts fight sequence between Riggs and Joshua on Murtaugh's front lawn. The action here always stems from reasonably believable circumstances, and that elevates the tension.

But what ultimately sticks with you is the relationship between Riggs and Murtaugh. The film reaches a supremely touching conclusion when Riggs stops by Murtaugh's house to drop off the bullet he was planning to use to kill himself. He doesn't need it anymore, and his friendship with Murtaugh is partially responsible. Taking away those suicidal tendencies sucked quite a bit of air from future Lethal movies (reviewed all week), but what an unexpectedly moving ending that decision gives this film. You'll note they don't shoehorn in a love interest for Riggs here -- he doesn't need one. He has Murtaugh.