Lethal Weapon has its own special movie wiki; I'm sure a lot of films do, especially film franchises, but this is about the first time I've looked at one before.
I was interested in the ages of the characters vs. the ages of the actors playing them. For example, Danny Glover was 41 in 1987. The character he plays, Roger, had just turned 50. Mel Gibson was 31, but his character, Riggs, was 37. Why do I care? Because I want to make the Vietnam War background story make sense. The real Gibson was too young for the Vietnam War, and the character Glover plays would almost be a little too old...
Anyway, let's focus on Riggs being 37 and Roger being 50. That's only a 13-year age difference, but Rog feels older. In fact, I thought this might be the movie where Rog is supposed to retire, but I guess he has a few years left in him, even if he does repeatedly say, "I'm getting too old for this shit."
Riggs might be 37, but he's been through a lot. We don't know the full story about his wife, yet, but she died (in 1984, we'll eventually learn). And they were married for 11 years. That means they married relatively young, and Riggs has been grieving the loss for 3 years. The entire department thinks he's gone insane with grief, and he does nothing to let anyone think differently.
Roger and Riggs somehow immediately hit it off, though. And that might be worth thinking about. Maybe Rog is just being nice, and maybe he just assumes that Riggs is lonely because it's Christmas time, but he invites Riggs over to dinner, basically on the first day they're partners. This is one of those movies where a lot happens in a compressed amount of time, like the whole story takes place in just two or three days. It's hard to imagine that this case would go that quickly, but I don't think we ever really question why Rog and Riggs bond so quickly. They seem like an odd pairing, but each of them must sense that each is a kindred spirit of sorts. Is it just their shared Vietnam War experience? Does Rog have the future that Riggs wanted -- married life, suburbs, kids?
Roger Ebert loved this movie, noting that it hits all the right notes, and that we actually care for the people involved, specifically, Rog and Riggs. We like them and we wish them well, and for that reason, Ebert argues, when the film goes into full on "chase scenes and explosions" mode, our minds don't turn off. We don't get bored.
I appreciate how Ebert explains it, and I do think this is one of the best movies of this genre. And yet, I'd say if any part of the movie "bores" me, it is the chase and explosions part -- about the last 30 minutes or so. I'm much more into the front part of the movie, when we get to know Rog and Riggs.
In terms of the ending, I like that Riggs tells Rog his secret -- he's not really crazy.
Postscript: Gary Busey is almost normal in this film. By that, I just mean that this was the year before his terrible motorcycle crash that left him with permanent brain damage. I went back and looked at his film career after Lethal Weapon. I thought maybe he slowed down after that crash, but actually, he didn't. He stayed very active as an actor, although his ability to find meaningful roles in good films generally alluded him.
Final note: Lethal Weapon 5 is supposedly written and waiting to be made. Think about that. The 5th movie would be 40 years after the first, meaning Rog's character should be 90 and Riggs would be 77. What the script for the 5th movie? An updated Grumpier Old Men and how they live as neighbors in the nursing home?
Rating: 4.5/5 stars
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