Tuesday, August 30, 2011

After MAX, But Before the Madness: The LETHAL Mel Gibson

Sometimes it’s easy to forget that the guy who won Oscars for Braveheart, and the guy who created controversy (and set records) for The Passion of the Christ, and the guy who provided the TMZs of the world with an infinite loop of profanity-laden hate speech, was once a stone-cold-mortal-lock to open a picture; a Hollywood movie star in the greatest sense.

After a fine balance of action movies (the Mad Max trilogy) and dramatic films (Gallipoli, The Year of Living Dangerously), Mel Gibson became the centerpiece of the entertaining and successful Lethal Weapon franchise.  As is usually the case with franchises, the original film is the best, with quality diminishing throughout the sequels.  Below are the ‘80s entries in the series, and certainly the better half of the four films.


Lethal Weapon
1987
Starring Mel Gibson, Danny Glover, Gary Busey, Mitchell Ryan, Tom Atkins, and Darlene Love
Directed by Richard Donner

Roger Murtaugh (Glover) is a police sergeant and family man who is days away from retirement.  Martin Riggs (Gibson), Roger’s new partner, is a widower who just might be suicidal.  Together they must solve the murder of the daughter of one of Roger’s old friends (Atkins), and the case leads them to a group of Vietnam vets involved in a major drug deal, led by Peter McAllister (Ryan) and his icy triggerman, Mr. Joshua (Busey).  Great chemistry between Gibson and Glover will please all, with major action for the guys and a buff Mel for the gals.  Guitar legend Eric Clapton added to the film’s score.


Lethal Weapon 2
1989
Starring Mel Gibson, Danny Glover, Joe Pesci, Joss Ackland, Derrick O’Connor, Patsy Kensit, and Darlene Love
Directed by Richard Donner

Riggs and Murtaugh (Gibson and Glover) return to stop a South African diplomat’s drug smuggling trade.  The chemistry and humor still work, with help – and comic relief – from a witness the boys must protect, Leo Getz (Pesci).  More is revealed about Riggs’ past, and male viewers get their own eye candy in Riggs’ new girlfriend, Rika Van Den Haas (Kensit), a good girl working for the bad guys.  Clapton again contributes to the score, along with David Sanborn and George Harrison.


(Oh, and Mel just had GREAT hair in both of these movies.)

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