Publication Date: 12-13-2025

Lethal Weapon 2 (1989) review

Dir. Richard Donner

By: Steve Pulaski

Rating: ★★★½

Lethal Weapon 2 predates Home Alone‘s release by over a year, but harbors a similar spirit that would make that film an instant classic. Consider a scene when Murtaugh (Danny Glover) and Riggs (Mel Gibson) are interrogating a cloying witness named Leo Getz (Joe Pesci), and it descends into a skirmish between the three with Riggs pinching Getz’ bloody nose. In another scene, Riggs attacks goons with a pool-net; later, Murtaugh discovers his home toilet is rigged with a bomb, and his compromising position has just become that much more compromised.

Richard Donner’s sequel to the runaway smash that immediately solidified itself as one of the best buddy-cop comedies is nearly as good as its predecessor. Despite screenwriter Shane Black merely serving as a story credit — the film’s writer is actually Jeffrey Boam, responsible for Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, The Lost Boys, and several other memorable works — Lethal Weapon 2 benefits from the foundation he set. While doubling-down on the odd couple chemistry between Glover and Gibson, this sequel’s success rides high on a swath of new personalities, who function within the verisimilitude of this loud, violent world with ease.

The stoic family-man Murtaugh and the loose cannon Riggs (who has reeled in some of his emotional fragility this time around) have earned one another’s implicit trust as partners. So rare does a film with a needlessly complicated, geographically messy plot find itself so seamlessly executed by way of the energy and exuberance of its cast. Lethal Weapon 2 involves a complex South African contraband operation, where folks with diplomatic immunity deal in gold, drugs, and other nefarious goods (bads?). Their leader is played by Joss Ackland, who orders the strategic implementation of his plans while Derrick O’Connor carries out the hits.

Murtaugh and Riggs are tasked with keeping an eye on Getz, a motormouthed goofball, who discovered the money laundering loophole that led to the criminals siphoning around a half a billion dollars from federal agencies. He’s placed under their protective custody as a government witness, and he’s the epitome of someone just smart enough to crack the codes to infinite wealth but also someone dumb enough to walk into his own execution more than a couple times. Pesci plays this character with such comedic timing, whether he’s trying to smooth-talk Murtaugh and Riggs, or when he’s ranting about fast food drive-thrus.

Boam understands that situational comedy can sometimes only be as memorable for the few minutes of time it consumes. The aforementioned toilet bomb that nearly claims Murtaugh’s life is a sequence split into two halves. The first is the comedy coupled with the panic that ensues upon initial discovery. “Hey, hey, I have to live in this house!” Murtaugh tells the police and bomb squad who begin to tear the bathroom asunder to minimize the devastation. The second part of the scene shows how far Murtaugh and Riggs’ relationship has come; one predicated on friendship first and partners second.

It comes as little surprise that Joe Pesci is one of the biggest reasons for Lethal Weapon 2‘s success. Pesci is most famous for playing intimidating, vulgar, and violent men with no moral compass. Sometimes forgotten is his ability to play gregarious smart-asses who exasperate and entertain in equal measure. It’s a brilliant new fastball for a series that despite losing its screenwriter, seemingly has enough comic possibilities and chemistry to withstand multiple iterations. That’s promising because, after all, I still have two more films to go.

My review of Lethal Weapon
My review of Lethal Weapon 3
My review of Lethal Weapon 4

Starring: Danny Glover, Mel Gibson, Joe Pesci, Joss Ackland, Derrick O’Connor, Patsy Kensit, Darlene Love, and Traci Wolfe. Directed by: Richard Donner.