Parents' Guide to

Lethal Weapon

By Elliot Panek, Common Sense Media Reviewer

age 16+

Mismatched cops spar in violent '80s action hit.

Movie R 1987 110 minutes
Lethal Weapon Poster Image

A Lot or a Little?

What you will—and won't—find in this movie.

Community Reviews

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age 13+

Based on 13 parent reviews

batman12
batman12 Adult
September 8, 2020
age 15+

Definitely a classic but for older teens and adults

This is pretty much your typical 80's R rated action movie with strong violence including a torture scene and language throughout, brief nudity and a scene of drug use which when you put it all together it makes it best suitable for older teens and up.
Katherine R.
Katherine R. Parent of 10, 14, 18+, 18+, 18+ and 5-year-old
June 8, 2024
age 15+

See all 13 parent reviews

What's the Story?

Upon turning 50, LA detective Roger Murtaugh (Danny Glover) has been assigned a new partner, the suicidal loose cannon Martin Riggs (Mel Gibson). Murtaugh, a family man, and Riggs, a widower, form the obligatory cop/buddy odd couple, bickering at first and then gradually rubbing off on one another. They are assigned to investigate the death of a prostitute who happens to be the daughter of Murtaugh's old army buddy. The men behind the crime are part of the Shadow Company, a clique of drug-dealing Vietnam veterans. After the bad guys kidnap Murtaugh's teen daughter, things get personal, and the cops are forced to play rough.

Is It Any Good?

Our review:
Parents say (13 ):
Kids say (21 ):

LETHAL WEAPON is an unsubtle action movie that trades intrigue for visceral emotion. Angst hangs over much of the film. This world is populated with vengeance-crazed murderers and lonely suicides. Writer Shane Black peppers the movie with gallows humor, and veteran action director Richard Donner keeps things lean and mean, refusing to complicate the simple drug-running plot with so much as a twist.

The film caters to the audience's bloodlust, allowing us to relish Riggs' ruthless retribution by making him pay for his sins with his sanity. The violence is justified only in the sense that the bad guys are drug-running murderers and so deserve to die. Gibson excels at playing the dispenser of righteous violence and tragically flawed action hero. Lethal Weapon is suspenseful but never quite achieves the fever pitch of a Die Hard film. It is more interested in justifying violence than making the audience think.

Talk to Your Kids About ...

  • Families can talk about the violence here. Do you think there's a message here amongst the carnage, or is this simply an action film and not meant to be taken seriously?

  • How is race used as a comedic device? Families may want to compare and contrast the ways in which race is presented in more recent films such as Rush Hour, Shanghai Noon, and Men in Black.

  • How does this film meet the criteria of the "buddy movie" formula so often employed in movies?

Movie Details

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