Lethal Weapon 1,2,3, and 4

Short Round

New member
Who else thought these were great action flicks? List them in order which you think are the best. Also, what's your favorite line or dialogue in all of them and do you think there should be a fifth?

1. Lethal Weapon
2. LW 4
3. LW 2
4. LW 3

I think there should be a fifth. My favorite piece of dialogue is at the end of 4, when Riggs and Murtaugh are discussing whether they should fight Jet Li.
"Riggs:I mean, he took my gun apart with one deft move. How did he do that? Huh? How?
Murtaugh: Yeah... okay. Let's go ask him."
 

drwynn

New member
I really enjoyed all of the "LETHAL WEAPON" films...but, personally, I thought they lessened in quality overall with each subsequent installment. The first film was not only a great action flick, it was also a great character-study type of film; the chemistry between Glover and Gibson works so well. From the second film on it just seemed to be all about action and comedy...with the comedy being emphasized more and more each time out. But, I still thought that the fourth film was entertaining...and it's always fun to see Riggs and Murtaugh together...

I would definitely rank them 1 - 4 in order, with the first being the best, the fourth being my least favorite.

My personal favorite line is in the finale of "LETHAL WEAPON 2". Riggs asks Murtaugh if all the bad guys are dead, to which Murtaugh responds;

"Hey, they've been decaffeinated!"

That one gets me EVERY time...
 

Michael24

New member
I enjoy the first three films immensely. Some of the best action flicks ever.

The fourth one was a huge disappointment. A very over-crowded cast, and it didn't help that they actually started shooting the film when they only had half of the script finished. I definitely would have preferred it if they had pushed it back another year or two in order to give themselves time to properly finish the script. As it is, whenever it's on TV, I just watch the freeway sequence with the mobile home truck, then turn it once it's over.
 

Moedred

Administrator
Staff member
Shane Black on the sequel which will never happen:
I wrote a 62-page treatment with my friend Chuck for Lethal Weapon 5 that would've been, I think, a very good movie. It was interesting. It was essentially an older Riggs and Murtagh in New York City during the worst blizzard in east coast history, fighting a team of expert Blackwater guys from Afghanistan that's smuggling antiquities. And we had a young character that actually counter-pointed them. But I didn't wanna do what people do when they're trying to transition which is, they sorta put the two older guys in the movie, but really it's about their son! And he's gonna take over and we're gonna do a spinoff. **** that, if they're gonna be in the movie, they're gonna be in the movie - I don't care how old they are.
Inyerestingly Jeff Boam did a comedy polish on his Lethal Weapon 2, while Tom Stoppard did the same to Boam's Indy 3.
 

Moedred

Administrator
Staff member
Richard Donner says LW5 "inches away from getting the go-ahead."
It's a story I came up with Channing Gibson, the writer who wrote [Lethal Weapon] 4, and I'm just having to work it out with the studio. If everybody steps up and we all get together, we'll make it. Mel and Danny are on board. If they don't... if it doesn't work out, at least we tried. But there's a good... a better chance that you will see the movie.
The aforementioned Lethal Weapon 5: Body Count (by Shane Black and Charles Mondry) 60 page treatment is out there.
 

Moedred

Administrator
Staff member
Richard Donner skeptical on LW5.
I'm ready to do 5. It's called Lethal Finale. It's very dark. And we were all set to go and now Warner Bros. is doing their old-fashioned tricks. Not Warner Bros., there's this guy who runs the studio who's great but they have these people in the legal department who do the negotiating in the most counter-productive way. They should be sent to a studio and work with the producers and directors and actors, and learn what makes a film, and then negotiate. But it's just embarrassing. And it's too bad, because there's a wonderful writer named Channing Gibson, who wrote 4 for me, and we have a really great story. It IS dark. But I wanted to end it on an emotional note, and I don't think it's gonna happen.
Danny Glover accepting wheelchair-bound roles (Dirty Grandpa, Monster Trucks) hasn't soured the public's judgement of the project, to the extent they know about it.
 

Moedred

Administrator
Staff member
Richard Donner (RIP) on December 29, 2020:
Astoundingly, at 90 years old, he’s developing a fifth Lethal Weapon, confirming that, incredibly, he’s producing and directing it: “This is the final one,” he says, at home in Los Angeles. “It's both my privilege and duty to put it to bed. It's exciting, actually.” It is exciting that Donner – who will likely be 91 when it shoots – is directing another film. “Hahaha! It's the last one, I'll promise you that.”
 
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