Lethal Weapon 2 (1989)
Riggs and Murtaugh are on the trail of South African diplomats using their immunity to engage in criminal activities.
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Lethal Weapon 2 doesn't repeat the same things that the Original did and that's a good thing and just imagine if Richard Donner continued to make Superman Movies the 3rd and 4th film would be so so much better. We also meet Leo in this film who is hilarious we also get a new love story for Mel Gibson's Riggs but it ends pretty quickly. The fun is there, the action is there and everything is there the most memorable scene for me is when Glover is sitting on the toilet and they try to get him out there and Riggs comes and the house explodes and that was funny as hell. The great direction and the great characters still keep the series alive for the 2nd time.
These are our bodies. Life is the parade of bodies before your eyes, and death is merely the place where all those bodies go. Death is a bank, no withdraws, deposit only. What is the value of the totality of all our struggles? What is the value of our individual struggles? The best of all the Lethal Weapon movies, but all that that means is a formula worked well once and has since then been less and less effective. This movie has action sequences, and comedy! This movie was made in the 1980's, 1989, but still, its an Eighties movie! Nostalgia is poison gas that is gingerbread scented, breathe deep! Yes, Lethal Weapon 2 has nudity, yes the bad guys die at the end.
Released in 1989, "Lethal Weapon 2" stars Mel Gibson and Danny Glover as L.A. cop team, Martin Riggs and Roger Murtaugh. In this sequel they team up with a witness (Joe Pesci) to take down big-league South African drug dealers who have diplomatic immunity. In the meantime Riggs romances an employee of the consulate (Patsy Kensit). Jenette Goldstein is on hand as a fellow cop.I wasn't impressed by the first 30-40 minutes, but the three main characters drew me in from there with their warm camaraderie mixed with a bit o' comedy. Like the original, this is an over-the-top, cartoony cop thriller with ludicrous James Bond-isms. You have to accept the outrageousness in order to enjoy it, just as you do with the Bond flicks and similar cop thrillers, like 1977's "The Gauntlet," although the latter's superior IMHO, as are the Dirty Harry films. While some aspects are predictable, there are a couple original and impressive parts, like the toilet sequence and the money-explosion scene. The film also scores pretty well on the babe front with Kensit and Goldstein, plus a couple others. Anyway, I marginally prefer this one to the original.The film runs 118 minutes (Director's Cut) and was shot in the greater Los Angeles area.GRADE: B
Lethal Weapon 2 doesn't recycle ideas and plot points from the first movie, but instead expands on the first movie by developing Martin Riggs and Roger Murtaugh's personal lives, the introduction of new villains, and the addition of a third sidekick which adds plenty of moments of humour. The action is still just as good, and there is still plenty to enjoy about Lethal Weapon 2.Lethal Weapon 2 wastes no time getting started as we see LAPD Detectives Martin Riggs (Mel Gibson) and Roger Murtaugh (Danny Glover) in the middle of a police pursuit through the streets of Los Angeles with an unidentified suspect driving a red BMW which turns out to be transporting a trunk full of gold Krugerrands. There is an illegal smuggling operation which is being spearheaded by South African consul-general Arjen Rudd (Joss Ackland) and his chief enforcer Pieter Vorstedt (Derrick O' Connor) however they are blatantly doing so while hiding behind the fact they have "Diplomatic Immunity". Captain Harris (Steve Kahan) assigns Riggs and Murtaugh to babysit the irritating, obnoxious and overeager Leo Getz (Joe Pesci), a federal witness who is going to testify against the South African smuggling operation. Riggs also finds himself a love interest, Rika Van Den Haas (Patsy Kensit) who is also Rudd's secretary at the South African Consulate. Rudd and Vorstedt continue to deceitfully continue their smuggling operation while hiding their diplomatic credentials and Riggs and Murtaugh vow to take them down.Lethal Weapon 2 adds a lighter comedic element with the introduction of Joe Pesci as Leo Getz. It's hard to believe upon seeing Leo Getz that Joe Pesci would later net himself an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor as the volatile Tommy De Vito in Goodfellas (1990). Here in Lethal Weapon 2, Pesci's Leo Getz is nothing more than an irritating annoyance but enhances the comic relief to counterbalance the violent action scenes.It was great to see Mel Gibson and Danny Glover continue their dynamic partnership as Martin Riggs and Roger Murtaugh. Lethal Weapon 2 is a perfect example of a sequel that continues the story and introduces more elements rather than rehashing the story from the first movie. Joss Ackland and Derrick O'Connor were excellent as the chief villains of the movie. Patsy Kensit adds sex appeal as the beautiful Rika Van Den Haas who finds herself caught up in the war between the LAPD and the South African criminals.Keep an eye out for Dean Norris (TV's Breaking Bad), Jeanette Goldstein (Terminator 2: Judgment Day) and Mark Rolston (The Departed) in small roles.Director Richard Donner has continued to weave his magic as a director and has struck box office gold with the success of Lethal Weapon 2 as one of the biggest movies of 1989.What can you say about Lethal Weapon 2? There's never a dull moments with plenty of action-packed scenes along with plenty of humour. A definite must for all Lethal Weapon fans as well as fans of action.9/10.