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Lethal Weapon
Lethal Weapon Image
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Metascore
67 out of 100

Generally favorable reviews - based on 14 Critics What's this?

User Score
8.2 out of 10

Universal acclaim- based on 13 Ratings

Your Score
10 out of 10
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  • Starring: Danny Glover, Mel Gibson
  • Summary: Reckless cop Riggs and family man Murtaugh are partners whose work routine is never routine. (Warner Bros.)

Critic Reviews

Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 10 out of 14
  2. Mixed: 2 out of 14
  3. Negative: 2 out of 14
  1. Chicago Sun-Times
    Reviewed by: Roger Ebert
    100
    In a movie with the energy of this one, we're exhilarated by the sheer freedom of movement; the violence becomes surrealistic and less important than the movie's underlying energy level.
  2. Wall Street Journal
    Reviewed by: Julie Salamon
    60
    Lethal Weapon is vulgar, violent and predictable. Yet, in some outbreak of id, I got caught up in the shenanigans of Danny Glover and Mel Gibson as a mismatched cop team. Mr. Glover is more than solid and Mr. Gibson has added a kind of raw humor to his repertoire that is extremely sexy. [5 Mar 1987, p.1]
    All this critic's reviews
  3. Chicago Reader
    Reviewed by: Pat Graham
    30
    Unfortunately, director Richard Donner doesn't pay much attention to text, subtext, or anything else; his 1986 film is empty glitz in search of a style, with arbitrary action substituting for ordinary narrative coherence.

See all 14 Critic Reviews

User Reviews

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Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 4 out of 4
  2. Mixed: 0 out of 4
  3. Negative: 0 out of 4
  1. jemimak
    10
    They don't make em like this anymore. Unabashed macho testosterone fest with just enough vulnerability & humanity to make us gals weak at the knees. Glover's gentle puppy dog eyes as he rolls his head around before taking his man out with one shot, and Mel's wild law man on the brink crossed with that kooky little-boy streak ("I'm hungry") - potent magic potion, this. Guilty pleasure? Maybe. But I feel no guilt at admitting that I've watched this franchise a number of times.… Expand
    • 0 of 0 users said yes
  2. BobS
    9
    One of the greatest action movies of all time, even the climax can't hold it back.
    • 0 of 0 users said yes
  3. TheNewSpielberg
    7
    A very strange movie for me, mostly thanks to Mel Gibson as Riggs. He has weird hair, weird accent and his way of taking down bad guys is totally ridiculous. Thankfully, Danny Glover gives a more or less normal performance that really stretches the intentional difference between the two. Gary Busey is also quite strange. Also the end fight between the two is plain silly. Gibson and Busey deck it out in the mud and rain near the end surrounded by gun wielding police officers. Why doesn't Riggs just let them arrest Busey? Questions like these really make you wonder what they were aiming for when they shot this movie. Music is good and there are some good action scenes, but the rest isn't worth watching.… Expand
    • 0 of 0 users said yes

See all 4 User Reviews

Trailers

Recommended Products

  1. Lethal Weapon 2

    Lethal Weapon 2 Image

  2. Lethal Weapon 4

    Lethal Weapon 4 Image

  3. Lethal Weapon 3

    Lethal Weapon 3 Image

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