 | |  |  | | Media: | HD DVD | | Country: | USA | | Studio: | Warner Home VIdeo | | Cert: | R | | Discs: | 1 |
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| Review Scores | | Movie |  | | Picture | | | Sound | | | Extras |  | | Overall | | | Review Verdict | | Like Lethal Weapon, Lethal Weapon 2 holds a special place in my heart, Warner took the film I loved and ran with it to make a glorious meld of comedy and action. As an HD DVD set, a fantastic picture and wonderful sound are let down by a less than stellar extras package, however, the good far out ways the bad in my books. | | Overall score : 8 | | Movie | | Lethal Weapon 2 | | Date | 1989 | | Genres | Comedy
Action
Crime
Thriller | | Stars | Danny Glover
Joe Pesci
Mel Gibson
Patsy Kensit |
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Screen captures are for illustration purposes and may not originate from the item reviewed. | | Lethal Weapon 2 Review| HD DVD review written by Simon Crust, published 26th February 2007 | Supplied for review by  | It took just two years to bring the sequel to the relative sleeper hit, Lethal Weapon, to the screen. Realising the potential of the main characters Riggs (Gibson) and Murtaugh (Glover) as a comedic partnership, the Warner executive reunited, pretty much, the same creative team behind the first film. They, in turn, kept to pretty much the same formula already established electing to continue the story directly on from the original film, incorporating and expanding upon many of the ideas already established.
Lethal Weapon 2 kick starts in the middle of a car chase, ending up in a massive destruction of property and a helicopter gun battle. Because Riggs and Murtaugh spearheaded the chase, they are ‘volunteered’ to witness protection; the witness being one Leo Getz (Joe Pesci), who it turns out is intimately connected to the South African mobsters not only responsible for the beginning car chase, but also Riggs’ wife’s murder. Of course this prompts the inevitable rouge cop behaviour from Riggs, backed up by Murtaugh as per the last film.
Donner and his team took the basic concept of the original, and with Warner’s backing expanded it greatly. Not only does the film have a substantially bigger budget meaning the stunts become ludicrously huge, it also receives its first full widescreen scope. Much of the grittiness that gave the original film its edge is absent from this sequel and replaced with a far wittier script, a comedy action film, if you like. What started as banter between the two has developed into a full blown lifestyle. Riggs has become a near permanent member of the Murtaugh family, sharing joys and sadness with them. However, the film does try a little too hard in places; it introduces a bucket load of new characters, principle among theses is of course Pesci’s character. Played to annoy, annoy he does, but not in the way he is meant to, he, along with Patsy Kensit as Riggs’ love interest, Murtaugh’s extended family and the entire police department, all serve to dilute the attention away from the main dynamic force of the Riggs/Murtaugh partnership. Moved beyond the buddy cops, their relationship doesn’t bare too much close scrutiny, because as it is it remains the main selling point of the film. Their scene together with the bomb on the toilet is one of mutual respect and, well, love. The Riggs character is less the ‘lethal weapon’ this time around and more the comic, though he still maintains a little edge especially after allowing himself to feel and loosing everything once again, because beyond these films he is a mere shadow of his former self. Shame he wasn’t allowed to die at the end of this one as originally intended. As it is Lethal Weapon 2 is a near perfect sequel joining such elite ranks as T2 and Aliens as a franchise that had it all but should have stopped at the top.
Movie score : 8 | | 497 word review written by Simon Crust. |  | This review is sponsored by Movietyme
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| 1 Lethal Weapon 2 |  | 1 USA | HD DVD |  | 12/09/06 | | | 8 | 8 | 2 |
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