The first in the series of four lethal weapon movies this will probably always be my favourite since I was a impressionable 13 years old when it was first released in 1987.

The first Lethal Weapon is the introduction of the 2 main characters that follow the film throughout all the sequels: Sergeant Roger Murtagh (Danny Glover) and his new Partner Martin Riggs (Mel Gibson).

Murtagh is a stout LA cop who doesn’t tread on anyone’s toes and lives peacefully in his job and at home. Riggs however is a complete opposite and loves to live dangerously. The two are faced with the difficult task of finding the killer of a prostitute whose father just happens to be an old army buddy of Murtagh’s. Riggs goes all out to get the bad guys anyway he can and has some pretty spectacular showdowns with the man know as Mr. Joshua (Gary Busey).

I won’t go into too much detail as I’m sure most of you know the story anyway and since the plot isn’t terribly complicated it would give it all away to anyone who hadn’t seen the film. The basis for this being an entertaining movie is the wit and humour generated between Murtagh and Riggs conflicting personalities and it does a good job really.

The film is essentially an entertainment spectacle, which it succeeds at, rather than a brilliant piece of filmmaking.

So how does this transfer hold up?

...

VIDEO
While the quality of this transfer is certainly far from perfect it is about as good a presentation as you will see in your home. The 1.78:1 anamorphic widescreen transfer has a generally sharp foreground but is riddled with other problems. Shadow detail was just acceptable but did fall into non-existence many times. The film is generally a dark film but this should not mean any loss of detail. Given the age of the film it is probable that the source film could have attributed to this, and also would have attributed to the slight grain throughout the film.

The colour palette is also very much on the dull and muted side and could have done with a decent kick of colour to add some life to the film. There are some minor instances of ailiasing and film artefacts including dust flecks and scratches on the print.

There is one section of MPEG artefacting, which was quite distracting at 47.30.

A dual layered format would have made a huge difference to the quality of this transfer but unfortunately this has been kept to a single layer.

AUDIO
The audio quality is considerably better than the video quality on offer here and the Dolby 5.1 track is a welcome addition.

Aside from the special effects sequences the film is heavily dialogue based and for most of the time the dialogue is clear and easy to understand although it does fall into some mumbling at times.

The surrounds are used quite frequently to support the effects, score and on screen action and the .1 channel gets a pretty frequent work out as well. The many explosions car chases and so forth make for some good action on the base side of the audio track.

The sound track from Michael Kamen and Eric Clapton is very well put together and creates a seemingly humorous style to the film which is well supported on screen.

EXTRAS
None

Overall
This is my favourite of all the Lethal Weapon films, but certainly not a favourite in terms of the transfer. 

Review Equipment
TV: GE 68cm (16:9 selectable)
DVD: Pioneer 737
Receiver: Yamaha DTS RX-V595a
Speakers:-
Fronts: Wharfedale Diamond R6 (on a pair of custom made stands you'd KILL for)
Centre: Venturi
Rears: Sony bookshelf

- Reviewed 9th April 2001

* jpeg files for internet promotion use only. Copyright© exists on all aspects of these files by Warner Home Video