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 & 1 nomination.

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:

shoulder | holster | squad car | squad | car | 

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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:

Play Dirty

Filming Locations:

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

Box Office

Budget:

$28,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$20,388,800, 9 July 1989, Wide Release

Gross USA:

$147,253,986

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$227,853,986

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:

2.39 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

In the beginning chase scene, Riggs reads the license plate 24AdamHenry174, the "Adam Henry" part was an inside joke, being that it's a police movie. In police lingo, Adam Henry (AH) is an abbreviation for asshole.

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Goofs

The camera is reflected in the window of Riggs' truck when he drives off after blocking in the car of the South African diplomat.

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Quotes

[after Riggs just destroyed a house on a cliff]
Roger Murtaugh: Riggs, you crazy son of a bitch!

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Crazy Credits

The Merrie Melodies theme is briefly heard during the opening sequence.

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Alternate Versions

The newly released Director's Cut has over 3 minutes of extra footage - Riggs gets attention from some women at a hotel spa; the exploding toilet sequence is lengthened and Murtaugh sees it hit his car; Murtaugh gets information about bodywork on his car from a auto repairman; Leo recalls a suspects address in a very unusual, humorous way.

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Connections

Featured in WatchMojo: Top 10 Drive-Thru Scenes in Movies and TV (2015)

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Soundtracks

Since I Don't Have You
Performed by The Skyliners
Courtesy of Original Sound Record Co., Inc.
Written by Joseph Rock, James Beaumont and The Skyliners

User Reviews

The adventure continues

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