Lethal Weapon reignited the buddy cop genre in 1987, setting a high-octane standard few have matched since. At its core is career-defining chemistry between Mel Gibson and Danny Glover. Gibson’s Martin Riggs, a volatile, suicidal widower, is pure, traumatized chaos—a live wire. Glover’s Roger Murtaugh, the stable, family-man detective “too old for this s**t,” is weary exasperation incarnate.

Their friction isn’t just funny; it’s raw and deeply human, evolving from distrust to genuine, life-saving camaraderie. Their banter, vulnerability, and different styles create cinematic magic. The two detectives are assigned to a complex case involving the apparent suicide of a young woman who fell from a balcony under the influence of drugs. However, the investigation takes a more intricate turn when it is determined that her drugs had been deliberately laced with poison.

Lethal Weapon perfected the “odd couple” cop formula: mismatched partners, explosive action laced with humor, personal demons, and a deep, earned bond. Countless imitators followed, none quite capturing its potent mix of genuine danger, character depth, and just plain fun. Lethal Weapon remains the gold standard: a thrilling, character-driven action masterpiece powered by Gibson and Glover’s iconic spark and Donner’s pitch-perfect execution.

Theatrical (1987) and Director’s (2000) cuts are included, the latter reintegrating an additional seven minutes of scenes.

Warner offers no information on their restoration of Lethal Weapon, but it was originally shot on 35mm Eastman 125T 5247 and 400T 5294 film stock and comes to 4K with a HEVC 2160p (4K UHD) HDR10 encodement. HDR10 metadata shows a MaxLL of 995 nits and MaxFALL of 197 nits. There is not a gimmicky amount of brightness added but highlights pop nicely and the colors are vibrant. Film grain is very thin and mostly consistent, and the 1.85:1 image serves up some crisp details, however, I did see issues with frozen grain/mosquito noise. At around the 01:14:57 mark as Gibson’s head moves, you see chunks of grain move in the same direction. This is the third recent Warner 4K release on which I have seen this issue, the others being Dirty Harry and Dr. No.

Lethal Weapon has a new Dolby Atmos mix as well as the original theatrical mix in DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0, which is only available with the theatrical version of the film. The Atmos mix is stellar for a film from 1987, offering superb height awareness and staggering low-end extension. Every gunshot blasts with a lot of punch and the big explosions rumble. Dialogue is clear and we get some solid atmospherics in the base channels.

Two featurettes are included on disc: “A Legacy of Inspiration: Remembering Dick Donner” and “‘I’m Too Old for This…’: A Chemistry That Became Iconic.” Both fall into the “this film is great and everyone involved is great” category. The included Movies Anywhere digital code unlocks both versions of the movie in 4K.

Brandon A. Duhamel