The Pinnacle of Buddy Action Movies: Lethal Weapon

By | December 1, 2021

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Perhaps the best onscreen chemistry of any cop movie.

When it comes to buddy cop movies Starsky and Hutch may have laid the foundation but the gold standard remains Mel Gibson’s and Danny Glover’s “Lethal Weapon.” However, Gibson and Glover weren’t the only incredibly talented duo working on the film that grossed over $120 million worldwide. Genius screenwriter Shane Black and director Richard Donner also helped create a series that eventually grossed nearly a billion dollars. Here’s everything you ever wanted to know about “Lethal Weapon”.

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Black's dialogue between Roger Murtaugh or Martin Riggs enraptured audiences. (geeksgamers)

An Early Mess

Shane Black was just 23 years old when he wrote the first “Lethal Weapon” and he only had six weeks to do it. To make his deadline he drew inspiration from one of his favorite films, “Dirty Harry.”

“What I was looking to do at that time was write an urban western. I was thinking about for that character, sort of the Frankenstein who everybody reviles. And then they have to knock on Frankenstein’s cage and say, 'Well we kind of need what you do even though we hate and revile you. Please come out and kill these people for us,' and it’s the old gunslinger."

Despite a clear vision and such a short timeline, Black ended up throwing his first script in the trash. "I thought it was dreadful.”