Lethal Weapon 2
police psychiatrist: "Why do you do this to yourself?"
Riggs: "Well, who else am I supposed to do it to? None of them'll let me."
release year: 1989
genre: action
viewing setting: home Bluray 11/20/21 and 3/15/16 and DVD 6/9/13 and home laserdisc 1/1/97 and several times before that
synopsis: Riggs and Murtagh are back, this time taking on white supremacists from South Africa.
impressions: While the first film in this series emphasized action a little more than the buddy aspect, this one really solidified the cops' friendship. Oh, make no mistake - it's got plenty of action, and some nasty bad guys. But it's also funnier; Mel Gibson in particular has a lot of really humorous lines and comments, some of which are easy to miss due to his casual delivery of them. This movie's also a bit darker too - the bad guys are racists used to doing whatever they want and getting away with it (until now.) Speaking of which, this is the one with the house on stilts, that gets pulled over the edge of a cliff. There are two car chases, one involving a tow truck.
body count: 26 (12 by Riggs, 7 by Murtaugh, and 7 by others)
asses kicked by Riggs: 7
acting: Mel Gibson was especially funny in this one. Danny Glover's character has to deal with getting old and retiring, but he does it well. Joe Pesci makes his debut here as an irritating little man, and his performance alternately generates laughs and groans. Joss Ackland is the older main bad guy, and Derrick O'Connor (looking a lot like Pete Postlethwaite) is his dangerous right-hand man. Both smartgun operators from Aliens are here as well: Mark Rolston is a short-lived bad guy, and Jenette Goldstein is a cop. But there's more: Dean Norris (best known for his role in Justified) is another cop here.
final word: Great sequel, great action movie, great part of a great franchise.
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