Why Lethal Weapon 1987 Is More Than Just Another 80s Action Movie

Added: 2026-06-03

[00:00:00]Lethal Weapon is one of the best movies to come out of the '80s and easily one of the best movies ever made. The impact Lethal Weapon [music] had can still be felt in modern movies and TV shows despite being 30 years old at this point.

[00:00:13]>> But I want you to go and see my new hit movie, Lethal Weapon.

[00:00:17]>> I love this job and I really like it.

[00:00:18]>> Wait a minute. Wait a minute. This is my movie.

[00:00:20]>> You know what? He's in it.

[00:00:23]>> Roger, [music] meet your new partner.

[00:00:25]>> Yeah, it's dangerous and exciting, man.

[00:00:28]>> What I like the most about Lethal Weapon is the amazing atmosphere and stylistic design choices that can be felt throughout the entire movie. It came out in 1987 and you feel and see that in every single scene, line of dialogue, or soundtrack. It is a product of its time and managed to capture that decade perfectly. It has a lot of neo-noir detective influences starting from the plot where two cops have to uncover a murder committed by a secret drug trafficking group all the way to a lot of scenes being complemented by a heavy lonely saxophone playing smoothly in the background. The sax is actually extremely prominent throughout the movie and clearly has a life of its own.

[00:01:31]In fact, you can even remove all the dialogue and simply play the movie with only the saxophone for sound and it would still make perfect sense. It's that good. The '80s loved this type of soundtrack, but Lethal Weapon went all in and doubled down hard on it inviting Eric Clapton to complement it with his insane guitar skills. It's a masterpiece and there are very few other movies, especially within the same genre, that come close to such an iconic and amazing sound. But this sound, the saxophone, impacts the perception of this movie. It heavily influences your mood when watching it, and I'd even go so far and say that the movie wouldn't work without it. Each scene feels like it has more weight to it while the sax quietly plays in the background, and it also sets the feeling for each scene, be it sad, full of action, or comedy. Because this movie is the perfect mix between action, comedy, and drama. It knows when to let the characters get into a dangerous situation that lets us fear for their lives, but at the same time has a great sense of humor to it that also doesn't take away from all the sad and horrible things happening on and off screen.

[00:02:39]>> When I was 19, I did a guy in Laos from a thousand yards out.

[00:02:44]A rifle shot in high wind.

[00:02:47]Something I was ever good at.

[00:02:49]>> You really like my wife's cooking?

[00:02:58]>> No.

[00:02:59]>> Lethal Weapon is a perfect example of a movie that knows how to mix multiple genres without feeling like it's trying too hard or is out of place. And that blends very well with the atmosphere of this movie because it definitely is a product of its time in a very good way.

[00:03:15]The scenes are often dark but full of neon red lights, and Los Angeles is shown in a dark and moody way. Despite Lethal Weapon being a buddy cop action movie with some really great fight choreography and action scenes, it's also kind of a quiet movie. And I'm sure you know exactly what I mean if you've ever seen it. Despite the great soundtrack, it's not like the music is playing constantly or being too overpowering or distracting. In fact, [music] if anything, most of the scenes are calm and quiet with not much happening except Murtaugh and Riggs talking or being lost in their thoughts.

[00:03:47]It's almost relaxing, especially [music] compared to a lot of other action movies from the '80s or even modern ones that feel the need to constantly over stimulate you with non-stop action, which of course doesn't have to be a bad thing if done well, but it's still refreshing when the movie gives you some room to breathe and also takes things slow. Because Lethal Weapon heavily relies on the mystery of its plot, doing its best to let you and the main characters wonder what's actually going on and slowly uncovering the truth.

[00:04:17]>> Read them and weep.

[00:04:18]>> [laughter] >> What?

[00:04:23]What do you do? Sleep with that thing on your pillow?

[00:04:24]>> I would if I slept.

[00:04:26]>> Murtaugh and Riggs are some of the most memorable '80s characters. To me, they define the entire buddy cop genre despite it existing before Lethal Weapon. But no other movie managed to portray this character dynamic as flawlessly as this movie. Both get great introductions where we see their character traits and personalities.

[00:04:45]Murtaugh being close to retirement and somewhat of an older, more experienced and tired cop versus Riggs, a crazy, almost suicidal cowboy type. At least that's what the movie wants us to think when we first meet them and it soon becomes obvious that there's more to them and they are much deeper characters than they might seem at first glance.

[00:05:05]>> Hey, hey.

[00:05:06]No guns, no jujitsu, just bring him down.

[00:05:09]>> Right.

[00:05:13]>> [screaming] >> Oh, what do you WANT TO HEAR, MAN?

[00:05:21]DO YOU WANT TO HEAR THAT SOMETIMES I THINK ABOUT EATING A BULLET?

[00:05:24]>> HUH?

[00:05:25]>> WELL, I DO.

[00:05:29]>> I'm too old for this [ __ ] >> But as events keep unfolding, we find out more about him and his tragic backstory that lets us feel a lot more sympathy for him and at least understand him a bit better. If he was indeed planning to off himself, then meeting Murtaugh and working on the Hunsaker case changed his life fundamentally. It gave him a new purpose and a mystery to solve even if just prolonging his personally perceived suffering for a few more days or weeks. The best part of Lethal Weapon are the interactions between these two guys. This was holding the whole movie together and why it's so much fun to watch. Despite the fact that they just met in the most hilarious way possible, >> Gun!

[00:06:09]Gun!

[00:06:16]>> Murtaugh, meet your new partner.

[00:06:19]>> [music] >> I'm too old for this [ __ ] >> You already feel like they've been best friends for decades. Mel Gibson and Danny Glover simply have an amazing screen presence and chemistry together.

[00:06:33]This coupled with their characters being the polar opposites of each other, all you want to do is just watch them interact for 24 hours straight. I mean, seriously, even if the movie had an awful story or soundtrack, just watching Danny Glover and Mel Gibson sit in a car and argue about whether or not he's too old for this [ __ ] would be pure gold and Oscar-worthy IN MY WORLD.

[00:06:54]>> GUN!

[00:06:57]>> MURTAUGH, MEET YOUR NEW PARTNER.

[00:06:59]>> IF THESE TWO cops can stand each other, >> Why I keep getting into trouble around you?

[00:07:04]>> the bad guys don't stand a chance.

[00:07:07]>> You ever met anybody you didn't kill?

[00:07:12]>> Well, I haven't killed you yet.

[00:07:14]>> Mel Gibson, Danny Glover.

[00:07:16]>> We better register you as a lethal weapon.

[00:07:18]>> Lethal Weapon, rated R. Starts Friday, March 6th.

[00:07:23]>> There are few other movies that have such a great dynamic between the main characters, even though many have tried.

[00:07:29]Lethal Weapon influenced the buddy cop genre in massive ways. After its release, the genre seemed to be flooded with movies trying to capture the magic and success this movie had. And some of them definitely came close and ended up being great movies, but most of them felt like cheap imitations without much substance. The best part about Lethal Weapon is [music] how fresh it feels. I mean, the movie is 30 years old at this point and it has every single 80s trope [music] you can imagine, but it doesn't feel outdated or unwatchable. In fact, it's so good it probably would have been a success even if it came out today.

[00:08:03]It's a classic movie that will always feel fresh and original even 20 years from now.

[00:08:09]>> Have a >> nice day.