The Movies That Moved Me: Richard Donner’s LETHAL WEAPON 2
My earliest memory of the Lethal Weapon franchise was watching the second film first. Apparently that’s how I ended up enjoying a few of the most notable action franchises of my younger years.
Mel Gibson in the role of the pseudo-unhinged LAPD detective Martin Riggs and his seasoned partner, Roger Murtaugh, played by Danny Glover, became core memories for me right alongside the screen iterations of Schwarzenegger and Van Damme and the like. Best of all was seeing them in a story that effectly finds our protagonists going after a corrupt White South African diplomat and his thugs, including the man responsible for the death of Riggs’s wife.
It’s a full-throated tale of justice sprinkled with just the right amount of revenge, and as a mixed kid who endured a shit-ton of racism growing up in Rosedale and South Richmond Hill in Queens, New York City, seeing racist villains get a shit-full of fists and feet to the face was my jam. Juxtaposed with themes pertinent to grief, redemption and family and you get to the root of what makes Shane Black’s brainchild so much fun between all four films directed by Richard Donner.
Come to think of it, while I really enjoy all four films, I’m torn between whether or not the first or second film are my favorites. I didn’t get to see the first film for years and only then I would be able to catch the cleaner made-for-TV version with all the edits and shit. What I do know is that the saxophone-littered soundtrack throughout this franchise is like an earworm for most of the way, as well as some of the instrumentation for select scenes, including the final fight between Riggs and Arjen Rudd’s henchman, Vorstedt, played respectively by the late English actor Joss Ackland, and Irish actor Derrick O’Connor.
You can find all the Lethal Weapon films available at Tubi, or head over to JustWatch to find Lethal Weapon 2 or any of the films at any and all available legal streaming avenues.
Lead image: Warner Bros. Pictures
