When a multimillionaire man's son is kidnapped, he cooperates with the police at first but then turns the tables on the kidnappers when he uses the ransom money as a reward for the capture of the kidnappers.
Martin Riggs and Roger Murtaugh pursue a former LAPD officer who uses his knowledge of police procedure and policies to steal and sell confiscated guns and ammunition to local street gangs.
A man obsessed with conspiracy theories becomes a target after one of his theories turns out to be true. Unfortunately, in order to save himself, he has to figure out which theory it is.
With personal crises and age weighing in on them, LAPD officers Riggs and Murtaugh must contend with deadly Chinese triads that are trying to free their former leaders out of prison and onto American soil.
After a successful heist, Porter is shot by his wife and his best friend. They leave him there to die but when he recovers, he seeks revenge and wants his share of the money.
Maverick is recreated from the character James Garner created in the 1950s TV program. Maverick is a gambler who would rather con someone than fight them. He needs an additional three thousand dollars in order to enter a Winner Take All poker game that begins in a few days. He tries to win some, tries to collect a few debts, and recover a little loot for the reward, all with a light hearted air. He joins forces with a woman gambler with a marvelous, though fake, southern accent as the two both try and enter the game.Written by
John Vogel <jlvogel@comcast.net>
In the stagecoach sequence, stuntman Mic Rodgers (doubling for Mel Gibson) had to go under the coach and get up at the back. This is a direct nod to legendary stuntman Yakima Canutt's similar stunt in Stagecoach (1939). By coincidence, Second Unit Director Terry Leonard, a former stuntman himself, performed this same stunt in the truck chase in Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981). In Draw! (1984) the same stagecoach sequence can be seen in the early part of that movie. See more »
Goofs
On the balcony at the hotel, as Annabelle is trying to escape after stealing Maverick's wallet, he removes his suspenders, but in the next shot, they are back over his shoulders again. See more »
Quotes
Commodore:
[Looking around the room after a gunfight during the final Poker Game]
You're security didnt work a damn coop, everybody's got a gun
See more »
This is one of those rare movies you can watch over and over again without getting tired of it. Forget what some people have said about Jodie Foster, she is absolutely perfect as the apparently-dumb-but-smarter-than-she-looks blonde, and the chemistry between her and Mel Gibson is superb. Also perfect are James Garner as the marshal, Graham Greene as the harassed native chief, and Alfred Molina (the Englishman who is so good as an Iranian in Not Without My Daughter and a Cuban in The Perez family) as the "Spaniard". The writing is simply brilliant, one of William Goldman's best - how anyone could describe it as "virtually plotless" just staggers the imagination. The direction and cinematography are superb. A special treat is the Lethal Weapon reprise with Danny Glover.
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This is one of those rare movies you can watch over and over again without getting tired of it. Forget what some people have said about Jodie Foster, she is absolutely perfect as the apparently-dumb-but-smarter-than-she-looks blonde, and the chemistry between her and Mel Gibson is superb. Also perfect are James Garner as the marshal, Graham Greene as the harassed native chief, and Alfred Molina (the Englishman who is so good as an Iranian in Not Without My Daughter and a Cuban in The Perez family) as the "Spaniard". The writing is simply brilliant, one of William Goldman's best - how anyone could describe it as "virtually plotless" just staggers the imagination. The direction and cinematography are superb. A special treat is the Lethal Weapon reprise with Danny Glover.