Lethal Weapon

Play trailer

Lethal Weapon

R

1987

1h 49m

Action

Mystery & Thriller

Play Trailer

Watchlist

Watchlist

Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

81%

Tomatometer

59 Reviews

86%

Popcornmeter

250,000+ Ratings

Following the death of his wife, Los Angeles police detective Martin Riggs (Mel Gibson) becomes reckless and suicidal. When he is reassigned and partnered with Roger Murtaugh (Danny Glover), Riggs immediately clashes with the older officer. Together they uncover a massive drug-trafficking ring. As they encounter increasingly dangerous situations, Riggs and Murtaugh begin to form a bond. Riggs' volatile behavior might just help them apprehend the criminals -- if it doesn't kill them both first.

Watch on Fandango at Home

Stream Now

Critics Consensus

The most successful installment in a phenomenally successful series, Lethal Weapon helped redefine action movies for the 1980s and 1990s.

Read Critics Reviews

Bob Thomas

Associated Press

07/25/2019

Richard Donner directed with an expert eye for action but impaired vision for logic.

Go to Full Review

Duane Byrge

The Hollywood Reporter

03/06/2017

Unfortunately, while Black's assembled all the parts, he's not locked in the conflict early enough, and the good scenes simply aren't enough good to make up for the plot's too-late lock.

Go to Full Review

Gene Siskel

Chicago Tribune

12/13/2014

3/4

[Gibson and Glover] make a great team, and some of their early adventures are exciting. But the film runs out of gas as it turns into an extended chase sequence.

Go to Full Review

Matt Brunson

Film Frenzy

Nov 11

2.5/4

It's considered an action classic and one of the best "buddy cop" films, but it's always held just marginal appeal for me -- besides, compare it to Die Hard, and its "classic" status seems even more ludicrous.

Go to Full Review

Gavin Spoors

FILMHOUNDS Magazine

Aug 4

4/5

What elevates Lethal Weapon from being a standard action film is how it takes its time to let the audience really get to know the characters.

Go to Full Review

Don Shanahan

Film Obsessive

Jul 5

The impressive practical stunts and visceral hand-to-hand combat on the seedy L.A. streets are part of the entertainment value that catches your eye about Lethal Weapon.

Go to Full Review

Read all reviews

Erin M

3d

Great action movie! Story and actors all fit together nicely throughout! Watched this as a 16 year old kid and it’s still watchable today….with good vibes of old times when the world and movies were authentic and fun! Not like the formulaic, pandering slop that hollyweird puts on our plates today!

See more

M B

Sep 16

The best 80s action movie, ahead of it's time. Brilliantly written, acted, directed and scored, and I even prefer this to Die Hard.

See more

CaptainBoulder T

Aug 22

Great buddy cop movie

See more

Christian K

@ckacar Aug 14

Mel Gibson's hair in this is serious all time what the hell stuff. Its really Glover's movie but Mel gets to play crazy and steal all the scenes.

See more

Les N

Aug 13

How many times have I seen this?

See more

Alex R

Jun 25

I forgot some of these scenes had long 1 take giving space and time to breath.Great casting, solid plot, albeit classic 80s drug/CIA cliches that probably launched many copycat. Mel Gibson is a scene stealer. Moments of levity and family life are good and help with fleshing out the characters. Fight choreography scenes haven’t aged well due to heavy choppy fast editing , but that’s a sign of its time.

See more

Read all reviews

Read More

Read Less

POST RATING

WRITE A REVIEW

EDIT REVIEW

Richard Donner

Director

Mel Gibson

Sergeant Martin Riggs

Danny Glover

Sergeant Roger Murtaugh

Gary Busey

Mr. Joshua

Mitch Ryan

General Peter McAllister

Tom Atkins

Michael Hunsaker

Lethal Weapon 3

60%

61%

Lethal Weapon 3

Watchlist

Conspiracy Theory

59%

64%

Conspiracy Theory

Watchlist

Lethal Weapon 2

82%

78%

Lethal Weapon 2

Watchlist

Die Hard

94%

94%

Die Hard

Watchlist

TRAILER

for Die Hard

Die Hard 2

68%

70%

Die Hard 2

Watchlist

TRAILER

for Die Hard 2

Discover more movies and TV shows.

View More

Who Is The Walking Dead‘s New Rick? Plus 22 Other TV Cast Replacements

All 42 Fresh Movies and Originals Coming to Netflix in January

Danny Glover’s 10 Best Movies

View more photos

Synopsis

Following the death of his wife, Los Angeles police detective Martin Riggs (Mel Gibson) becomes reckless and suicidal. When he is reassigned and partnered with Roger Murtaugh (Danny Glover), Riggs immediately clashes with the older officer. Together they uncover a massive drug-trafficking ring. As they encounter increasingly dangerous situations, Riggs and Murtaugh begin to form a bond. Riggs' volatile behavior might just help them apprehend the criminals -- if it doesn't kill them both first.

Director: Richard Donner
Producer: Joel Silver
Screenwriter: Shane Black
Distributor: Warner Bros., Warner Home Vídeo
Production Co: Silver Pictures, Warner Brothers
Rating: R
Genre: Action, Mystery & Thriller
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Mar 6, 1987, Original
Release Date (Streaming): Aug 15, 2008
Box Office (Gross USA): $61.0M
Runtime: 1h 49m
Sound Mix: Surround

Most Popular at Home Now