Plot: What’s it about?
This is a sequel to the classic Lethal Weapon. Martin Riggs (Mel Gibson) and Roger Murtaugh (Danny Glover) come back to fight the South Africans from smuggling drugs, money and Krugerrands into and out of the country. The story starts out with a high speed chase from the men in blue of LA. that Riggs and Murtaugh are leading. The man in the red BMW gets away, but in his car he leaves an awful lot of Krugerrands in the trunk. The South Africans send out some thugs to silence Murtaugh and keep the police off of their tracks. Well it doesn’t work even though Riggs and Murtaugh are assigned to take care of Leo Getz, (Joe Pesci) a key witness in a federal case. They later find out that Getz was a money launderer for drug dealers and that he had a job interview for the South Africans at a house on stilts. This after nearly being killed by one of the drug men themselves at a hotel. Riggs and Murtaugh learn that the South Africans are doing a triangle trade all over again, drugs to dollars to Krugerrands. They also learn that these men are part of the South African consolate and are above the law. Riggs and Murtaugh are determined to stop them at any cost and they don’t care if the South Africans, “can’t be given a parking ticket.” They have to do all of this while keeping Getz in their hands.
The action sequences are entertaining and the laughs in this movie are a plenty. This is another one of my personal favorite movies and also one of the main reasons why I bought my DVD player in the Christmas of ’97. I couldn’t wait to see this movie in 5.1 sound once I heard it was out. Boy I wasn’t disappointed either. Not only did it sound better it also looked a lot better than my once superior Laserdisc version. I have seen this movie about 50 times, probably more, and my best friend and I recite the words to this movie whenever we watch it, and now that he has been married for three years it rarely happens anymore, but even when he is not around I will recite the lines out loud now and then. It still irritates anyone who dares to sit down and watch it with us. I guess what I am trying to say is that this is a must have DVD and I am shocked when I learn that some people have never seen this movie. I almost broke up with my girlfriend when I learned that she had never seen this movie or Braveheart for that matter. I almost had a coronary with that news. Oh well I sat her down and made her watch Braveheart on Laserdisc with me and the Lethal Weapon movies one at a time on DVD. Don’t worry it was over a course of about three months. And speaking of my favorite movie of all time. When in the bloody hell is Braveheart coming out on DVD? Well my girlfriend is still with me and I still laugh at the same spots in Lethal Weapon 2 and love every minute of it. There are also some deleted scenes from the first three Lethal’s on the Lethal Weapon 4 DVD which is also a must have DVD. I also read a rumor over at DVD Review about director’s cuts of the Lethal Weapon series coming out in the summer of 2000 on DVD. I just hope that there are more deleted scenes that what is on the Lethal 4 DVD. Also over at the Digital Bitz website I read a rumor that Braveheart will be coming out on DVD about the same time as well. In the color of shite I hope they are not blind and make an awesome Braveheart special edition. I’m sure that would sell fairly well. Anyway I digress… Go out and buy the whole Lethal Weapon series or wait until the summer of 2000 and hope that the rumor is true.
Video: How does it look?
This a pretty good letterboxed transfer of this classic movie. Well classic to me anyway. The snapper case does say that this movie is enhanced for widescreen TV’s, but that is not the case here. Some one must have slipped up in production, but the picture looks real good none the less. A lot better than the old Laserdisc version. The picture is clean and clear of any blemishes or negative artifacts.
Audio: How does it sound?
This is a very good 5.1 surround sound soundtrack. Being that the movie is about ten years old the thing sounds great on DVD. Also a lot better than the Pro Logic version on Laserdisc. The surround channels get a lot of attention throughout the course of this movie, especially in the beginning. The only thing that keeps this from getting a 5 is that the bass is not that deep and the highs are not crisp and clear as compared to more of today’s soundtracks. Still a great soundtrack from the people at Warner Bros.
Supplements: What are the extras?
You get a four minute stunt featurette about two of the action sequences in the movie. You get some real good production notes and filmmaker biographies as well as a theatrical trailer in 2.0 sound. The deleted scenes from this movie can be found on the Lethal Weapon 4 DVD, which is a must have. But I already said that…
