The movie was a huge success and started a franchise. This led to three sequels and a television adaptation, with the sequels showing how Riggs and Murtaugh became as much of a family to each other as they became partners on the streets. The Lethal Weapon television series was more of a reboot of the franchise, but it kept the same themes and heart of the movies, showing why it was such a huge success for so many years.
Now, with the tease of another sequel bringing Riggs and Murtaugh back, taking place after they have left their jobs as active detectives, it is a good time for audiences to catch up with the original movies. The good news is that the first Lethal Weapon movie in the franchise is very easy to view right now because, for a short time, it is free to stream.
Lethal Weapon Is Now Streaming On Tubi
Lethal Weapon is now available to stream for free on Tubi. However, this is something that fans will need to jump on quickly because it won't be there for long. This is because most movies that arrive on Tubi, which is a free-to-stream service with commercial breaks, are only there for a limited time. In the case of Lethal Weapon, the movie will only be there for one month. Fans have until the end of August to watch Lethal Weapon before it leaves the service.
Why Lethal Weapon Remains An Action Classic
Lethal Weapon remains a perfect action movie all these years after its release. While movies like Die Hard are still considered the best in the genre from the 1980s, Lethal Weapon stands up well to that film, but for different reasons. While Die Hard is a movie about a lone cop who has to save the day, Lethal Weapon is a buddy cop movie with two very different police officers learning to work together to stop a criminal organization.
A lot of movies have attempted this subgenre, but few have done it as well as Lethal Weapon. Gibson stars as Riggs, a suicidal cop who has a death wish since the death of the woman he loves. He is partnered with Glover's Murtaugh, an older cop who is ready to hang things up because he is "too old for this." This creates a perfect mismatch that other buddy cop movies try to replicate, and few match up to.
The villains here are also great, with Gary Busey's Mr. Joshua one of the most terrifying antagonists in any 1980s crime movie. The fight between Riggs and Joshua at the end remains a scene that films have tried to copy ever since. Lethal Weapon was a box office success, and its 81% Rotten Tomatoes score is well deserved. This is an action thriller that works today as well as it did in 1987.
What's Going On With Lethal Weapon 5?
There have been rumors about Lethal Weapon 5 for years, and the writer of the original movie, Shane Black, has a script. However, it sounds like that movie isn't going to get made because Gibson is stepping back up for a chance at the fifth film in the series he starred in for so many years. It has been 28 years since the last Lethal Weapon sequel came out, and Gibson not only wants to return, but he also wants to direct the film.
Richard Donner directed the first four movies in the series, and he remains strongly connected to the franchise. Gibson said that Donner asked him to take over the franchise after Donner's death, and the filmmaker said he would honor that request. He then began working with screenwriter Richard Wenk on the script.
However, there is no telling when Lethal Weapon 5 could be made because Gibson said it is stuck in development thanks to studio politics with Warner Bros. and Paramount.
Can Lethal Weapon Work In The 2020s?
The biggest questions about Lethal Weapon 5 working in the 2020s have nothing to do with the genre or the themes, since buddy cop movies are as popular today as ever and the violence from the originals is tame by today's standards. However, the question lies with a movie with Mel Gibson and Danny Glover in the lead roles. Both men are older now, with Glover being 80 years old. Thanks to his recent Alzheimer's diagnosis, there is no way Glover can realistically be an action star, even in a small role.
Gibson is 70, and there is little chance that either Riggs or Murtaugh could be the two cops in the new movie. Based on what Gibson has said about the movie, Murtaugh is retired, and Riggs is now stuck in a desk job. Gibson said that the movie would be more of a character-driven sequel, and there could be younger cops doing all the heavy lifting while the emotional beats would remain with Riggs and Murtaugh.
It could work if the audience is willing to accept Gibson back into the franchise. He has mostly been pushed aside in Hollywood thanks to real-life controversies, but if he is able to return and take on the role again, and if he brings in some talented young actors to carry the load, there is no reason a new Lethal Weapon movie can't find success in the 2020s.
Release Date
March 6, 1987
Runtime
110 minutes
Director
Richard Donner
Writers
Shane Black
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Danny Glover
Roger Murtaugh
English (US) ·