Lethal Weapon 2 Review: Riggs and Murtaugh Face South African Immunity in Tight Sequel

Two years after the first Lethal Weapon, Riggs and Murtaugh are chasing a shipment of gold coins from South Africa when they stumble into a conspiracy protected by diplomatic immunity. That is the setup for Lethal Weapon 2, and it is a better premise than it sounds. The 1989 buddy cop comedy plays like a tighter, meaner version of its predecessor, with a political edge that still lands today.

Richard Donner directs, and he knows exactly what to keep and what to cut. The film runs 114 minutes, and almost nothing slows down. The chase through the consulate, the car chase through the harbor, the fight in the warehouse — each sequence earns its runtime. This is a movie built for momentum, and it rarely lets up.

Trailer, via Warner Bros. Rewind.

Riggs and Murtaugh

Mel Gibson and Danny Glover are the engine. Gibson plays Riggs as the loose cannon, the officer who trusts his instincts over procedure. Glover plays Murtaugh as the family man, the one who worries about the consequences. Together they trade insults and save each other’s lives, and the chemistry holds across the whole picture.

Joe Pesci shows up as Leo Getz, the annoying witness who gets dragged into the middle of everything. His role is smaller than in the first film, but he still steals scenes with his nervous energy. Patsy Kensit plays Rika van den Haas, the secretary who falls for Riggs even as she despises his target. Her presence gives the political angle a human face.

The South African Conspiracy

The villains are Arjen Rudd, the consul-general, and Pieter Vorstedt, his security agent. They are running a smuggling operation that ships drugs from South Africa to the United States, and they use diplomatic immunity to cover it up. That is a clever twist, and the film treats it with a seriousness that the comedy around it never loses.

Rudd is a vile man, and the film does not let him off easy. He represents a system that Riggs and Murtaugh are willing to fight openly, and that tension gives the story a weight the first film lacked. The chase sequences are fun, but the stakes feel higher because the bad guys are not just criminals — they are agents of a regime.

The Chase Through the Harbor

The centerpiece is the final stretch, where Riggs and Murtaugh chase Rudd and his associates through the Los Angeles Harbor. It is a tense sequence, full of gunfire and narrow escapes, and it builds to a payoff that resolves the plot without losing the momentum. The film knows when to let a scene breathe and when to push it forward.

The Political Edge

The film is not subtle about its politics, and it does not need to be. Rudd is a representative of apartheid-era South Africa, and the film makes that clear from the start. Murtaugh enlists Leo’s help to stage a scene that wins the support of anti-apartheid protesters outside the consulate. It is a simple trick, but it works because the film has spent its runtime establishing the villain’s cruelty.

The Shortcomings

The film is not perfect. Some of the humor feels dated, and the pacing occasionally dips during the middle stretch. The supporting cast, including Steve Kahan as Captain Murphy and Jenette Goldstein as Meagan Shapiro, are given less to do than in the first film. But none of that takes away from the core strength.

The Numbers

Here is what the record shows:

1. Runtime: 114 minutes
2. Release date: July 7, 1989
3. Studio: Warner Bros.
4. Academy Award nomination: Best Sound Editing (Robert G. Henderson)
5. Worldwide gross: $227 million
6. Followed by: Lethal Weapon 3 (1992)

The Final Verdict

Lethal Weapon 2 is a tight, funny, and surprisingly pointed action comedy. It earns its reputation as one of the best entries in the series. The cast delivers, the plot delivers, and the action delivers. It is a film that understands what made the first one work and pushes it further.

action comedy · classic cinema · Danny Glover · Lethal Weapon · Mel Gibson · Richard Donner