Action thriller starring Mel Gibson and Danny Glover. Martin Riggs is a detective whose almost suicidal recklessness makes him a walking time bomb for criminals and colleagues alike. His reluctant partner, Roger Murtaugh, is a mature family man who plays everything by the book and wants to see out his police years as safely as possible. The duo are reluctantly teamed together to take on a vicious international heroin ring being run by former Vietnam mercenaries.
Implausibility is a large part of the entertainment in this romp par excellence, with each overblown set piece becoming ever more ludicrous. The basic buddy-buddy situation is a familiar one, but Mel Gibson, as the loose-cannon detective whose disregard for danger reaches new heights when he investigates a drugs ring, and Danny Glover, as his play-by-the-rules, ever-fretful partner, bring a great deal of spirit and fun to the mindless mayhem. The chalk-and-cheese chemistry of the two leads was so popular that three further sequels were made over the next ten years.
| role | name |
|---|---|
| Martin Riggs | Mel Gibson |
| Roger Murtaugh | Danny Glover |
| Joshua | Gary Busey |
| General McAllister | Mitchell Ryan |
| Michael Hunsaker | Tom Atkins |
| Trish Murtaugh | Darlene Love |
| Rianne Murtaugh | Traci Wolfe |
| Amanda Hunsaker | Jackie Swanson |
| Nick Murtaugh | Damon Hines |
| Carrie Murtaugh | Ebonie Smith |
| Beat cop | Bill Kalmenson |
| Dixie | Lycia Naff |
| Captain Ed Murphy | Steve Kahan |
| Beat cop | Frank Reinhard |
| Endo | Al Leong |
| role | name |
|---|---|
| Director | Richard Donner |
