Lethal Weapon 2
Tags: comedy, neo noir, murder, cult, violence, humor, action, revenge, home movie

Plot synopsis:
The story opens in the middle of a car chase through the 4th Street tunnel in downtown Los Angeles. Martin Riggs (Mel Gibson) and Roger Murtaugh (Danny Glover), partners in the LAPD's homicide division, are in pursuit of a red BMW, while their colleagues are converging on the car from the opposite direction. It's a suspected drug bust.Murtaugh is driving his wife's new station wagon, so he's not wanting to drive it as fast as Riggs wants him too, especially through the tunnel, where there's not much room to maneuver. The cops back at the precinct station, are taking bets on the outcome of the chase.A blue car with more bad guys appears and pulls up next to the red BMW. The bad guys have radios and the police can hear them speaking in an unfamiliar language. Murtaugh speculates as to whether they might be Japanese, figuring that because the car radios are Japanese, maybe the Japanese bought the L.A.P.D. too, since "they own everything else."A man in the blue car passenger's seat leans outside the window and puts a shotgun blast through Murtaugh's station wagon windshield. Riggs kicks the cracked windshield out. The female police dispatcher advises them that shots were fired. Riggs sarcastically thanks her for the heads up.One police car is forced to swerve to avoid a head-on collision, but runs into some other cars and the vehicle explodes in flames. The blue and red cars split off in different directions. Murtaugh and Riggs continue pursuing the red car. The driver of the red car swerves onto a sidewalk, but Murtaugh gets caught up in traffic and has to stop.Riggs jumps out of the car and races past all the stalled cars stopped in traffic, somehow catching up to the red car. As the red BMW makes a slow left turn, Riggs jumps onto the hood with his gun drawn and shouts at the driver that he'd like to see crook's "driver's license and proof of insurance." Riggs falls off the car as it lurches. The driver pauses and raises an automatic weapon and squeezes of a few rounds at Riggs before speeding off again.Riggs takes off running after the BMW again, up a slight grade. Murtaugh catches up to Riggs and tells him to get his slow ass in the car. Riggs insists on driving and pushes Roger over. Roger moves, but warns Riggs not to put a single scratch on the car. They approach traffic congestion on a bridge and Riggs puts the car's left wheels up on the curb scraping the side of the station wagon along it's entire length.The blue car spins out as it approaches an intersection with all lanes blocked. Two men jump out and start shooting at the police. The police return fire. A helicopter appears and the bad guys jump in and it flies away. Meanwhile, Riggs and Murtaugh are still after the BMW, which loses control and crashes through the front window of a store, coming to rest upside down. Riggs and Murtaugh are temporarily stalled when a police car blocks their path, but once it moves out of the way, they hurry up to the crash site. Riggs tells Murtaugh that they will rush the car on the count of three. He counts three and takes off, but Murtaugh is still struggling to get out of the car.The driver of the BMW is gone. Riggs blames Murtaugh for not rushing forward on his count of three. Murtaugh protests and they briefly argue about what exactly on the count of three means. Hearing a noise, and thinking the suspect might be in the trunk, Riggs kicks it open and hundreds of South African krugerrands (gold coins which were illegal in the U.S. at the time due to the South African apartheid government), come spilling out.Back at the precinct, Captain Murphy (Steve Kahan) is very upset at Murtaugh for all the damage that had resulted from the high speed chases, shootings and crashes. He said it's coming out of the department budget. Murtaugh sarcastically tells the captain to pay it off in krugerrands. The captain notes how the arrest was just supposed to be a routine drug bust. Murtaugh can only say that things "got a little bit out of hand."Other detectives are standing around taking bets on whether Riggs can escape from a straight jacket they put him in, specifically whether he could do it in less than five minutes. Everyone cringes when he is able to escape, by dislocating his shoulder, then he slams it back into place against a partition while the police psychiatrist (Mary Ellen Trainor), looks on, distinctly un-amused. Riggs calls her "Mrs. Sigmund Fraud." She asks him why he does that to himself and he says none of the other guys would let him do to them, and besides, he needed the money. One of the guys tosses down a gold kruggerand to pay off the bet, but Murtaugh confiscates it and yells out that it was evidence and whomever had it shouldn't have taken it.Murtaugh tells Riggs that his oldest daughter, Rianne Murtaugh (Traci Wolfe), is going to appear in a commercial that is scheduled to debut that evening on Channel 8 at 8 p.m. Against Murtaugh's wishes, Riggs announces it to all the detectives. Murtaugh is worried that if Rianne stinks, the squad members will tease him unmercifully about it.As Murtaugh and Riggs leave the station for the day, they approach Murtaugh's station wagon, which looks like it's been in a demolition derby. A mechanic is standing over it and tells Murtaugh that the windshield, hood and other parts are all on order.At Murtaugh's home, Murtaugh shows Riggs the new additions to the house that are being built, a 2-car garage and hobby room over it. He plans to retire at age 52. A carpenter (Jack McGee) is using a power nailer and when he discharges the tool, it startles Murtaugh and Riggs and they draw their weapons and point them at the carpenter. He didn't appreciate that. The carpenter also doesn't trust Murtaugh when he asks to see the nail gun, so after just a few seconds the carpenter takes it back from him.Inside the house, Roger's wife, Trish Murtaugh (Darlene Love), gets the family organized to watch Rianne's commercial on television. Even the carpenter has come inside to watch. Roger takes a bite of a sandwich and when the family learns it's tuna, they criticize him in unison, telling him they are boycotting the consumption of tuna because when it is harvested, many dolphins get caught in the nets and are killed. Before Roger can argue with them, the commercial comes on.Rianne appears on the beach, dressed in a swimming suit and cavorting with some friends. She gets close to a young man and they exchange a kiss. The advertisement is for Ramses Condoms. Roger gets very upset, orders the family upstairs and Rianne's boyfriend, George (Allan Dean Moore), to get out of the house. The carpenter tells Murtaugh that he thought it was a very good commercial, and it made him want to go out and buy some rubbers right away. Murtaugh gives him a severe look and the carpenter turns and leaves the house. Murtaugh is mostly thinking about how he's going to be teased at the office -- Riggs begins haranguing him as he leaves the house to clear his head.Arjen Rudd (Joss Ackland), is in his office when one of his goons, a man named Hans (Mark Rolston), comes in. Rudd orders Hans to step onto a large sheet of plastic, explaining that he's having some painting done. Rudd is not happy that Hans lost one million dollars in gold Krugerrands when he crashed and abandoned the red BMW. He says a few words to another of his goons, Pieter Vorstedt (Derrick O'Connor), who is standing to one side. Vorstedt suddenly pulls a pistol from under his jacket, points and shoots Hans through the forehead. Hans falls over onto the plastic sheet.Rudd tells Vorstedt that the police are becoming an intolerable nuisance and need to be dealt with. He hands Pieter a file on Roger Murtaugh and tells him that Murtaugh is the leader of the police, indicating that Murtaugh needs to be paid a visit. Vorstedt notes that Murtaugh is black, a "goddamnt kaffir".Riggs is fixing chili at the Murtaugh's and is alone in the kitchen with Trish. She'd found a gold pen in his shirt that she laundered. He tells Trish that the pen reminds him of the night he lost Vicki, his wife. Since they had never really talked about the time when Riggs' lost Vicki, Riggs explains the association of the ink pen with her death. It was on a night that Riggs was supposed to have dinner with Vicki, but he forgot about it, so she was out driving alone when her car was involved in an accident and she died. He identified her body at the morgue and used that gold pen to sign the form.Riggs lives in a trailer house, right on the beach, with his dog Sam. He goes home and he and Sam watch an episode of the Three Stooges on his small television.Four hooded men break into the Murtaugh's home and surprise Roger and Trish in their bedroom, binding their limbs and mouths with duct tape. One of the men is Pieter, who tells Roger he and his people need to back off on the case involving the Krugerrands, or his family will be at risk. After the men leave, the children come rushing into the bedroom and release them.The next day, Roger tells Riggs what happened, and that he'd sent Trish and the kids to a relative's for awhile. Murtaugh and Riggs wonder if the attackers might be South Afrikaaner. based on their accents. The thugs' racist behavior towards Murtaugh is a clear metaphor for the apartheid government's abuse through its racial segregation in the country.Believing that Murtaugh can use an easier assignment after the attack in his home, his supervisor, Captain Murphy gives the duo an assignment to keep safe a star witness in a federal drug case. The witness is Leo Getz (Joe Pesci), and the assignment should only be 2-3 days, until federal agents come to get him. Murtaugh and Riggs call it a "shit assignment," but Murphy doesn't "give a fuck" what they think.Riggs and Murtaugh go to the Marriott Hotel to hook up with Getz. After Riggs flirts with some women in the hotel jacuzzi, pretending to be a hotel employee, they meet Getz in his sixth floor room. Not happy with the assignment, they are rude to him. That surprises Leo, but he seems pretty thick-skinned about it and gives as good as he gets. Riggs and Murtaugh take over the main bedroom and make Leo move to the smaller room. Leo decides they are playing a game of "bad cop, bad cop" with him.When a waiter arrives to deliver Leo's lunch, the turns out to be a hit man, pulling a pistol he'd hidden in the cart, and attempts to shoot Leo. Leo grabs the hit man's arm, fending him off just long enough for Riggs to launch himself full speed into both of them. The force of his attack drives the hit man, Leo and himself through the window of the room and they fall six floors below into the swimming pool.The hit man is able to escape when Riggs mistakes Leo for the hit man (Leo had a towel over his head) and begins pummeling him in the face. After they get out of the water, Riggs demands to know what Leo witnessed such that it would cause someone to want him dead. When they are dry and sitting around a table in a room, Leo tells them that he'd laundered half a billion dollars in illegal drug money. He explains the process, getting all excited and uttering his trademark, "ok, ok, ok," as he talked. The reason he was in trouble is that he was skimming some of the profits and his clients found out.Riggs and Murtaugh wanted names, but Leo said he only worked with couriers and not directly with the drug dealers. He didn't learn the names of any of the couriers either. However, he was able to remember one time when someone took him to a house on stilts and mentioned a man named Hans.Leo remembered that the house on stilts was on a hill overlooking Los Angeles and that the address consisted of four numbers. Two of the numbers were the year he graduated from accounting school and the first number was "9," his lucky number. With that information, they narrowed the house number to just two possibilities, but they didn't know the street, so using an atlas, they arrived at about six streets to check out. The ninth house they checked turned out to be the one, and Riggs wastes no time approaching. He grabbed some gear and pretended to be a pool cleaning man, even though there was no pool at the house. Of course, he was confronted by two men, whom he immediately disabled and handcuffed before others in the house were attracted by the scuffling and come out shooting.One of the men inside the house was the same man who posed as a waiter at the hotel and had tried to kill Leo. He runs away and commandeers a tow truck on the street. Riggs pursues and jumps on the car being towed, then makes his way up to the tow truck and engages the driver in a fight. Murtaugh and Leo jump in the station wagon and follow.During the furious chase and fight, Riggs loses his balance and nearly falls off the tow truck, dropping his gun in the process. Murtaugh stops his car and Leo jumps out and retrieves Riggs' gun. Riggs falls over the top of the tow truck's cab when the driver suddenly slows down, but Riggs is able to catch himself on the bumper winch and hold on. Approaching traffic cause the truck driver to have to come to a sudden stop and Riggs loses his grip and falls onto the road. Murtaugh is following so closely that he can't stop in time and rear ends the car being towed, sending it flying up and over the tow truck and head on into a small pickup coming the other direction. There was a surfboard on that small pickup and it comes lose and goes flying straight into the windshield of the tow truck, immediately killing the driver.Back at the stilted house, Riggs and Murtaugh are joined by others from their squad and they come upon men removing boxes from the house. The police order the men to stop. About that time, Rudd and Pieter come into view and demand that the police leave the premises, as it's considered South African property, given that he's the Minister of Diplomatic Affairs for the South African Consulate in Los Angeles. He shows them the documentation. When Riggs asks Pieter his name, Riggs doesn't quite understand and says, "I'll just call you Adolph."Rudd asserts that he and his people are immune from U.S. laws, via the Diplomatic Relations Act, and may not be detained for questioning and certainly not arrested. Riggs calls Rudd a "dickhead." Rudd tells Riggs that if he tries anything, then he'll have to deal with the U.S. Department of State, and then they'd see "who is the deekhead now, hey?"A beautiful woman, Rika Van Den Haas (Patsy Kensit) drives up as Riggs and the other police are leaving. Riggs opens the door for her and she drops a briefcase as she's getting out. She and Riggs bump heads as they both bend to pick up the briefcase. She's Rudd's secretary and is bringing the briefcase to him. Riggs is immediately attracted to her and begins flirting with her. She is obviously attracted to him as well.Riggs and Murtaugh are making their case with Captain Murphy, who is not happy that he's going to have to personally apologize Rudd for the violation of his diplomatic status. Riggs and Murtaugh try to convince the Captain that Rudd and his henchmen are practicing a new version of the "Triangle Trade." What used to be molasses-to-rum-to slaves, is now drugs-to-dollars-to-Krugerrands. The captain is further infuriated when he meets Leo and learns he's been running around on the case with Riggs and Murtaugh.Murtaugh approaches his desk, and finds a small tree made out of rubbers sitting on it. He lets out a loud moan and everyone in the room breaks up laughing. After a few seconds, Murtaugh can't help but laugh himself.Rudd and his men take Rika home to her apartment and as they are dropping her off, Rudd attempts to explain to her that the black policemen in Los Angeles do not like South African whites because of the policies and conditions in South Africa. He appears to be trying to woo her and doesn't want her to find reasons not to like him.As he returns to his car, Rudd tells his men that because things are getting out-of-hand with the police, he wants to move the cash they have on hand in one large shipment.Riggs, Murtaugh and Leo go through a Subway Sandwich Shop drive-thru. Leo ends up with a tuna sandwich, and he's not happy about that. He refuses to eat it, then he decides the people at Subway screwed up the order, so he starts ranting about how they should never go to a drive-thru because the employees know they will never see you again and they fuck you over.Riggs begins harassing Rudd, following him when he drives somewhere in his car and even joining a crowd protesting apartheid. He makes sure that Rudd sees him every time.When Riggs returns home he finds Leo there cleaning up the place (Riggs lost his argument with Murtaugh about where Leo should spend the night). Leo had even kicked Sam out of the trailer while he worked. Riggs tells Leo to leave his place alone. Riggs has to scramble around to find his phone when it starts ringing. It's his office telling him that Roger hasn't been heard from for a long time. Riggs and Leo go immediately to Roger's home, where Riggs kicks open the front door and goes in with his gun drawn. Leo announces that he'd cover the back door and sprints around there.Riggs finds Murtaugh upstairs, sitting on his toilet, legs numb and sweat on his forehead. He tells Riggs that he'd just been relaxing and reading his copy of Saltwater Sportsman magazine, when he glanced at the roll of toilet paper and saw that someone had written, "Boom, you're dead." Murtaugh had to sit there like that all night.Riggs gets on his hands and knees, to look behind the toilet, and confirms that there was a bomb back there containing C4 explosive. Roger doesn't want him to call the bomb squad, but realizes they have to. The police psychiatrist comes too, but after seeing Murtaugh on the toilet, she decides to leave. Leo intercepts her and starts asking her about a disturbing dream he had.Jarvis (Kenneth Tigar), the bomb squad supervisor, oversees preparations, then gives Riggs his flak jacket to wear, as Riggs tells him he is not leaving Roger alone. After the bathroom is cleared of everyone, except Riggs and Murtaugh, the two share a moment of mostly unspoken fondness for one another, as there's a good chance they will die. Murtaugh does make an attempt at levity by wondering why they couldn't have planted the bomb in Trish's stove, and which Riggs notes would have saved a lot of people a lot of suffering (Trish wasn't much of a cook).Riggs climbs into the bathtub and grabs Murtaugh's hands. They agree to count three and then Riggs will pull Roger into the cast iron tub, and they will pull the bomb blanket over the top of them. They have maybe 1.5 seconds to do all that, thanks to some liquid nitrogen that had been sprayed over the bomb. Riggs counts and they go. After the massive explosion, that sends the fully intact toilet out over the yard and onto the Murtaugh's station wagon windshield, Roger and Martin are amazed that they both survived and were not injured, other than their ears hurt a lot.The next day, Leo pretends to be a Mr. Jones and he approaches a man at the immigration desk at the South African consulate office. He tells the man that he needs help convincing his friend, Alfonse, not to go to South Africa. Leo says his friend is there and he calls him in. It's Murtaugh. When the consulate employee sees the black Alfonse, he immediately agrees with Leo that Alfonse should not travel to South Africa. Murtaugh then launches into a tirade against apartheid and insists that the people need to eliminate it. During the diversionary disturbance, Riggs is able to sneak into the building and make his way into Rudd's office. He grabs a piece of paper from a notepad on the desk and puts it in his pocket, just as Rudd, Pieter, and four other men come into the office.Riggs had been able to hide behind the door as they filed in, then he closes it, drawing everyone's attention. When Rudd orders his men to show Riggs to the street, Riggs knocks two of them to the ground, then draws his gun and orders the other men to keep their hands away from their weapons. He tells Rudd that he and his people should fold up their tent and get the fuck out of the United States, or he'd fuck their ass and send them home with their balls in a sling. Rudd calls Riggs a "kaffir lover" (referring to blacks).The situation is pretty tense, and to make sure he can get out ok, as well and to emphasize his point, Riggs shoots the glass of a large aquarium set in the wall, causing the water and fish to cascade everywhere. The men are all busy trying to save Rudd's exotic African Knife fish as Riggs opens the door and leaves. On the way out, he encounters Rika. She asks what he's doing there and he tells her he was just up shooting the breeze, and fish, with her boss.Riggs is picked up by Roger and Leo in the station wagon. They laugh and tell Riggs about their experience there at the consulate. Leo got a real kick out of the immigration employee being shocked when he first saw Roger, and observing, "but, you're blick!"Riggs shows Roger the piece of paper he found in Rudd's office. The words "Alba Varden, Thursday" are on it. Roger thinks there's something familiar about the name "Alba Varden" but he can't quite place it.As they drive away in the Murtaugh demolition derby mobile, Leo sees a deli and wants to stop and get something to eat. Despite being told to stay in the car, he insists on getting out and opens the left rear passenger door. A passing car hits the door and tears it off the hinges.Rudd notices the missing sheet from his paper pad and tells Vorstedt it's time to take stronger actions with the police.Riggs follows Rika to a grocery store and threatens to embarrass her if she doesn't agree to have dinner with him at his place. She's reluctant, but has no choice but to agree when he makes a scene at the market. He takes her back to his trailer, where he notices her staring at his wedding ring. He tells her that he was married once, but offers no more details. She admits that she doesn't like her boss, Rudd, and hopes that he gets in trouble for whatever it is he's up to.As Riggs and Rika are beginning their evening together, Pieter Vorstedt and his men were in the process of murdering police officers Jerry Collins (Grand L. Bush), shot while exercising in gravity boots at his home; Meagan Shapiro (Jenette Goldstein), killed by a bomb placed under her diving board; and Tom Wyler (Juney Smith), Tim Cavanaugh (Dean Norris), and several others, killed by a bomb rigged inside Cavanaugh's stereo that went off while they were playing cards.Riggs and Rika evict Sam via the doggy door in the floor of the trailer and they spend several hours of bliss making love.Roger had to miss the poker game with Cavanaugh and the others because he had to watch Leo. Leo, meanwhile, was helping Roger put together his income taxes. As Roger looks over his receipts, including one for his boat, he suddenly remembers what "Alba Varden" means; it's the name of a cargo ship that he had noticed in a family home video of his birthday aboard his own fishing boat.Roger rushes to his house, leaving Leo alone in the car, finds the video and confirms his recall. Meanwhile, Leo is accosted by Rudd's men, who drive away with Leo and Murtaugh's car.Roger is attacked inside his house by two other men, one at a time. He manages to kill the first with a nail through the forehead. He used the nail gun that the carpenter had shown him earlier, then he uses the nail gun to put three nails in the chest of the second man. Murtaugh catches his breath and says, "nailed 'em both." He then remembers Leo and runs out to find him and the station wagon gone.Riggs' and Rika's lovemaking is interrupted by Sam, when he sticks his head through the doggy door and barks at Riggs. Riggs senses something is amiss and he listens carefully for a few seconds, then orders Rika to get dressed. Riggs looks out the window and sees two approaching helicopters. He tells Rika to get down on the floor, just as automatic weapons fire starts shredding the walls of the trailer.Riggs and Rika escape through the doggy door and Riggs shouts at Rika to get to his truck once the shooters pause to reload. When one of the helicopters sets down and four men jump out and continue shooting into the trailer, Riggs comes up behind one of them and twists his body so another shooter hits his own man in the chest, then Riggs uses the dead man's weapon to kill the shooter. He then jumps on top of his trailer and kills the other two shooters, and the helicopter pilot. The second helicopter appears and Riggs heads for his truck.He jumps in with Rika and she pounds on his chest, demanding to know who those people are. Riggs says he doesn't know and asks her what she's doing Saturday, then he puts the truck in gear and takes off. He slows down to wait for Sam, who's running to catch up, then has to take time to return fire at the second helicopter, hitting at least one man on board, and forcing the helicopter to turn away.Riggs takes Rika home. She agrees to let him live with her, since his place is all shot up. He sends her on to her apartment, promising to return later, but as he's getting into his truck, Pieter ambushes and knocks him out. While two other men grab Rika, Sam can be seen in the back of the truck, lying low.After Riggs regains consciousness, he finds himself on a pier, bound and face-to-face with Vorstedt. Vorstedt tells Riggs that four years ago, when Riggs was working narcotics in Long Beach, and was unknowingly getting close to nailing Rudd. Vorstedt was then contracted to kill Riggs. However, the person in the car he ambushed was not Riggs, but Riggs' wife Vicky. He tells Riggs that she took a bit of time to die.Riggs is bound in a straight jacket by two of Rudd's men and thrown into the water near the pier. He executes his shoulder dislocation maneuver and frees himself from his bonds. As he turns to start up to the surface, he comes face to face with Rika, who had been thrown in the water earlier and drowned. Riggs surfaces, gasps for air, then climbs out of the water and grabs a short length of chain draped across a small boat motor. He ambushes the two men, who were still up on the pier. He snaps the neck of one and shatters the skull of the second by smashing it through a car window, then repeatedly slamming his neck between the car door and the door jam. Riggs forces his shoulder back into place then dives down and retrieves Rika's body and takes her to the beach. Sam sits quietly by as Riggs walks aimlessly, carrying Rika's body as he grieves.Riggs eventually calls Roger, telling his partner that "they killed them both" (Vicky and Rika). He tells Murtaugh that he is no longer a cop tonight, that it was now personal and he was going to fuck Rudd, Vorstedt and the others. Roger tired vainly to talk Riggs out of doing anything rash, but realized he was probably wasting his breath. He quietly removed his own badge and took off to intercept Riggs near the house on stilts.Leo is captive inside the house on stilts, where one of Vorstedt's men is repeatedly hitting Leo across the face. He refuses to tell Vorstedt anything having to do with how he stole their money.Roger intercepts Riggs on the road short of the house. Riggs warns him not to try and talk him out of it. Riggs says he heard on the radio about the murders of their fellow officers, and that they've declared war on the police. Roger just asks if Riggs has a plan. Riggs tells him to go around to the front of the house and wait for his signal, that he'd know the signal when he saw it, and then charge in and start shooting. When Roger told Riggs that Leo was inside, Riggs tells him to be careful of Leo.Riggs wraps a steel cable around one of the steel support stilts of the house and hooks the other end around his truck bumper. He then starts violently lurching the truck forward over and over, jerking the support structure loose and causing the house to shake. At first, the inhabitants think it's an earthquake, but when they look out, they sees the truck and Pieter snaps off a few shots at Riggs before he gets out of the house.Roger shoots two bad guys from outside the house, then rushes in and gets Leo out just before the house comes crashing down. Riggs jumps out of his truck and jumps up and down in celebration. When he rejoins with Roger and Leo, he learns that "Adolph" had escaped.Leo is told to return to the police station and wait for the federal marshal. He's reluctant to do that until Murtaugh tells him he can use the siren on the way there. Before Leo leaves, he gives both Murtaugh and Riggs hugs.Murtaugh and Riggs head for the docks in search of the cargo ship, the Alba Varden. Murtaugh tells Riggs that it's scheduled to sail for South Africa. They find the ship and see three men standing near a container waiting to be loaded onto the ship. They ambush the men and take their weapons, then break into the container to investigate. Inside, they find Rudd's Mercedes sedan and numerous pallets piled high in shrink wrapped United States currency, in multiple denominations. It was probably a total of several hundred million dollars. Murtaugh called it the "Donald Trump Lotto," and grabbed a handful of one thousand dollar bills, considering how it would easily pay for his children's college educations. Riggs suggests he keep it, but Murtaugh thinks better of it and puts it down.The container doors are suddenly shut and locked on the outside. Rudd decides that Riggs and Murtaugh can just ride along with them to South Africa and orders the container loaded onto the Alba Varden. Riggs comes up with a plan. As the container pauses directly over the ship, the doors suddenly burst open and the Mercedes comes flying out, accompanied by thousands of bills. The car explodes in a fireball and the bills flutter down into the water and into the hold of the ship. Rudd observes, shocked, then he calmly orders his men to make sure that Riggs and Murtaugh die.As Rudd's men start shooting down into the water, Riggs and Murtaugh grab onto ropes, preparing to rappel down into the hold of the ship. Murtaugh is a bit reluctant, wanting Riggs to go first, but Riggs gives Roger a nudge over the edge, then follows. Riggs shoots two of the bad guys on his way down. Once on the ship, Riggs shoots two more men. The second man is recipient of about 15 shots fired by Riggs, who shouts the names of Vicki and Rika as he's blasting away.Roger shoots and kills one of the bad guys, then Riggs takes down another. Roger makes his way up on deck. Riggs, still in the hold, suddenly takes a knife in the calf of his right leg. It was thrown by Pieter, who then rushes forward and starts delivering vicious round-house kicks to Riggs' body and head.Roger shoots another bad guy while Riggs finally musters enough strength to start fighting back against Pieter. Pieter grabs the knife in Riggs' leg and gives it a twist. Riggs yells in agony, then pulls the knife and Pieter's hand away from his leg. In the ensuing tug of war for the knife, Riggs forces it into Pieter's chest and jerks it sharply upwards. As Pieter falls to the deck, Riggs turns and walks away, noticing the control to the hoist for the container. Pieter isn't dead and pulls a pistol from a holster on his lower leg, preparing to shoot Riggs, but Riggs reaches out and pushes the button that releases the container poised high above and it drops and crushes Pieter to death.Rudd suddenly appears up on deck and shoots down at Riggs, hitting him 2-3 times, and appearing to kill him. Roger then calls out to Rudd to drop his weapon. Rudd holds up his South African diplomatic I.D. and reminds Roger that he has diplomatic immunity. Roger pauses a moment, then shoots Rudd through the forehead, saying "it's just been revoked!"Murtaugh hurries down the ladder and over to Riggs, fearing he was dead. Roger starts yelling out, "breathe Riggs, you're not dead until I say you're dead!" Surprisingly, Riggs moves and he asks Murtaugh to reach into his pocket and get his cigarettes. Once Murtaugh has the pack of cigarettes, Riggs asks him to throw them away, saying "those things will kill ya!"Riggs wonders about Rudd and the others. Murtaugh tells him the bad guys "have been de-kaffir-nated." Sirens can be heard in the background. Riggs looks deep into Murtaugh's eyes and tells him, "you really are a beautiful man...give us a kiss before they come."The two buddies laugh and joke as the story ends.

Review: They can't arrest them because of diplomatic immunity, so Riggs goes in and shoots up the place where they're staying.Riggs finds himself a new girl (Patsy Kensit), while Murtaugh protects a federal witness named Leo Getz (Joe Pesci), a lovable little blabbermouth who likes being one of the cops.
Of course Riggs and Murtaugh pick on him throughout the movie, but their friendship is a sort of love-to-hate, explained in "Lethal Weapon 4" (1997).What a hard action movie/sequel this is.
Mel Gibson and Danny Glover's winning chemistry created some of the most tender moments in the series and "Lethal Weapon 2" excels because they make the audience care about their characters.
Mel Gibson and Danny Glover return to kick heads and shoot bad guys for the second time, as Riggs and Murtaugh, the "Oscar and Felix" of law enforcement in "Lethal Weapon 2." This timearound, the boys are forced to become the 3 Stooges when they are assigned to guard a feisty, foul-mouthed federal witness named Leo Getz (the frantic Joe Pesci) from a group of sadistic Afrikaner thugs (led by the usually dark-natured character actor Joss Acklund).
The duo have to fight for their right to fight back, as the criminals declare war on the cops, and arouse the lethal weapon in Riggs.The introdction of Joe Pesci's character is a little annoying at first but it soon grows on you and he adds a focus for the comedy element.Richard Donner again directs the cop duo and again we have a movie well worth watching.Plenty of action, a few more laughs and a lethal weapon that is still just as sharp, all combine to deliver another great outing for Riggs and Murtaugh.8/10.
This time our favorite mismatched cops (Mel Gibson and Danny Glover) take on South African diplomats (who I think are German) who are taking advantage of the system by using their status to deal drugs, after numerous warnings from the dealers, as well as near death experiences, our favorite two cops go out with all pistols blazing in a thrilling climax which ends in explosive fashion.
Joe Pesci enters the Lethal Weapon-series as the annoying and witty Leo Getz(ok ok ok ok?) Riggs and Murtaugh must fight against a South-African diplomat, who`s a big drugdealer.
i thought the opening sequence was great,, the chase scene,, the rubbers scene was good too, making fun of Murtaugh's daughter's commercial,, this one gets serious bunch of cops get killed in this one,, you also find out what happens to Rigg's wife from before the first one,, this time Riggs and Murtaugh are dealing with the South Africans,, and Krugerands,, Joe Pesci seems to brilliantly steals the show as Leo Getz,, get it, what you want Leo Gets,, haha lol, so anyway he's just has the best line ever in this,,, they f you at the drive thru,, wow amazing,, very true also,, i liked the fast pacing of this movie,, the stunts were great,, the house on the stilts..
There is an uncomfortable sense of the South Africans being there - they are easy targets, and the film will win fans cheaply in this regard.Of all people, a Joe Pesci character named Leo Getz is implemented into proceedings; a witness who needs protecting and who is assigned to Riggs and Murtagh's care but whose presence soon sees both of their paths more intrinsically linked than first appears.
With an uneven tone made possible by scenes of terrific violence and terror lined up beside more light hearted and more throwaway moments, not to mention a cackling chief villain at the centre of it whose reoccurring line is the roaringly amusing "......dip-lur-mat-ic immu-ni-tie!" said in that way only a South African could, Lethal Weapon 2 is the sequel to the film that was clinging on by its fingernail for a recommendation in the first place, and of which doesn't work..
While it still plumbs some dark, painful subject matter for its lead characters, Lethal Weapon 2 skews lighter by treating the Murtaugh-Riggs dynamic as the stuff of fruitful comedy, an approach intensified by the slightly annoying, but still faithfully endearing, Leo Getz character, whom Joe Pesci makes all his own.But it's the supreme comfort of Mel Gibson and Danny Glover, with both each other and the script that rockets this to the top of buddy movies to such an extent that it became ripe for parody.
The action is still just as good, and there is still plenty to enjoy about Lethal Weapon 2.Lethal Weapon 2 wastes no time getting started as we see LAPD Detectives Martin Riggs (Mel Gibson) and Roger Murtaugh (Danny Glover) in the middle of a police pursuit through the streets of Los Angeles with an unidentified suspect driving a red BMW which turns out to be transporting a trunk full of gold Krugerrands.
Rudd and Vorstedt continue to deceitfully continue their smuggling operation while hiding their diplomatic credentials and Riggs and Murtaugh vow to take them down.Lethal Weapon 2 adds a lighter comedic element with the introduction of Joe Pesci as Leo Getz.
Here in Lethal Weapon 2, Pesci's Leo Getz is nothing more than an irritating annoyance but enhances the comic relief to counterbalance the violent action scenes.It was great to see Mel Gibson and Danny Glover continue their dynamic partnership as Martin Riggs and Roger Murtaugh.
Continuing my plan to watch every Mel Gibson movie in order, I come to Lethal Weapon 2Plot In A Paragraph: The boys are back in town as L.A.P.D. officers, Martin Riggs (Gibson) and Roger Murtaugh (Danny Glover) who must protect an federal witness (A brilliant Joe Pesci), while taking on a gang of South African drug dealers hiding behind their diplomatic immunity.It's easy to forget how big this movie actually was in 1989.
This movie has the great duo of Mel Gibson and Danny Glover are back this time, thwarting South African diplomats.
I really really liked Lethal Weapon for a whole host of reason, but the sequel certainly doesn't stand up to its predecessor.The character development, which in the first film was pivotal, is dropped and your just expected to enjoy the character of Riggs and Murtaugh on the merits of the first film alone, which is alright at the start of the film, but soon it is revealed they are simply shadows of the previous multi-dimensional selves (especially Riggs).The film lacks the dark underbelly of the first, in which despite having a good plot, the screwed up achololic and weary senior officer's transformation in to coherent unit was nothing less of genius.Plus this film has the terrible Patsy Kensit in, whose South African accent is actually terrible, and can't act for toffee.Its a shame, because I really wanted to love this film, as much as the first one, but despite not being a bad movie it just doesn't live up to the original..
She's the naive yet sexy love interest of Riggs (Gibson), and plays her part very well.There's every single element in this movie which makes up great action, and film.
This movie is at least as good as its predecessor, at times it even gets a better movie than the original.Just like "Lethal Weapon" this movie is just very basic action material.
A few things I liked about this film were the romance between Riggs and Rika (Patsy Kensit), whenever the bad guys got their a**** kicked, and Leo's (Joe Pesci) wise remarks.
Lethal Weapon 2 is a rare sequel in which compared to many movie sequels, this one could be ranked as one of the many great sequels along with being one of the better action movies of 1989.In 1987, movie fans were introduced to partners, the wacky but volatile Martin Riggs (Mel Gibson) and cool but cautious Roger Murtaugh (Danny Glover) to a little known movie called Lethal Weapon.
The subplot involves a ruthless villain played by Joss Ackland who's pretending to be a diplomat for South Africa where they could do their crime in Los Angeles; there's also a witness that both Riggs and Murtaugh look after by the name of Leo Getz (Joe Pesci) who can't seem to shut the hell up at any cost.
Leo's a witness to bringing down the fake diplomat whereas Riggs discovers that one of the criminals wanting to kill him, Murtaugh and Leo has ties to his wife's death.Lethal Weapon 2 still proves to be a wham, bam, thank you ma'am movie where it feels like between the action, the relationship of the characters and the talking, this sequel proves to outshine most sequels..
Thankfully the plot moves along at a supercharged rate and he gets overshadowed.Still this is better than a lot of sequels, as LA detective Riggs (Mel Gibson) and Murtaugh (Danny Glover) reprise their roles and chemistry this time battling a vicious South African drug cartel.I also enjoyed the quieter side here and seeing how Martin's relationship (and mental status) had progressed, in particular in his scenes with Rogers wife and family.
it's nice to have a big-audience action movie attacking apartheid and the slaughter of sea mammals, instead of acting as an enlistment poster for the Army Air Corps, local vigilante groups or the reopening of the Vietnam War, the sentiments don't really transcend the car crashes.Pesci's terrific comic performance really gooses the proceedings, but the film also works because of its exciting action content, the presence of Patsy Kensit as Riggs' love interest, and the series-best interplay between the two lead characters.
Lethal Weapon 2 is a brilliant movie with a very well developed storyline and a very good cast.The movie is just as good as the first Lethal Weapon.On terms of action and storyline, the first Lethal Weapon is certainly better,but with humour, Lethal Weapon 2 is much funnier.The chemistry between Mel Gibson and Danny Glover seemed much better this time around,they obviously got to know each other after the first,also the edition of Joe Pesci was a great decision,he is both a great actor and a very funny one too.Lethal Weapon 2 is filled with action and comedy and fans of the first shouldn't be disappointed.Martin and Roger are hired to take care of an accountant who's life is at risk,however this job also puts their own lives at risk..
As 80s action flicks go, this is definitely one of the best for spectacular vehicular chaos, ballistic mayhem, random acts of death and destruction, and tuneless music.Jeffrey Boam's script delivers on all counts, matching Shane Black's original in terms of wit, pathos, and excitement, and although it does introduce what would become one of the most irritating characters in cinematic history—fast talking money launderer Leo Getz (Joe Pesci)—at least Boam has the good sense to inflict a lot of pain and suffering on the guy in the process, Leo getting more than a few bruises as the story progresses.Seasoned Hollywood director Richard Donner handles proceedings well, balancing the light-hearted moments and the gritty action just right (a trick he seems to have forgotten come part 3), and with the benefit of a bigger budget than before, he gets to pull off some truly impressive action scenes, including the amazing destruction of an entire house on stilts.Part 2 also benefits immensely from a pair of memorable villains—South African diplomat Arjen Rudd, played by Joss Ackland, and his truly wicked henchman/assassin Pieter (Derrick O'Connor), and the welcome presence of the wooden but still very lovely Patsy Kensit, who very kindly strips off for a sex scene (the price we must pay for that pleasure is yet another Mel Gibson ass shot, but at least it's only a side view— not a full on crack shot like in the first film!)..
Mel Gibson & Danny Glover return in this equally fun, action packed film as they are assigned to protect a government witness(Joe Pesci) whose life is in danger from South African gangsters who want to preserve Apartheid, something which both Riggs and (especially) Murtaugh oppose.
Glover and Gibson are back as a crime fighting duo who fight crime, make jokes and have a very powerful friendship.This movie is about Riggs and Murtaugh who are after South African diplomats who are using their diplomatic immunity to commit crimes in American without being arrested.This is a great sequel to the original.
Darn good film-making here."Lethal Weapon 2" is quite possibly one of the best sequels of all time.
Darn good film-making here."Lethal Weapon 2" is quite possibly one of the best sequels of all time.
Gibson and Glover respectively reprise their roles as LAPD officers, Martin Riggs and Roger Murtaugh, who protect an irritating federal witness, played by Joe Pesci, while taking on a gang of South African drug dealers hiding behind diplomatic immunity.
Danny Glover and Mel Gibson as cops Murtaugh and Riggs had enough chemistry in 1987's "Lethal Weapon" to generate more than four times the film's estimated budget that it easily green-lit a sequel.
The film also deepens the humanity of Murtaugh and Riggs (specifically Riggs in this one) at the same time, which is pretty admirable for an action script back in the 1980s.The gunfire does get excessive at times and much like the original there's some crazy new scene unfolding around every corner with little lead in, but by some point in this film you just accept that as part of the Lethal Weapon universe--the bad guys are everywhere and there's always something going on.
Riggs and Murtaugh return once again in this fun, action-packed sequel.This time around, they are met by South African diplomats, led by Arjen Rudd (Joss Ackland).
Also here, there is a new member of the gang, the hunted, klutzy Leo Getz (Joe Pesci).I feel this movie's action scenes were great, but the character development wasn't as good as the first.
Mel is back as Detective Sergeant Martin Riggs and Danny Glover is still his partner, Detective Sergeant Roger Murtaugh but besides having to deal with evil minded South African diplomats they have to babysit Joe Pesci as Leo Getz their mob informant turned amateur Detective.
Martin Riggs (Two Time Oscar-Winner:Mel Gibson) and Roger Murtaugh (Danny Glover) find themselves on the case of corrupted South African "Diplomats" (Joss Ackland and Derrick O'Connor).
In the second installment of the "Lethal Weapon" series, we see Mel Gibson and Danny Glover going after South African diplomats.
In the meantime, Riggs falls in love with the girl who is the secretary for the diplomats.And we see Joe Pesci in his first Lethal Weapon movie, as Leo Getz, the quick talking little banker who tried to steal money from the South African diplomats.
Lethal Weapon 2 isn't as fantastic as the first movie, but still offers amazing action, Gibson and Glover come back with really good chemistry, and you got Joe Pesci as Leo Getz, who has a brilliant and funny performance for his role.
Mel Gibson and Danny Glover return in the sequel to one of the greatest action movies ever made.Some people say this is the weakest in the series, but I rate it over Lethal Weapon 3.
Mel Gibson and Donald Glover's amazing chemistry is what fuels the franchise along with a new additional character of Joe Pesci who is equally good in his portrayal.Lethal Weapon 2 is effective for a definite amount of time when it is showing off its tricks and turns, but beyond that, it fumbles to offer anything..
Riggs (Mel Gibson) and Murtaugh (Danny Glover) are on the trail of South African diplomats who are using their immunity to engage in criminal activities.This is not as "classic" as the original, and lacks that Christmas element, but we have some new fun.
Leo's "OK, OK, OK" jabber is amusing and annoying in equal proportion, so thankfully Leo gets more a bit part than a supporting role.All Lethal Weapons have great setpieces and action sequences, but this film is remembered for three things:The exploding toilet scene - "DIPLOMATIC IMMUNITY!" - Mel and hottie South African secretary Rika getting' it onnnnnn.The fact that South Africa was right in the middle of apartheid when this film was released added a new wrinkle for the pair, obviously Roger, and made shooting white people cool again.Of course both Riggs and Murtaugh get their own personal nemesis to deal with and everyone nearly dies multiple times, but only those with less than 4 lines of dialogue actually bite the dust.Lethal Weapon 2 shouldn't work but thanks to the chemistry between the two leads, the efficiency of the action and the "just right" blend of action and comedy, you'll go a long way before you see a sequel as good as Lethal Weapon 2.Final Rating - 8.5 / 10.
"Lethal Weapon", a successful action blockbuster from 1987 starring Mel Gibson and Danny Glover, spawned a total of three sequels.
Mel Gibson gives a great performance as the Wacko Seargent Martin Riggs, Danny Glover is in the role he was born to play the Easy Going Seargent Roger Murtaugh, and Joe Pesci delivers some excellant comic relief, I guess You could call him "The Third Stooge." Joss Ackland and Derrick O'Conner perform well as the diabolical South African Drug Dealers.
If you liked the first one you will love Lethal weapon 2 non stop action great car chases shootouts and comedy.The villains are good played by Joss Ackland and Derrick O Conner who play South African diplomats that are up to no good .
Mel Gibson and Danny Glover returns as Detectives Martin Riggs and Roger Murtaugh, who find themselves assigned to protect an accountant (Joe Pesci) whose testimony involves a large money laundering conspiracy that involves South African diplomats during the time of apartheid.
Lethal Weapon 2 is a 1989 American buddy cop action film directed by Richard Donner, and starring Mel Gibson, Danny Glover, Joe Pesci , Patsy Kensit, Derrick O'Connor and Joss Ackland.