Next year’s Lethal Weapon = Lethal Weapon 2.
Aaaah the late 80s… where:
- The fact that a character’s name is ‘Action’ Jackson didn’t need to be justified. It just was.
- We take for granted that Action Jackson is scary and awe-inspiring as peripheral characters tell us so.
“Your name is Toby!”
- Ditto the fact that his passion for his job and creative methods have resulted in him being demoted and his wife leaving him…
- The bad guy is identified early.
- Better still he is already Action Jackson’s nemesis.
- Better still, still the guy responsible for his demotion and wife leaving him.
- Unexpected and unnecessary nudity was both expected and necessary.
- The bad guy has a hot trophy wife (Sharon Stone) and a hot mistress (Vanity).
- Both of whom are more than willing to take their clothes off for little reason. Furthermore…
- Women get out of the shower nude. Guys are wearing jeans.
- Performing in a club with a totally see through top isn’t noticed by anyone in the club – but those of us watching at home…
- It doesn’t matter if the hero doesn’t actually say something funny or clever, as long as he and the other characters seem to think what he is saying is funny and/or clever.
- Post-kill quips still need work though, no “Hasta la vista Baby” or “Stick around here”… (though “How do you like your ribs” was OK. The answer is apparently ‘exploded’.)
- Dangerous minions can time their hit and run assassination attempts to coincide with the came split second that their target walks through a door, despite traffic and the fact that they are hundreds of yards away with no possible way of knowing that this was the point he was to emerge…
- “I have to catch a cab’ means a chase scene, with Jackson not only catching up but giving him a mouthful through the window of his speeding car… while still on foot!
- Leading to big explosions and certain civilian deaths, none of which are mentioned again.
- People get hit in the face and actually bleed. (Happens less on film nowadays than you think.)
- Cheesy pop music on the soundtrack is justifiable for the fact that it was the 80s, the spiritual home of cheesy pop music.
- Every character actor in the film is recognisable from another classic film of the era. In the first 10 minutes I saw minor roles filled with actors from Predator, Beverly Hills Cop, Red Heat, Back to the Future and seemingly half of the cast of Die Hard.
- We know the big showdown will be a fist fight when we see the Bad Guy training in hand to hand combat.
- A good body double can make you think that a 60 year old is a karate machine… why don’t we ever manage to see his face while he pulling off these athletic moves…
- Stunt men are plentiful and disposable, and unnecessary CGI is not needed.
- Movies were 80 minutes long and had a beginning, middle and end.
Final Rating – 7 / 10. None of the above things are bad. Action Jackson is not in the same league as Lethal Weapon, Die Hard and their peers, but it is a solid formula action comedy, which proves that Carl Weathers had genuine onscreen likability.
