Plot: What’s it about?
Mel Gibson, Richard Donner and Danny Glover are almost as synonymous as Moe, Curly and Larry (more on that in Lethal Weapon 3). These men have collaborated on at least five movies and all of them are memorable, but none such as this first installment in the Lethal Weapon series. We see a Mel Gibson that had not yet become the megastar that he is today, though a very well-established actor at the time. In this, the Director’s Cut of Lethal Weapon, we’re treated to a few scenes that ended up on the cutting room floor the first time around (and the first time around for the DVD version as well).
We meet Martin Riggs at his brink of literal suicide, which we find out later he’s mourning the death of his wife. Unlike the hammy, goofy Riggs that we see in parts 2-4, we see that this is definately a darker more “on the edge” Mel Gibson. Gibson plays the role to a tee, and it’s this edginess that made this movie the best (in my opinion) of the series. His soon to be partner, Roger Murtaugh (Danny Glover) is investigating the apparent suicide of one of his Vietnam buddies daughter. We also learn that Murtaugh is turning 50, looking retirement in the face, sees his kids growing up before his eyes and is does strange things to him. What he needs least of all is some wild cannon of a new partner, which he gets. Initially, the two don’t hit if off, but as they are around each other more and more, it eventually evolves into a very strong friendship. Featuring Gary Busey as the psychotic Mr. Joshua. We learn about the history of Riggs and his connection to the parties that eventually kidnap Murtaugh’s daughter, it’s interesting though not essential to the plot.
As mentioned above, Lethal Weapon is unlike any of the other Lethal Weapon series due to it’s gritty, tough storyline. I don’t think at the time they made this, they had a sequal in mind, let alone three more. Richard Donner took a chance and made the movie. Gibson’s performance, in my opinion, rivals his in Braveheart in terms of sheer performing. We’ve become so accustomed to seeing that grin on his face, it’s hard to believe that he started out doing movies like this, Gallapoli, and the Mad Max series (try and find a grin on his face in that trilogy)! Overall, this new verison of Lethal Weapon is an improvement over the previous version, but the question is will you want to buy it?
Video: How does it look?
Lethal Weapon, unlike the rest of the series, is the only one that is shot in a 1.85:1 ratio. Why? I don’t know…it certainly doesn’t detract from the movie’s action and the anmorphic picture looks just as good as it’s counterpart that came out a few years ago. Colors are rich and vibrant, no shimmering, but I did notice some digial artifacting, which did suprise me. This movie is over ten years old now and you’d figure with Warner doing another “Director’s Cut” of the film, they might go back and correct the mistakes that they made the first time. But they didn’t.
Audio: How does it sound?
Next to the deleted scenes, this is the only real benefit of owning this disc. While the Dolby Digital 5.1 soundtrack sounds as good as the old one, Warner has added a second DTS 5.1 soundtrack. The DTS sounds better than the DD soundtrack, but not by much. Originally a stereo mix, it’s hard to make one sound far better than the other, but this does as good a job as any. Dialogue is clean and the surround channels get a work out if you’re choosing the DTS option.
Supplements: What are the extras?
It all comes down to this…with this new “Director’s Cut”, we get 7 minutes of footage that was only previously available via the Lethal Weapon 4 DVD. This version has the most amount of footage restored and has the advent of the DTS soundtrack, though like the rest of the DTS titles that Warner just put out, it’s hardly advertised. What do you get for your money? You get the same DVD that’s been out with some added scenes and a new DTS soundtrack. If you don’t already own Lethal Weapon (and chances are if you own one, you own them all) then this is definately the version to have. If you’re like me and already had the whole set, well then I see no reason why you should buy this one, unless you just have to have the deleted scenes in the movie. Overall, it’s a good disc, but I was a bit disappointed as to what they could have done with this movie. Maybe they were counting on the name of “Lethal Weapon” to sell the disc…
