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134 reviews in total

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46 out of 58 people found the following review useful:
Quite possibly one of the best sequels of all time..., 20 September 2003
Author: MovieAddict2012 from UK

"Lethal Weapon 2" is the type of sequel you don't screw with, for fear of getting seriously beat up if you do. Luckily the praise comes as easily as the film is good -- and boy, is it good.

If you haven't seen "Lethal Weapon" (1987), get off your computer, drop that Cheez-It out of your hand, rush to your closest video outlet and buy it. If you have seen it, then drop that Cheez-It out of your hand, rush to your closest video outlet and buy the sequel, "Lethal Weapon 2." It's a real ball-breaker, a bruiser, the type of film where the heroes get beat up mercilessly but when they get mad, boy are they mad, and they tear apart everything in their path that is standing in their way. There's a particular shoot-out scene aboard a docked ship where Riggs (Mel Gibson) goes on a rampage and really kicks butt with a vengeance.

But I think I'm getting ahead of myself.

The film opens with a high-speed car chase on a freeway in Downtown LA. Martin Riggs and Roger Murtaugh (Danny Glover) are in hot pursuit, tearing up Murtaugh's wife's brand-new car as they chase the speeder through an underground tunnel, up a bridge, and so on and so forth.

When they finally catch the speeder they find African gold hidden in the back of his truck. Soon they are being threatened to stay off of the case by African diplomats, one of whom Riggs really enjoys annoying. They can't arrest them because of diplomatic immunity, so Riggs goes in and shoots up the place where they're staying.

Riggs finds himself a new girl (Patsy Kensit), while Murtaugh protects a federal witness named Leo Getz (Joe Pesci), a lovable little blabbermouth who likes being one of the cops. He waddles around throughout the film like a little eager puppy, ready to do anything he's told. Of course Riggs and Murtaugh pick on him throughout the movie, but their friendship is a sort of love-to-hate, explained in "Lethal Weapon 4" (1997).

What a hard action movie/sequel this is. I had heard nothing very positive about this movie until right before I saw it. I sat down, watched it directly after I watched "Lethal Weapon," and realized just how great of a sequel it really is. It's not repetitive -- it continues the character progression and friendship seen at the end of "Lethal Weapon," while at the same time adding a bit more humor than the first film.

One of the things I praise about the first "Lethal Weapon" movie is that the characters didn't just suddenly agree to like each other at the end of the movie like so many films. They gradually learned to trust each other throughout the film, adding a sense of true friendship and realism to the film. In "Lethal Weapon 2," the friendship between Martin Riggs and Roger Murtaugh is definitely expanded more to the point where they're best buddies. Most of the time when there is a sequel to a cop-buddy film, the directors and writers are afraid to continue the friendship. They seem to forget the end of the original film, and in the second film the characters hate each other again and the progress of friendship starts all over again. (As seen in such films as "Another 48 Hrs.")

But "Lethal Weapon 2" is brave -- it isn't afraid to continue the story. I think that might be part of what makes it such a great, well-rounded series. It never really repeats itself, it always seems eager to move forward and ignore the past. The first film was a humorous, hard cop-buddy film about two opposites learning to trust each other. The second movie is a continuation of their friendship. The third film is almost a full-out comedy. And the fourth film is a tribute to the first three. Darn good film-making here.

"Lethal Weapon 2" is quite possibly one of the best sequels of all time. It avoids repetitions, it avoids cop-buddy clichés, and when it all comes down to it, Mel Gibson and Danny Glover and Joe Pesci are such an amazing trio, that even if this film did follow the routine procedures I'd still love it. And you can't say that about many movies.

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29 out of 35 people found the following review useful:
An action movie with heart, 18 December 2004

Author: Matt Shane from USA

Many action flicks over the years have been called loud and dumb. This is no exception. The "Lethal Weapon" series has never been especially noted for its intellect but it has something that a lot of action films lack: heart. Mel Gibson and Danny Glover's winning chemistry created some of the most tender moments in the series and "Lethal Weapon 2" excels because they make the audience care about their characters. This movie is by far the best in the series with tones of moments registering directly to the viewer. Gibson and Glover provide these characters with depth that could easily have been lacking and the ending of this film leaves the audience actually feeling the love these two men have for each other. And, as a bonus, "Lethal Weapon 2" digs even deeper into one of the protagonist's past, shedding even more light as to why he is the way he is.

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29 out of 36 people found the following review useful:
God, I love this job!, 29 May 2005

Author: MinorityReporter from Denmark

First of all this movie is almost as good as the original. It retains all of the elements that made the first film so darn entertaining and adds some new elements.

As all actors from the first movie appear in the second one as well its pretty clear what you can expect acting wise and surprise, surprise: The acting is still stellar, close to perfection. Mel Gibson is always good and in the second installment of the series he gets to be a little more wild and add even more nuances to the character. For example we get to see Riggs hit on women which adds an entire new side to him as the side we saw in the first film was of him mourning. Also we find out how his wife dies in a beautifully underacted scene (if you want to know how she dies you'll have to see the movie). Danny Glover returns as well and he plays the character pretty much as he did in the first film which is good because the character he plays is the one who is not supposed to change. He is meant to be square and combined with the character of Riggs this becomes highly entertaining. However, a new element is put into the mix to make it even more entertaining, Leo Getz, played beautifully by Joe Pesci and is to this day still one of his most memorable characters. He is funny and fast talking but most importantly: he is a crook and when you put him together with Riggs and Murtaugh the mix becomes explosive. The main villains are played by Joss Ackland and Derrick O'Connor and they are also good and a bit more developed than the villains of the first movie obviously because they had to focus more on the relationship between Riggs and Murtaugh in the first movie. Riggs' love interest is played Patsy Kensit and she is good if a bit underdeveloped.

The story is excellent and is almost better than the story in the first one. It is entertaining and funny and best of all the incredible chemistry between Mel Gibson and Danny Glover is maintained and is almost as good as it was in the first movie. Furthermore the addition of Joe Pesci was a very nice touch because he immediately makes the scenes with him, Gibson and Glover even more interesting and entertaining. The plot with the villains is kept relatively simple like in the first film, which is good because the goal for the film is entertainment not to be thought provoking.

The action of the film is kept in the same style as in the first movie and it is still both exhilarating and entertaining. The effects are still relatively realistic and this of course gives the movie a level of credibility that is sorely needed in many modern action movies.

All in all a worthy sequel and an excellent film on its own.

8/10

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20 out of 28 people found the following review useful:
A really lethal sequel, 8 August 2000
Author: coverme6 from Allentown, PA

Mel Gibson and Danny Glover return to kick heads and shoot bad guys for the second time, as Riggs and Murtaugh, the "Oscar and Felix" of law enforcement in "Lethal Weapon 2." This time

around, the boys are forced to become the 3 Stooges when they are assigned to guard a feisty, foul-mouthed federal witness named Leo Getz (the frantic Joe Pesci) from a group of sadistic Afrikaner thugs (led by the usually dark-natured character actor Joss Acklund). At the same time, Riggs meets a new love named

Rika (the hot Patsy Kensit), who happens to be a pawn in the

villain's dangerous games.

The action is faster and more furious in this sequel to the

slam-bang original. Even the banter gets a boost, thanks to the

added comedic riff by Pesci. Watch for his slightly annoying,

yet hilarious speech on a Subway tunafish sandwich!

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17 out of 25 people found the following review useful:
A fine Sequel, 23 January 2005

Author: mjw2305 from England

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

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7 out of 7 people found the following review useful:
Good, But Original Was Better, 7 September 2009

Author: eric262003 from Canada

*** This review may contain spoilers ***

In keeping up the tradition of the original "Lethal Weapon", the sequel still continues the time-honoured tradition to providing the the action, the humour, and the thrills that made "Lethal Weapon I" one of the best buddy-cop movies in the history of cinema. The chemistry between Riggs (Mel Gibson) and Murtaugh (Danny Glover)is still remarkable. The only thing now is that Riggs is less self-destructive as he was in the first movie, but I guess it's so that in the first he tries to get over the loss of his wife and he somehow has moved on. Not as exciting as the first, but still very believable.

Some historical-political elements that provides some surprising educational facts are delivered here in the movie that's obscurely mentioned in classrooms. Here it takes aim the the South African apartheid fiasco that ran from 1948, up until 1994 by Nelson Mandela who over-turned the government and became President of South Africa putting a stop to apartheid. During it's dying stages, the government provided segregated communities to it diverse ethnics and tried to promote theocracy. The South Africans depicted may have been over the top, but the political upheaval was executed immaculately.

In spite of that cultural reference, there's a setback to it as well. I don't understand why did the South Africans killed Riggs' wife and now have targeted his girlfriend. What's up with that? The whole logic was completely null and void and has no logic to it at all. Some editing should have been taken to consideration.

It's still an enjoyable film, but the first one stands above them all.

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14 out of 21 people found the following review useful:
Double the lethal, double the weapon, double the fun! :D, 7 July 2005

Author: Kristine (kristinedrama14@msn.com) from Chicago, Illinois

A terrific sequel to one of the first action duo films that worked well. Adding Joe Pesci to the cast, what a great choice! He was so funny, together, Mel, Danny, and Joe are the three stooges of Lethal Weapon. They work together so well. This movie has everything that you could want: action, romance, comedy, and drama.

Again, like in my last Lethal Weapon comment, must we go on for ten sentences? I mean, is it just me or isn't that a little silly? I think so. It's like, you can't just put down you liked the movie or hated it? I miss the old IMDb! *sob!*

8/10

PS: Ask me questions about the movie if you have doubts about me witnessing it's glory.

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15 out of 23 people found the following review useful:
Not bad, some interesting points, 16 February 2003
Author: Ampers from London England

The first point I found interesting is that it was evident they used real South Africans as extras in the film. In one scene one of the extras called out "Jou Moer" to our intrepid heroes.

"Jou Moer" translates into English, quite unmistakenly, as "You C*nt". As this was still in it, years later, when I just saw it for the second time, I feel that nobody in America check unidentified words for their true meaning.

This has given many South Africans high amusement over the years and they may not be well disposed towards me for spilling the beans.

Another thing was that Patsy Kensit played the part of an Afrikaaner (A Dutch descent South African and, whilst an English descent South African might say she (or he) hates his country, an Afrikaaner would never say that. He or she might say they hate the government but they would NEVER say they hate their country.

But apart from that, a good film, and it gave me so much amusement to see they hadn't cut out the offending word.

From an English rooinek.

Andrew

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13 out of 21 people found the following review useful:
The adventure continues, 13 June 2000
Author: action-6 from Froland, Norway

The adventure continues with Lethal Weapon 2. All the great characters are back and with some new ones, as well. Joe Pesci enters the Lethal Weapon-series as the annoying and witty Leo Getz(ok ok ok ok?) Riggs and Murtaugh must fight against a South-African diplomat, who`s a big drugdealer. The classic mixture of action and comedy is also to be found here. I have never seen another series of movies (except Die Hard), where all the chapters are just as great as the original film. 9/10

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4 out of 4 people found the following review useful:
Revoking the visa..., 8 January 2007

Author: Frank Markland from United States

This time our favorite mismatched cops (Mel Gibson and Danny Glover) take on South African diplomats (who I think are German) who are taking advantage of the system by using their status to deal drugs, after numerous warnings from the dealers, as well as near death experiences, our favorite two cops go out with all pistols blazing in a thrilling climax which ends in explosive fashion. I think the main reason why in 1989, I couldn't enjoy the ultra-lame Tango And Cash which came out that year (though at the end of the year) was because I had seen this earlier and this to me was the real thing. Lethal Weapon 2 is one of those movies that still manages to entertain years after its release. I saw this as a teenager and thought it was the greatest thing ever and even now this is one of my most prized DVDs in my collection. Lethal Weapon 2 is a very exciting movie and when I look at other enjoyable movies that fall in the mismatched buddy/cop genre (Lethal Weapon 1, I Come In Peace, Beverly Hills Cop 1+2, Last Boyscout and Rush Hour) Lethal Weapon 2 always stands head and shoulders above the rest, indeed it is tied with 48 HRS as my favorite Cop/Buddy movie off all time. I think the thing that gives this movie that extra enjoyment is that we actually care about characters, the acting is very well done and overall it's directed with a brutal punch which back up the action. Also Joe Pesci's comic relief wasn't annoying (like it would be in the later sequels) in fact his comic timing actually works. This is a great example of genre film-making and is a must see for fans of the genre.

* * * * out of 4-(Excellent, a must see!)

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