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:

The magic is back!

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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

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

Aspect Ratio:

2.39 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Jack McGee ad-libbed his line about the condom commercial during rehearsals. The cast and crew liked it so much, it was kept in the film.

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Goofs

After the station wagon "scrapes" on the railing, there is no damage to the paint, but there is black ash all the lower edge of it from the flash powder used to make the sparks.

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Quotes

[At the South African Consulate]
Roger Murtaugh: How you doin'?
[his handshake is ignored by the Envoy]
Consulate Envoy: I think there must be some mistake.
Roger Murtaugh: Say what?
Consulate Envoy: Listen to your friend here, he knows what he's talking about. I don't think you want to go to South Africa.
Roger Murtaugh: Why not?
Consulate Envoy: Because you're black!
Leo Getz: [to Murtaugh] You are.
[to Envoy]
[...]

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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

Referenced in Family Guy: E. Peterbus Unum (2000)

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Soundtracks

Cheer Down
Performed by George Harrison
Produced by George Harrison and Jeff Lynne
Courtesy of Dark Horse Records
Music by George Harrison
Lyrics by George Harrison and Tom Petty

User Reviews

Slightly better than the first

A worthy sequel. In fact, I think it's a bit of an improvement, with tighter plotting and more kinetic action sequences. I also liked, to my surprise, the addition of Joe Pesci as a witness Riggs and Murtaugh are protecting. Yes, he's more than a tad annoying, but he's annoying in a mostly funny way. I also very much liked Mel Gibson's love interest, played by the cute Brit Patsy Kensit, who unfortunately never made it very big. The sequence with the bomb attached to Murtaugh's toilet is classic, and the shot with the woman cop getting blown off her diving board is (unintentionally) hilarious. Also side-splitting: the aging henchman played by Derrick O'Connor, who becomes a master of kung fu whenever the shot gets dark enough for a stunt double to take his place.