Lethal Weapon 2 (1989)

Riggs and Murtaugh are on the trail of South African diplomats who are using their immunity to engage in criminal activities.

Director:

Richard Donner

Writers:

Jeffrey Boam (screenplay), Shane Black (story)

Stars:

Mel Gibson, Danny Glover, Joe Pesci

Nominated for 1 Oscar. Another 1 win.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Mel Gibson	...	Martin Riggs
Danny Glover	...	Roger Murtaugh
Joe Pesci	...	Leo Getz
Joss Ackland	...	Arjen Rudd
Derrick O'Connor	...	Pieter Vorstedt
Patsy Kensit	...	Rika Van Den Haas
Darlene Love	...	Trish Murtaugh
Traci Wolfe	...	Rianne Murtaugh
Steve Kahan	...	Captain Murphy
Mark Rolston	...	Hans
Jenette Goldstein	...	Meagan Shapiro
Dean Norris	...	Tim Cavanaugh
Juney Smith	...	Tom Wyler
Nestor Serrano	...	Eddie Estaban
Philip Suriano	...	Joseph Ragucci

Storyline

Riggs and Murtaugh are trying to take down some drug dealers but the they turn out to be not run of the mill drug dealers; they have automatic weapons and helicopters. Eventually they grab one of their vehicles and find a million dollars worth of gold coins or Krugerrands in the trunk. Later Murtaugh is threatened by the men they're pursuing. That's when the Captain reassigns them to protect a man named Leo Getz who is suppose to testify in a big case. When they get to where Leo is, someone tries to kill him and that's when they learn he laundered half a billion dollars worth of drug money. He then takes them to a place he once went to and that's when the people there start shooting at them. Later when they come back with back up they learn that the men work for the South African consulate and have diplomatic immunity. They deduce that they are the ones they were looking for, but because of they have diplomatic immunity they can't do anything.

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Plot Keywords:

south african | police | diplomatic immunity | chase | partner | 

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Taglines:

Je conduis. Non, je conduis. [canada]

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Genres:

Action | Crime | Thriller

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Certificate:

R

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English Afrikaans

Release Date:

7 July 1989 (USA)

Also Known As:

Arma mortal 2

Filming Locations:

Fox Plaza - 2121 Avenue of the Stars, Century City, Los Angeles, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$28,000,000 (estimated)

Gross:

$147,253,986 (USA)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Warner Bros., Silver Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

114 min 108 min (cut) 118 min (director's cut)

Sound Mix:

70 mm 6-Track (70 mm prints) Dolby Stereo (35 mm prints) (4 channels)

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The scene where Mel Gibson attaches cables to the stilts of a mountain-top home and pulls it down cost over $500,000.

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Goofs

When Vorstedt reveals to Riggs that he was the one who mistakenly killed his wife, the whole subplot makes very little sense. If the "contract" was on Riggs' life, it's unlikely that Vorstedt would just drop it after the mistake and fail to proceed to kill Riggs himself. It's also unlikely for a character like Riggs to give up a hot case even after a grave loss. Even if he was pulled off the case, someone else in the PD would have picked it up after him.

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Quotes

[In Rudd's office, Hans meets Rudd & Vorstedt after losing the Krugerrands in the chase]
Arjen Rudd: Hans, come in.
[points in front of his desk]
Arjen Rudd: Mind the plastic. I'm having some painting done. Well now, the important thing is, are you all right? Any broken bones?
Hans: I'm fine, thank you, Mr. Rudd.
Arjen Rudd: Only a few bumps and bruises, eh?
Hans: Yes, that's all.
Arjen Rudd: Good, good.
[pause]
Arjen Rudd: However, we did lose over a million dollars in Krugerrand.
[...]

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Crazy Credits

We miss you, Jay Engel

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Connections

Featured in Psycho Pension: The Genesis of 'Lethal Weapon' (2012)

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Soundtracks

This I Swear
Performed by The Skyliners
Courtesy of Original Sound Record Co., Inc.
Written by Joseph Rock, James Beaumont and The Skyliners

User Reviews

A fine Sequel

Riggs and Murtaugh now face a bunch of south African criminals hiding behind their diplomatic immunity. The duo have to fight for their right to fight back, as the criminals declare war on the cops, and arouse the lethal weapon in Riggs.

The introdction of Joe Pesci's character is a little annoying at first but it soon grows on you and he adds a focus for the comedy element.

Richard Donner again directs the cop duo and again we have a movie well worth watching.

Plenty of action, a few more laughs and a lethal weapon that is still just as sharp, all combine to deliver another great outing for Riggs and Murtaugh.

8/10