Richard Donner and Shane Black made movie magic
1987 was a real watershed year for action cinema. A year before he would redefine the action star with a little movie called Die Hard, John McTiernan released Predator – still regarded as one of superstar Arnold Schwarzenegger’s best films – with a supporting character played by a young screenwriter named Shane Black. And while he didn’t boast a ton of screen time, by the time his jokes about large female reproductive organs were reaching audiences, Black had become one of the hottest up-and-comers in Hollywood because of a different movie that released three months earlier.
Richard Donner’s Lethal Weapon.
There were movies in the “buddy cop” action genre before Lethal Weapon, but there’s a clear line of demarcation between those, and the ones that came after. Much the same way John Carpenter codified the slasher with Halloween, the alchemy of Shane Black’s neo-noir script, Donner’s command of visual language and tone, and the blistering chemistry between stars Mel Gibson and Danny Glover, Lethal Weapon became a template that action movies have been chasing for nearly 40 years.
The film’s story is a prime example of Black’s fascination with “knights in tarnished armor,” pairing loving family man and straight-laced police sergeant Roger Murtaugh (Glover) with wild card Martin Riggs (Gibson), a narcotics cop whose grief at the loss of his wife has manifested in suicidal behavior and explosive violence. That’s a hell of a 50th birthday present for Murtaugh (he’s too old for this shit), but when the daughter of an old army buddy is murdered, both sergeants find themselves up to their necks in a web of corruption and hunted by special forces mercenaries, and wouldn’t you know it? They’re gonna have to work together despite their differences and bring out the best of each other to survive.
Yeah, they’re not wild about it at first.
While this film is a proven quality, that cliche elicits a wince for a reason – there’s an important balance to the “bickering partners” (be they romantic or otherwise) that you need to strike for the dynamic to be exciting rather than tiring or shrill. Riggs and Murtaugh work together because there’s a miniature 3-act play in the first act of the movie where they meet, air out all their shit to each other, and bond over Riggs saving Murtaugh’s life so that they’re having dinner at Roger’s house before the 45 minute mark. It keeps the relationship an evolving thing throughout the film, but it establishes it and invests the audience in the stakes of it as it pushes the partners through their mystery. Black’s snappy writing and the actors’ natural patter create a situation where each conversation is as much a set piece as the next shootout or explosion, but Donner’s direction is what really puts things over.
Richard Donner was no stranger to big productions (having infamously helmed 1/2 of the gargantuan two-part Superman adaptation that the Salkinds hired him on for, and delivering a pop culture touchstone with 1978’s Superman: The Movie), but there’s a bullish energy combined with clean confidence to his direction here. Donner handily steps up to plate to handle the run and gun action of police detectives having shootouts and car chases with mercenaries, and teaming with cinematographer Stephen Goldblatt let them create a hyper-real version of L.A.’s sun-baked days and neon-soaked nights for the cast to live in. The frame captures a version of the 1980s with room for the seedy bars and desert vistas out of a ’40s gangster or western serial as well as the holiday warmth of the Murtaugh family home. Donner employs snappy editing when needed, but also positively luxuriates in “Spielberg oners” where his camera with glide around actors for an entire short scene without cutting.
Going back to this after the bombastic mayhem of filmmakers like Michael Bay and the rise of the digital blockbuster era, Lethal Weapon remains a rollicking action thriller on a refreshingly intimate scale. The tactile grace of Donner’s filmmaking and Black’s crackling script hold up so well that the only elements that feel at all dated are the occasional moments of casual racism, sexism, and/or homophobia. While the franchise went in a decidedly sillier direction later, this film’s laser focus on the aching pathos behind the characters’ fun banter assures its place in the canon of action cinema.
(I’ll cover Theatrical vs. Director’s Cuts in Bonus Content, but the short answer is there’s no wrong way to watch this classic.)
Presentation:
This is the first time Lethal Weapon has been remastered in 4K Ultra HD for a home video release. Warner Bros. may not have a spotless record when it comes to their 4K releases (the North Remembers Fury Road), this release is a genuinely gorgeous transfer. Color saturation is beautiful but never garish, and detail is sharp against gorgeous blacks while never getting washed out in bright daylight scenes. There’s no over-scrubbing of grain to be found, resulting in a texture and level of detail that would make for demo-disc material if not for the lack of Dolby Vision.
In spite of that, I’m a big fan of the balance of grounded realism and heightened (often literally) pulp achieved here visually. I’m just going to let a few of these grabs speak for themselves.
Donner’s helicopter photography rival’s even Cameron’s at times, imo. I mean, damn.
This release includes a new Dolby Atmos remix audio track for both Theatrical and the Directors’ Cuts, as well as a DTS HD original 2.0 track for the Theatrical cut only. The Atmos mix is a little beefier with added directionality at times, but the 2.0 track still works as the definitive mix.
Both the Theatrical and the Director’s Cuts are presented in their original 1:85:1 widescreen aspect ratio.
Bonus Content:
Theatrical vs. Director’s Cut
Interestingly enough, Lethal Weapon was one of the early examples of a “legacy” franchise getting Director’s Cuts widely released. The first three entries all had VHS releases with previously deleted footage, before their DVD releases did the same, and it’s always been an enticing additive rather than a necessity. However, its inclusion here is more than welcome for longtime fans.
The extended version of the film is only 7 minutes longer than the original’s svelte 110, and is functionally similar to the Special Edition of Aliens. The theatrical versions of both films are machines of pacing, but the extra beats here and there make for an enriching repeat viewing.
Two of the scenes rhyme with theatrical counterparts, like Murtaugh going to the shooting range to reassure himself of his skills (and setting up the Neck Pop Quickdraw, making its use in the finale a rather clever rule of three), or Riggs taking down a school shooter in a near-suicidal confrontation.
I personally prefer the schoolyard showdown to its theatrical counterpart where Riggs takes down a cocaine ring in a Christmas tree sales lot, as it shows Riggs’ reckless nature stemming in part from a genuine desire to help the vulnerable.
There’s also a scene that walks a razor’s edge between creepy and sweet when Riggs picks up a working girl, but only so he can pay her $100 to watch “The Three Stooges” with him.
Look, there was a lot of cocaine in the ’80s.
Specifications:
Disc – 4K UHD Bluray
Theatrical Cut of the Film (110 minutes)
Director’s Cut of the Film (117 minutes)
- A Legacy of Inspiration: Remembering Dick Donner (7 minutes) – new retrospective with cast and crew about late director Richard Donner (1930 – 2021)
- “I’m Too Old For This…” A Chemistry That Became Iconic (6 minutes) – new retrospective with cast and crew on the chemistry between Mel Gibson and Danny Glover
- Dolby Atmos remix audio track
- Dolby HD 7.1 audio track
- DTS HD Master Audio 2.0 stereo track (Theatrical Cut only)
- Optional subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing
On the whole, the special features on this release are fairly disappointing, lacking even the ported-over bonus features from the 2012 Blu-ray box set release. It’s a worthy audio/visual upgrade, but it’s also worth wondering how long it’ll take them to get the other three films out for a collection if you’ve already got the previous franchise set.
Lethal Weapon is available now on 4K UHD from Warner Bros. Home Video.
