WARNING: SPOILERS AHEAD!
This fall season, FOX has decided to reboot the classic buddy cop movie series, Lethal Weapon, into a brand new TV Show.
Lethal Weapon follows the misadventures of two cops; Roger Murtaugh (played by Damon Wayans from My Wife and Kids) and Martin Riggs (played by Clayne Crawford), as they solve crimes in Los Angeles. Murtaugh is a veteran cop of the LAPD with a wife, three kids, and on top of all that, he has a heart problem that prevents him from becoming too stressed. Riggs is a suicidal cop from Texas who lost his pregnant wife in a car accident.
In the first episode, Riggs is partnered up with Murtaugh in a case to solve the supposed suicide of a former soldier, Ramon Alvarez. They question Alvarez’s family and find out that the deceased veteran had worked a low paying at a shipping dock, and bought an expensive house for his family.
With the information they gathered, Murtaugh and Riggs go to the shipping dock that Alvarez used to work at. The two question the manager and a few employees, only to discover that the people working there are drug dealers. One of the employee’s attacks Riggs, drives away, and a high-speed chase ensues. However, the chase itself causes tremendous damage to parts of the city.
After the chase, Murtaugh and Riggs kicked off the case because of all the damages they caused. However, despite being taken off the case, the two continue their investigation.
In the end, Murtaugh and Riggs crack the case and go home after an action-packed day.
On paper, Lethal Weapon sounds like it could potentially be the best thing on television. However, there are a few flaws within the first episode that prevent it from being perfect. One of these problems being Murtaugh’s heart problem. The show clearly establishes that Murtaugh can’t become too stressed because of his bad heart. Murtaugh himself has even says that he’s “afraid to die.” You can tell he’s afraid based on how he reacts when Riggs would do something risky like jumping on top of a moving car.
But you’d think with Murtaugh being so afraid to die, he wouldn’t be a cop. Being a cop involves a whole lot of stress and a whole lot of risk. The two things that someone with a heart condition like Murtaugh would want to stay away from. So again, why is he a cop?
Not only does Murtaugh being a cop make zero sense, some of the scenes were either too cliché or predictable. The chase scene for example ended in a very cliché manner with Riggs jumping onto the bad guys car, taking out said bad guy, and walking away with little to no injuries.
Towards the end of the episode, Riggs is in quite a pickle. He’s surrounded by bad guys and no one is there to help him. And like how most stories go, Murtaugh comes bursting through a window at the last possible second with guns a blazing. Not only is the setup of this scene cliché, but Murtaugh should also be very stressed. However, his heart doesn’t seem to cause him any trouble whatsoever. Almost like his heart condition has an on and off switch.
Another issue that Lethal Weapon has is inconsistent camera work. In one scene, the camera work would be like any other television show with cuts and transitions. But in another scene, the show would switch to a style of camera work where the camera would pan back and forth between characters when they’re speaking (almost like The Office or Parks and Recreation).
Although Lethal Weapon suffers from a few problems, it does make up for it with good writing and casting choice. Crawford and Wayans were born to play these roles. Their chemistry is really good. It’s so good to the point that I could picture these two hanging out at a bar in real life. The dialogue feels natural and it flows. Not like they’re just reading off a script. Riggs and Murtaugh just play off of each other (especially Riggs who is honestly the best character).
Probably the highlights of this episode were the opening scene and the ending scene. I don’t want to spoil too much. All I can say is that they had me at the edge of my seat. And the opening scene made me die laughing.
Lethal Weapon is a good show. However, it’s not SO good that I have to watch it every single week. I’d only watch the show casually due to the fact that I’m not that big of a fan of the buddy cop genre. A review on ScreenRant.com sums it up quite well, “In the end, unless you’re a huge fan of police procedurals Lethal Weapon will have little to offer you outside its two leads.”
New episodes of Lethal Weapon come on every Sunday. So if you’re a big fan of cop shows, I’d recommend you give it a watch.
