Lethal Weapon (Revisited) "Have a nice day!"

Right, this is the THIRD revisitation post I've done this month, so its getting to be a habit it appears!

Anyway, so this post I figured I would do another classic action film and the film in question is the first Lethal Weapon film (strangely enough called Lethal Weapon) which is now 30 years old!  But after 30 years, how does it stack up????  Well, let's load up and take a look....

And yes even though its a 30 year old film and alot of you have seen it, I'll issue the usual warning all the same...

SPOILERS ARE AHEAD!!

STORY  

So the film is set in 1987 in Los Angeles at around Christmas time and it starts with LAPD police officer, Sergeant Roger Murtaugh (Danny Glover) who has just turned 50.  Roger is called in to investigate the suicide of a prostitute, who turns out to be the daughter of an old friend of his, Michael Hunsaker (Tom Atkins) who he fought alongside in the Vietnam war.

Meanwhile another LAPD police officer, Martin Riggs (Mel Gibson) is in the middle of a drugs bust, however he nearly kills one of the disarmed suspects as he goes into a blind rage.  Riggs as it turns out is suffering from depression as the result of his wife's death, Victoria which has left him suicidal. Riggs then that night, goes home and nearly kills himself as he puts a gun in his mouth but at the last minute he relents and cries to himself and looks at the picture of his wife and says "I'll see you much later!".

The next day Riggs is reassigned to homicide and partnered up with Murtaugh, who is very reluctant to take on Riggs.  The two of them go to see Michael Hunsaker, and Roger reveals to Hunsaker that his daughter, Amanda, was in fact murdered as the pills she had taken were doctored and laced with window cleaner, so she would have died within minutes had she not jumped.  Hunsaker tells Roger that she was also involved in making pornographic video tapes and drugs and he wants Roger to find out who was responsible and kill them.

Murtaugh however finds out first hand what a loose canon Riggs is, when Riggs goes up to try and talk down a man, McCleary (Michael Shaner) who is threatening to jump off a building, and instead handcuffs him and they jump off together onto a large inflatable catch.  Murtaugh is furious with Riggs and taunts him to shoot himself with his gun, but stops short when he realises Riggs might actually do it.

Afterwards, the two men start to put aside their differences then they go to question a pimp in connection to Amanada at a mansion, which turns out to be a drug lab, however the pimp open fires on them and Riggs ends up having to kill the pimp in self defence and he saves Murtaugh in the process, which leads Murtaugh to slowly gain respect for his new partner.  The two of them later go and have dinner at Murtaugh's house, where Riggs meets Rog's wife and family (and finds out Roger's eldest daughter has a crush on Riggs!) and they also speculate on what was behind the case.

The next day they go to question the hooker that Roger spoke to earlier, Dixie (Lycia Naff) in connection with Amanda, however as Dixie's house is blown up as they arrive.  Riggs finds a piece of a mercury switch, which woud only be used by professionals, and as they question a young boy who witnessed a man lurking about the house, he spotted that he had the same tattoo as Riggs, which is a US Army special forces tattoo, with whom Riggs served with during Vietnam.

Muratugh and Riggs then go and question Hunsaker, who admits to being involved in a drug operation run by mercaneries, who were all involved in special ops and that he was trying to get out the operation and that his daughter's death was ordered by the head of the operation, General McAllister (Ryan Mitchell).  However before Hunsaker can reveal anymore on the operation to Roger, McAllister's chief enforcer, Mr Joshua (Gary Busey) shows up in a helicopter and shoots Hunsaker dead, and McAllister decides to turn up the heat on the two cops and kidnaps Roger's eldest daughter, Rianne (Traci Wolfe).

Riggs and Murtaugh are given a meeting place with McAllister, Joshua and their men, however they are ambushed by Riggs, who provides cover far away with a sniper rifle, but he is eventually captured as is Murtaugh and Rianne, who attempts to escape by car.  As a result Murtaugh and Riggs are both tortured in order for the mercs to find out what they know, with Joshua administering electric shock treatment to Riggs, and McAllister having Murtaugh beaten.

Riggs however manages to escape and he enters and kills McAllisters men and releases Muratugh and Rianne and they flee out onto the streets, where Riggs gives chase to Joshua and Murtaugh exacts his revenge on McAllister by killing him, but Joshua get's away.  And its far from over as Riggs and Murtaugh have to try and hunt down Joshua in order to keep Roger's family safe....

THOUGHTS 

If I had to pick the best of the four Lethal weapon films I would say that the original, this one, Lethal Weapon is still the best.  As the series went on, there was a larger emphasis on the comedic tone, but here the film keeps a good balance of comedy and drama and the film has a pretty intense feel throughout.  And both the lead characters have a fair bit of emotional weight over their heads, with Murtaugh feeling his age having turned 50, being a family man realising he has more to lose as he get's older, and Riggs, who's has been driven half crazy with rage and sorrow over the loss of his wife, leaving him a near suicidal, emotional wreck, which we see in that scene near the start in Riggs's trailer (and no I don't mean the scene where he get's out of his bed, naked, and we see his ass!).

However where Lethal Weapon succeeds is that it takes the cop buddy buddy formula and puts two very unlikely cops together and they end up being dependent on one another, with Murtaugh becoming something of a saviour for Riggs who is so burnt out and close to the edge.  That's not to say that Lethal Weapon isn't funny as it still has plenty of humourous moments and Shane Black's witty script provides some funny lines, which I will get to soon.

PERFORMANCES AND NOTABLE SCENES (Warning: this section may contain spoilers and strong language!) 

And that brings me onto the performances section of the review and they are excellent, particularly the two leading actors, Mel Gibson and Danny Glover, who have a natural onscreen chemistry with one another.

Starting with Mel Gibson who is great as Riggs, the near pyschotic cop who is on the ragged edge who is thrown into a reluctant partnership with Murtaugh, but they soon end up becoming friends.

Gibson has quite a few highlights in the film such as in his first scene where he is involved in an undercover drugs bust and he convinces the dealers that he is interested in buying the drugs and they ask for "a hundred" and he starts to count out 100 dollars.  And one of the dealers angrily tries to stop him and Riggs says "Shut up, man.  I'm losing count" and as the dealer tells him he wants a hundred thousand dollards, Riggs says "Tell you what, why don't I take the whole stash off your hands for free and you assholes can go to jail!".

And as they cal him crazy, he pulls out his gun and says "Now that is a real badge, I'm a real cop and this is a real fucking gun!".  Then one of the dealers suddenly grabs Riggs from behind and points a gun at him and as a number of police officers show up and point guns at the dealer, Riggs shouts out to the other officers "Hey shoot him!  Shoot him!  Will somebody shoot this prick??!".  And as the dealer becomes more angry and agitated, Riggs crazily keeps taunting the dealer and shouts in his "Shoot me!  Shoot me!  Shoot me!  Shoot me!".  However, Riggs then manages to disarm the dealer and he turns the tables and points the gun under the dealer's chain and with an insane look says to him through gritted teeth "You wanna see crazy???!!".  The dealer is then arrested and taken away, leaving Riggs gasping for breath as he is riled from the encounter.

Then there is the scene where Riggs tries to talk down the would-be jumper off the roof of a building and as he handcuffs the jumper, the jumper defiantly tells him he will jump and Riggs grabs him and says "Do you wanna jump?!  Do you wanna??!  Because that is just fine with me, asshole!  Let's do it!" and they do just that much to Roger's chagrin.

Gibson also has some chilling moments in the film such as where Murtaugh taunts Riggs to put his gun under his chin and pull the trigger and he nearly does it, but Murtaugh stops him at the last second.  And in the scene as Roger yells at Riggs "Do you want to kill yourself?  YES OR NO, DO YOU WANNA DIE?!" Riggs tells Roger "What do you wanna hear, man?! You wanna about sometimes I think about eatin a bullet?!".  So, Riggs continues "Well, I do!  Make sure it blows the back of my goddamned head out and do the job right! Every single day I wake up and I think of a reason not to do it! Every single day! You know why I don't do it? This is gonna make you laugh! You know why I don't do it? The job! Doin' the job! Now that's the reason!". 

Then as Roger dares Riggs into pulling the trigger on Rog's gun, Riggs with the gun pointed under his chin, starts to pull the trigger but Roger stops him.  Roger, then looks at Riggs in shock and says "You're not trying to draw a psycho pension!  You really ARE crazy!" and Riggs glares at him and says "I'm hungry.  I'm gonna go and get something to eat!" and he walks off leaving Roger in a panic.

Another good scene is where Riggs and Murtaugh go to the firing range and discuss the case whole doing some target practice, however what they come up with sounds a bit thin.  So, Roger says to Riggs of their assessment "That's pretty fuckin thin!" and Riggs says "With your wife's cooking, I'm not surprised!" and he fires a few shots off (as Roger's wife is a terrible cook).  And Roger offended shouts "WHAT?!" and Riggs says "Nothing!" and Rog then says "Remarks like that will not get you invited to Christmas dinner!" and Riggs grins and says "My luck is changing for the better every day!".

Murtaugh shows off his skill as he fires a perfect shot at a paper target right in the centre and he boasts to Riggs "Hey, look at that!  Not bad for an old man!".  And Riggs says "Step aside old man!" and fires six shots at the target from a distance and brings it closer to see that the bullet holes he's made are a smiley face and Riggs says "Have a nice day!".

Then there is the scene where Riggs is shot on the streets by Joshua, who does a drive-by shooting, however Riggs survives it as he was wearing his bullet proof vest.  And in the scene Roger rushes over Riggs, who lies flat on the his back having crashed through a shop window but Rog opens Riggs shirt to see him wear a vest.  Then, Riggs springs to life and he painfully sits and says "I'm pissed now, Roger!  I'm pissed!" and as Rog helps him he says "If he was two inches higher he would have got your head!" and Riggs says "If it was two inches lower I would be a falsetto for life, come on let's fuck off!".  And after Riggs get's up on his feet he says to Roger "The guy that shot me!  It was the same Albino jackrabbit, son of a bitch that did Hunsaker!" and Roger asks him "Are you sure?!" and Riggs says "I'm sure.  I never forget an asshole!".

And last of all there is the scene where Riggs escapes the clutches of the torturer, Endo in the basement of the club they use as a front for their business and breaks in and kills McAllister's men.  And Riggs after looks at Roger, who grins and says "Pretty thin, huh?" and Riggs says "Anorexic!" then he frees Roger and Rianne and says "Let's do what one shepherd said to the other shepherd" and Roger says "What's that?" and Riggs says "Let's get the flock out of here!".

Danny Glover is also great in his role as Roger Martaugh, the middle aged cop who is starting to feel old and wary of his job and Glover provides a nice world weary cynicism yet deceny to Murtaugh's character.

Glover also has his share of good scenes and some funny dialogue as well throughout, such an example is in a scene near the beginning where he speaks to the hooker, Dixie.  And in the scene Roger tells Dixie to go home and Dixie says "Thanks.  I'm beat, you know how it is" and Roger says "Yeah!  All dressed up and no one to blow!" and Dixie, offended turns around and says "You're hilarious!" and walks off angrily.

And of course Glover delivers the film's most famous well recognised line when Roger first clocks Riggs in the office, dressed in jeans and a jacket and wearing a cap, take out his gun.  And Roger shouts "GUN!!" thinking that Riggs might be a perp, so Rog runs right at Riggs, who grabs him and throws him to the floor and puts his foot on his chest.  And as Roger is introduced to Riggs as his new partner, Roger groans and says "Oh, I'm too old for shit!".

Then in the next scene the two men walk toward Roger's police car and Roger talks about Riggs's police file and his background in Special Forces.  And Roger says to Riggs as they walk to the car "File also said you're heavy into martial arts. Tai chi and all that killer stuff. I suppose we have to register you as a lethal weapon!".  And Riggs says to Roger "Hey, look friend, let's just cut the shit. Now we both know why I was transferred. Everybody thinks I'm suicidal, in which case, I'm fucked and nobody wants to work with me; or they think I'm faking to draw a psycho pension, in which case, I'm fucked and nobody wants to work with me. Basically, I'm fucked!".  And Roger tells Riggs "Guess, what?" and Riggs asks "What?" and Roger says "I don't want to work with you!" and Riggs says "Hey, dont!" and Roger says "Got no choice. Looks like we both got fucked!".  The two men then get in the car and before Roger starts the ignition he tells Riggs "God hates me, that what it is!" and Riggs says "Hate him back, it works for me!".

Another good scene and a rather intense one is just after Riggs jumps off the roof with the suicidal jumper, McCleary and they both land in an inflatable airbag and after Roger angrily takes Riggs into a nearby store that is being painted.  And Roger yells at Riggs and says "OK, clown!  No bullshit!  You wanna kill yourself?!" and Riggs says "Oh, for Christ's sake..." and Roger yells "SHUT UP!! YES OR NO!! DO YOU WANNA DIE??!!".  Riggs then yells back "I GOT THE JOB DONE!  WHAT THE HELL DO YOU WANT??!" and Roger shouts back at him "JUST ANSWER THE QUESTION!!" and Riggs tell how he thinks about it and he even has a bullet for the occassion.  So, after Roger taunts Riggs to shoot himself with Roger's gun, Riggs nearly does but Roger stops him and says "You're not trying to draw a psycho pension!  You really ARE crazy!!". 

Then there is the scene where Roger and Riggs go to question a drug dealer at a mansion only for the dealer to shoot at them and Roger shoots the dealer in the leg and as Roger is about to read his rights he lectures Riggs on arresting a suspect.  So, Rog says to Riggs "See how easy that was? Boom, still alive. Now we question him. You know why we question him? Because I got him in the leg. I didn't shoot him full of holes or try to jump off a building with him!".  And Riggs says "That's not fair, the building guy lived!" and Roger says "The point being, no killing!" and Rigg says "No, killing right" but as Riggs is about to read the dealer his rights, the dealer suddenly produces another gun, so Riggs has no choice but to shoot him.  The dealer then falls into a pool and drowns as he caught up in a pool net and as Roger and Riggs resurface, Roger asks Riggs "Have you ever met anybody you DIDN'T kill???" and Riggs says "Well, I haven't kill you yet!" and Roger says "Well, don't do me no favours!" and Riggs get's out the pool and says "Don't you worry!". 

Glover also has some good dramatic moments as well especially the scene where Roger goes to question Hunsaker over his involvement with the mercaneries.  And Roger says to Hunsaker "Your daughter wasn't killed for something she was into. She was killed for something you're into. Stop me if I'm wrong".  And Hunsaker, puts his hand towards the inside of his jacket and says "Roger, I don't know what you're talking about!" and Roger says "Hey, Mike.  Keep your hand away from your pockets, OK?".  Hunsaker then produces some pills from his pocket and says "Take it easy, man!" and Roger then angrily shouts "Fuck easy!".

Roger then continues to ask Hunsaker "You called me the other day to blow the whistle, right?" and Hunsaker wearily asks "Blow the whistle on what?".  Roger then says "You were going to spill your guts, so they killed your daughter. Tell me if I'm wrong. Talk to me! They killed your daughter. They paid off a hooker to poison your little girl!  Talk to me!".

So, as Hunsaker tells Roger about the mercs heroin shipments, Hunsake warns him "This is big business, Roger" and Roger turns to him and says "Not anymore.  I'm gonna burn it down!".  Then as Roger insists that Hunsaker tell all the info he has on the mercs operation, Joshua suddenly shows up in a chopper and shoots Hunsaker dead.  Roger then checks Hunsaker's dead body and says to him "Heroin...you got off easy, you son of a bitch!".

Another good moment from Danny is when Roger and Riggs escape from McAllister and Joshua and they run out onto the streets and Roger, exhausted yells out to Riggs "Hey, Riggs!  He's going for the freeway!".  Riggs looks back and shouts "You OK?" and Roger exhausted says "Yeah!" and Riggs runs off and Roger calls out to him "Cut over the 3rd street bridge!  You'll be able to get ahead of him!".  Then Roger, who has sit down by a street lamp, slowly get's himself up and says "General McAllister....time for you to die!".

And last of all is the film's last scene where Riggs turns up to give Roger the bullet Riggs was going to use to kill himself, which he gives to Rianne at the door but as he is about to leave, Roger comes out.  And Roger says to Riggs "After all we've been through...if you think I'm gonna eat the world's worst turkey by myself...you're crazy!".  Riggs then smiles and says to Roger "I'll tell you a little secret....I'm not crazy" and Roger smiles and says "I know!" and Riggs says "Oh, good.  Let's eat!".  And as Roger allows Riggs to invite in his dog, we hear the commotion of the dog barking at Roger's household cat, Burbank and Roger at the front door says to himself the film's last line "I'm too old for this!".

Gary Busey in his role as the primary villain, Mr Joshua, is also excellent and he plays the creepy albino killer in quite an understated way (which is unusual for Busey!) and he makes for an effective villain.  Busey has some good scenes such as his intro where Joshua displays his ability to deal with pain as McAllister uses a lighter to burn underneath Joshua's arm, which he takes with ease.

And later on in the scene where he questions Riggs, prior to him being tortured by electric shock treatment and he refers to the Asian torturer, Endo (Al Leong) and says "You know Endo, has forgotten more about dispensing pain than you and I will ever know".  And he says to Riggs "See, we have a problem. Since we have Murtaugh...we don't need you. I believe in being thorough" and Riggs says to him "Yeah, I've heard that about you".  So, Joshua continues "Our problem, and yours too...is we have a shipment of merchandise to deliver" and Riggs says "Why don't you guys just call it heroin?!".  Joshua smiles and says "It's rather large, this shipment. It would be unfortunate...if we showed up to deliver our heroin..and were surrounded by 50 cops!" and Riggs says "That would be too bad".

Joshua then says "So, its essential for us to find out all the cops now" and Riggs says they don't know anything as he killed Hunsaker before he could tell them anything.  However, Joshua doesn't buy it and shouts "No!  No! I wish I could believe you but unfortunately I don't!  Now if you would kindly tell me everything you know then I promise I will kill you real quick!". And as Riggs says "I told you everything I know!" Joshua turns to Endo to start torturing Riggs and Endo holds two pairs of what looks like jump cables with sponges attached to them.  And Riggs nervously asks "What the fuck is that thing?!" and Joshua tells him "I'll tell what it is...its electric shock treatment!".   

And later when he turns up at Roger's house to kill his family he enters the house and shoots the TV and yells "Goddamn Christmas!  I'll give you a home to come back to!".  And as Joshua finds a note from Riggs saying "Dear bad guys.  No one here but us cops. The good guys" Joshua says "Crazy son of a bitch!" but then Roger's police car comes crashing through the living room and Joshua fills it with holes from his gun only to find it empty and a knife jammed in the accelerator.  So, Riggs then springs up on him and takes his gun and says to Joshua "What do you say, Jack?  Would you like a shot at the title?" and Joshua grins and says "Don't mind if I do!" and two of them engage in their climactic fight scene.  

Ryan Mitchell is also very good in his role as General McAllister, the leader of the mercaneries who captures the cops and later is forced to flee from them.

Mitchell has two main scenes, the first where he is introduced and he uses Mr Joshua to a prospective drug buyer, Mendez and he threatens him by showing Joshua's ability to withstand pain.  And McAllister asks the dealer "Do you smoke?" and the dealer says "What's that go to do with anything?" and McAllister snaps "Do you smoke??!".   And Mendez nervously says "Yeah" and McAllister asks "Give my your lighter" and Mendez asks "My...my lighter?" and McAllister yells "YOU'RE LIGHTER!!".  So Mendez takes out his lighter and all of a sudden, McAllister's men grab Mendez's arm and McAllister holds Mendez's hand with the lighter and as Mendez protests, McAllister yells "SHUT YOUR MOUTH!! SHUT UP!!".

So, McAllister looks to Joshua and says "Mr Joshua, your left arm, please" so Joshua rolls his sleeve and McAllister flicks on the lighter right under Joshua's bare arm as the flame burns into Joshua's arm, who just takes the pain in his stride, leaving Mendez terrified.  So, after the demonstration, McAllister tells and shaken Mendez "The bulk of the heroin will be here Friday night, we'll make delivery at that time. Have the money ready, and no tricks. If you try anything... you'll have to talk to Mr. Joshua. Merry Christmas!".

And later as he has Roger tortrured he walks over to Rianne, who is tied up and in her underwear and he says "That is one real good looking young woman you have there, Mr Murtaugh!".  And Roger tells McAllister "I've told you everything!" and McAllister looks at Rianne and says to Roger "We'll soon now, won't we?" and Roger angrily says of Rianne "I'm warning you....don't!".  McAllister then says "Spare me, son, its over.  There are no more heroes left in the world!". 

The rest of the supporting cast are also fine in their roles, such as Darlene Love as Trish, Roger's wife who is has a rather small role here but she sets up her character nicely for the future films.  And Darlene has a couple of good moments such as the one where Roger first invites Riggs are to meet his family and he checks the oven to see what's for dinner.  So, Roger says as he looks in the oven "We'll see what's for dinner.  Its a brown sticky...." and Trish smacks his bottom and she says to him "Its roast!".  So, Roger sarcastically says to Riggs "How about a brown roast-like substance?" and Trish tells him "Roger, you're being an asshole".

And lastly there is the scene where Roger and Riggs learn that Rianne has been kidnapped as they receive a call from Joshua at Roger's house.  At this point, Trish appears at the top of the stairs, looking worried she asks "What is it?" and Roger says "Nothing!" and Trish shouts "What is it???!" and Roger tries to play it down and says "Nothing!" louder.  Trish then turns to her other children, Nick and Carrie "Get back in your room!  Back in your room!" and Trish then slides down on the stairs in tears.    

Steven Kahan is also pretty good as Captain Murphy, Rog and Riggs cynical superior officer and he shows little concern for Riggs's mental state and he says to the police psychiatrist, Stephanie Woods (Mary Ellen Trainor) "Look!  Riggs just wants the cash.  I've seen it a dozen times before!  He's a tough bastard, alright?!".  However Woods insists "He's on the edge.  I'm telling you he may be psychotic!" and Murphy says "That's a bunch of psych bullshit!".  Woods then says to Murphy "You're making a mistake keeping the man in the field.  The man is suicidal!".  So, Murphy cynically asks her "You're sure of that diagnosis?!" and Woods says "No, there are no absolutes in life!" and Murphy says to her "End of discussion.  We're going to wait and if he offs himself, we'll know I was wrong!".  And as Woods tries to continue their discussion, Murphy stops her as he is about to enter the men's room and he says to her "Excuse me, huh?!" and he goes in, leaving Woods annoyed and she says to herself "Asshole!".

Traci Wolfe is also pretty good (and very pretty!) in her role as Rianne, Roger's eldest daughter, who is later kidnapped by McAllister and Joshua and also has a crush on Riggs when they first meet.

And I will only mention one of Traci's scenes and its the one where Rianne asks if her date can take her to a club much to Roger's disaproval.  So, Rianne asks Roger in the scene "Didn't mean to interrupt one of those intellectual conversations...Mark asked me to a club tomorrow night".  Roger then asks "Which one is Mark?" and Rianne says "The blonde one" and Roger says "The one with pits in his face?" and Rianne annoyed, says "Those are dimples!" and Roger says "Those are pits.  When he smiles I can see through his head.  The answer is no!".  So, Rianne complains "Why can I have a beer and I can't smoke a joint? It's not coke, you know!" and Roger tells her "Because now, at this moment...beer is legal, grass ain't. Right or wrong?" and Rianne says "Wrong" but Riggs says "Right" and she smiles at him and says "Right" back.  So, Rianne gives in and walks off and says to herself "They sit there drinking six-packs and I get grounded!".

And lastly Tom Atkins is also very good as Michael Hansaker, Roger's Vietnam buddy who once saved his life during the war and turns to him for help as he tries to get out of the drug operation run by the mercs.

And Atkins primarily has only two main scenes in the film, which are both very good and shows Atkins is capable actor.   The first scene is when Roger meets with Hunsaker to tell him that his daughter was murdered and she didn't kill herself.  So, Hunsaker becomes emotional and says to Roger "You owe, Roger.  You remember?" and Roger quietly says "Yeah, I remember".  Hunsaker then continues and says "I want you to find whoever's responsible for this...however many of them there are. I know you can do it. Just find them and kill them".  Roger, then quietly tries to reason with Hunsaker and says "Mike, I'm a police officer..." but then Hunsaker angrily says "I don't give a shit that you're a police officer! I know you're a fucking police officer!  KILL THEM! JUST KILL THEM!".  Roger then just walks off annoyed but Hunsaker catches up to and says "Wait. Wait, Rog. Come on. You find them and you kill them. You can do that. You owe me!".


And lastly there is the scene where Hunsaker tells Roger about the mercs operation to run shipments of heroin.  So, Hunsaker tells Roger "I was with a special unit called "Shadow Company." Trained killers. When Charlie brought in heroin to finance the VC government...Shadow Company burned the whole thing down. We killed everybody".  And Hunsaker continues "A few years ago, Shadow Company got together again. The war was over. But we still had our sources in Asia. We've been bringing it in ever since".  Roger then asks "Bringing in what?" and Hunsaker tells him "Heroin.  Two major shipments a year" and Roger asks "If you got cold feet, why did they kill Amanda?  Why not you?!".  Hunsaker then says "They can't kill me, they need me!" and Roger asks angrily "Why?!" and Hunsaker says "My bank! My company is a perfect front.  Makes everything look great on the tax reports" and he says "This is big business, Roger" and Roger then says "Not anymore.  I'm gonna burn it down!".

DIRECTOR AND MUSIC 
 
Finally getting onto the film's director, Richard Donner, who does a great job here and he carried on to direct the sequels and it would be hard to imagine another director carry the style, pace, action and humour that Donner brings to the series.  So overall, the original Lethal Weapon is one of Donner's best directorial efforts.   

The film is also notable for its stunts and action which are of course great and it also features a former stuntman, Dar Robinson, who died shortly after the film was completed, who pulled off one of the film's most difficult stunts as Riggs shoots a baddie who is up in a gantry and falls off and catches his leg in a chain, leaving the dead man dangling upside down.

As for the film's music score, its excellent which and was composed by Michael Kamen and it also features some good guitar work from Eric Clapton and also the distinctive saxophone from David Sanbourne, who plays part of Murtaugh's theme.  Although it has to be said the film does feature a truly awful and cringeworthy theme song, by the Canadian rock band, Honeymoon Suite , which is played over the end credits (who curiously went uncredited and I wonder why?!). 

FLAWS 

As for the flaws of the film????  Well Lethal Weapon isn't perfect but it hasn't got too many glaring problems.

However perhaps one of its flaws is that the story itself is pretty flimsy an unimaginitive with two cops who become buddies and fight against drug dealers, which is nothing new in itself.  Also the baddies, despite the good performances from Busey and Mitchell, are a bit bland and one dimensional and while both actors play their parts with a decent amount of menace, their characters aren't that interesting, so when they cop it (no pun intended) who cares really.

Some of the characters in the film are also a bit underused such as Captain Murphy, who would later be utilised better in the sequels, and Kahan himself is Donner's cousin, so perhaps he had a word with him about it!

I also felt the film at times had an uncomfortable mix of strong violence in which what we see onscreen is OK for the most part (I guess!) but Shane Black, who wrote the screenplay seems to have some weird fetish for putting torture into his scripts.  So, the scenes where Riggs is brutally tortured with electric shock treatment was the start of a rather disturbing fetish that would permeate in Black's other works (such as Kiss Kiss, Bang Bang).  Black also when he wrote the original outline for Lethal Weapon 2 also wanted Riggs to be tortured again and die at the hands of the South Africans but his idea was dismissed and he then decided to pull out of the production.

Another thing I found very peculiar was to do with the start of the film where Hunsaker's daughter, Amanda, dives off the rooftop of her apartment and lands heavily ontop of a car below and in the next moment and she lies there dead, we see the shadows of two people walk by!!!  I mean I take we are meant to believe that's how people are in LA that they are so desensitized to violence and death that they are willing to turn a blind eye to it!  But that one scene seemed pretty ridiculous to me I have to say.  Not unless of course they were the killers, who "doctored" the pills for Amanda are the ones who were walking by, however I still don't buy that myself.

Lastly there is the whole idea of Riggs being in the Vietnam war....look at Mel Gibson, he was 30 or 31 when he made Lethal Weapon (he was born in 1956), so if he was in the Vietnam war then he would have been merely 17 years old by the time the war had finished!  Basically, if Riggs was a Vietnam vet just like Murtaugh then it doesn't make any sense that he would be played a younger actor such as Mel Gibson at that time.  Surely Riggs should have just been another middle aged guy in this respect rather than a 30 something younger guy, who clearly couldn't have been old enough to participate in the Vietnam war in the first place!

Further to this point there is a piece of dialogue where McAllister captures Riggs and Riggs says to him "It'll be a shame when I nail you.  I ran into you shadow company pussies back in 69".  Again, Mel Gibson was 13 in 1969, Riggs must have been at least 19 or 20 in 1969, so again its blatant case of the actor being too young to play the part of a Vietnam vet.  So, basically I think in relation to Mel's age, they should have just left the Vietnam vet thing for Riggs out of the equation.  But hey that's just my interpretation but for me it still remains one of the film's flaws.    

Anyway that's it for the flaws.

SUM UP

So, to sum up the original Lethal Weapon is still arguably the best one in my opinion although the first two films could arguably be said to the best of the four (with three the 3rd best and 4th the worst!).  However where the original stands apart here is that it is grounded a bit more in reality and the darker tone of the Shane Black's script helps give it a more gritty and realistic feel than the other films had in comparison, which got more farcical as they went on. 

So, throw onto all this a witty, funny script, two excellent lead performances and some very solid direction and an excellent music score then you've still got one of the great modern action classics of its day and to this day, Lethal Weapon is still definitely worth a look after 30 years.

Right, so that's it for now and I will be back with another review of some sort or other quite soon.

Till the next un, its bye for now!   

Carlito's Way "Adios counselor!"

This summary is not available. Please click here to view the post.

Snatch "D'ya like dags???"

Right this post is something of a revisitation but even though it is, I never actually labelled the post as the title of the film and that film in this case is Guy Richie's "Snatch" as my original post was titled "Feed em to the pigs, Errol!".   So on that basis I will not label this post as a revistation. 

Anyway, so with that being said this review will be another re-write of sorts on the film "Snatch" and after 17 years (Wow! It has been that long!) let's take a look at how it has fared since....

Oh and the usual warning is coming up...

SPOILERS ARE AHEAD!!!

STORY

So.... the story set is in London and the two main characters, are boxing promoter and slot machine shop owner, Turkish (Jason Statham) and his business partner Tommy (Stephen Graham).  Turkish at the start of the film sends Tommy along with the boxer, "Gorgeous" George (Adam Fogerty) to pick up a caravan from a pikey campsite.  However when the caravan they are sold falls off its back wheels when being toed off, George get's into a fight with one of the pikey's, Mickey O'Neill (Brad Pitt) who turns out to be a bare knuckle boxer, who ends up knocking out George with one punch, and is left badly injured as a result.

So, without a boxer for an upcoming fight, Turkish decides to apporach Mickey and ask that he take George's place, to which Mickey agrees.  Turkish approaches the gangster, Bricktop (Alan Ford) telling him that Mickey will replace George, but Bricktop insists that Mickey go down in the fourth round.  However on the night of the fight, Mickey knocks out his opponent, again with one single punch, which infuriates Bricktop, who later pays a visit to Turkish's shop and steals the money from his safe to make up for the shortfall in the match.

Meanwhile a thief, Franky "Four Fingers" (Benecio Del Toro) having pulled off a heist in Antwerp and stolen a diamond, travels to London and delivers to a diamond dealer, Doug "the head" (Mike Reid) on behalf of an American jeweller, Avi (Dennis Farina).  However one of the other robbers in the heist turns out to be the brother of an ex-KGB agent, Boris "the blade" (Rade Serbedjiza) who tells Franky he can buy a gun from Boris, but what he is not aware of is that they both intend to steal the diamond.  Boris gives Franky a gun in exchange for a favour as he wants him to place a bet at Bricktop's bookies, but Franky is known to have a serious gambling problem.  On hearing this news, Avi travels to London in order to obtain the diamond himself.

Boris in the meantime approaches two small time crooks, Vinny (Robbie Gee) and Sol (Lennie James) to rob Franky in order to retrieve the diamond, but the robbery goes wrong and they end up having to abandon it, however their obese driver, Tyrone (Ade) manages to capture Franky.  Avi on arriving in London utilises the services of a mercenary, Bullett Tooth Tony (Vinnie Jones) in trying to retrieve the diamond.   

Meanwhile Turkish starts to feel pressure from Bricktop to use Mickey again but this time he does want him to go down in the fourth round.  Turkish then goes to Mickey and asks him to do the fight, but Mickey, who is out with his friends, hare coursing, asks him to bet on the outcome of the race, if Turkish wins, Mickey will do the fight, but if not then Turkish has to pay for his mum to get a new caravan.  Turkish makes the bet, reckoning the hare will "get fucked" but the hare ends up outrunning the two dogs, leaving Turkish in a very awkward position with Bricktop.

Bricktop then decides to punish Turkish by smashing up his slot machines and burning Mickey's mum's caravan while she was asleep in it.  Mickey realising he has little choice, decides to do the fight, and on the night of the fight, the events involving Turkish, Tommy, Mickey, Bricktop, Avi, Vinny and Sol all come to ahead...

THOUGHTS 

As a follow up to his impressive debut, with Snatch, Guy Ritchie produced one of his most enjoyable films, which is filled with plenty of witty cockney banter.  Ritchie once again delights in showing the seamy, gritty underworld of the East end of London, where we are embroiled in the world of unlicenced boxing, small time crooks, pig feeding gangsters, and two unfortunate small time boxing promoters who amongst it all are just trying to make a living.

PERFORMANCES AND NOTABLE SCENES (Warning: this section will be long and contains possible spoilers and strong language!) 

Performance wise Snatch is also really good as its ensemble cast all put in their best efforts.

Starting with Jason Statham as the strangely named, Turkish, while he has little in the way of range as an actor, he does well with playing the sarcastic and world weary promoter who provides the narration for the film.  Statham like pretty much all the cast has plenty of good moments.

And to kick off there is Statham's first scene where Turkish tells his business partner, Tommy, that he wants him to purchase a new caravan to do business from.  And in the scene, Turkish says to Tommy of their dilapidated caravan "How am I suppose to run this thing from that? We'll need a proper office. I want a new one, Tommy. You're going to buy it for me".  Tommy asks "Why me?" and Turkish replies "Cos you know about caravans" and Tommy asks "How's that?" and Turkish says "You spent a summer in one, which means you know more than me. And I don't want to have my pants pulled down over the price".  Tommy then asks "What's wrong with this one?" and Turkish then demonstrates by pulling one of the loose doors off and says "Oh, nothing, Tommy. It's tiptop! It's just I'm not sure about the colour".

Throughout the film, Statham's character also provides the narration, which also provides some of his highlights and once scene such is where a scared and teary-eyed Tommy is stuck between two rowing Pikies just after Gorgeous George has been knocked out by the bare knuckled Pikie boxer, Mickey.

So in the scene, Turkish narrates "It turned out that the sweet-talking, tattoo-sporting pikey was a gypsy bare-knuckle boxing champion. Which makes him harder than a coffin nail. Right now, that's the last thing on Tommy's mind. If Gorgeous doesn't wake up in the next few minutes, Tommy knows he'll be buried with him. Why would the gypsies go through the trouble of explaining why a man died in their campsite when they can bury the pair of them and just move camp? It's not like they got social security numbers, is it? Tommy - the tit - is praying. And if he isn't, he fucking should be!".

Then there is the scene where Turkish and Tommy argue about Tommy's ill judged decision to put "Goregeous" George into a boxing fight with Mickey.  So, Turkish says to Tommy "You put the man into a bare-knuckle boxing match. What the fuck did you expect? A grease-down and a shiatsu?!". Tommy, annoyed than asks him "Who took the jam out of your doughnut?!" and Turkish yells back "YOU took the jam out of my fucking doughnut!  YOU DID!".

Another good scene from Statham comes when Turkish and Tommy face the unpleasant dilemma of what happens to them if Mickey fights another boxer in which Bricktop wants him to go down and Mickey instead knocks out his opponent.  So, Turkish replies "We get murdered before we leave the building, and I imagine we get fed to the pigs".  Tommy nervously then says "Well I'm glad to see you're climbing the walls in fucking anxiety. Pardon my cynicism, but I don't exactly trust the pikey!".  Turkish then says "Don't think I haven't thunk about that one, Tommy. It's his mum's funeral tonight. God bless her. You know those gypsies like a drink at a wake. I'm not worried about whether Mickey knocks the other man out. I'm worried about whether Mickey makes it to the fourth fucking round".

Tommy then asks "What if he doesn't get to the fourth round?" and Turkish again replies "We get murdered before we leave the building, and I imagine we get fed to the pigs".  So, Tommy asks Turkish "Then why are you so calm?" but Turkish says nothing so again asks "I said...." and Turkish interrupts, irritated and says "I heard what you said, Tommy!  Its not like we've got much choice, is it?!  You show me how to control a wild fucking gypsy and I'll show you how to control an unhinged, pig-feeding gangster!".  

Brad Pitt is excellent as Mickey the Pikey, and he is at times hilarious as the boxer as his Irish accent is almost indecipherable so you can make out what he says most of the time!

Pitt has plenty of good moments himself that include the scene where Mickey sells a caravan to Tommy.  And in the scene, Mickey with his heavy Pikey accent asks Tommy "D'ya like dags?" and Tommy puzzled asks "Dags?" and Mickey says "Yeah, dags" and Tommy realises he means dogs and he says "Oh, dogs!  Sure, I like dags.  I like caravans more". 

However as "Gorgeous" George drives it away, the wheels come off it, so Tommy and GG go back to confront Mickey.  And in the scene, Mickey tells Tommy "The deal was you bought it like you saw it. Hey, look, I've helped you as much as I'm going to help you. See that car? Just use it for you're not welcome anymore. You should fuck off now while you still got the legs to carry you!".  Tommy then nervously says "Sorry, Mickey. Just give our money back and you can keep the caravan" but Mickey angrily says "Why the fuck do I want a caravan that's got no fucking wheels?!!".  George then rushes Mickey, who challenges him and Mickey says "You want to settle this with a fight?!  I'll fight you for it.  You and me!".

Then just as Gorgeous and Mickey are about to fight, Gorgeous get's in a few cheap shots at Mickey as he prepares to undress for the fight and Mickey taunts Gorgeous saying this like "Deadly kick for a fat fucker!".  However as Gorgeous had had enough and says "This is sick!  I'm out of here!" Mickey says to him "You're not goin anywhere, ya thick lump!  You stay till the job's done!" which prompts Gorgeous to come at Mickey, who lays Gorgeous flat with one punch.

Another good scene is where Turkish and Tommy try to negotiate with Mickey to do another fight and Mickey says he'll do the fight but he wants a caravan for his mum as payment.  So, in the scene Mickey shows them a brochure of caravans and he speaks in an almost incomprehensible manner saying "She wants the Hector-2 roof lights, uh... the stylish ash-framed furniture and the scatter cushions with the matching shag pile covering "Right. And she's terrible partial to the periwinkle blue, boys. Have I made myself clear, boys?!".  And this leaves both Turkish and Tommy baffled but Turkish says "Yeah, perfectly clear, Mickey!  Just give me one minute to confer with my colleague" and he takes Tommy aside and asks him "Did you understand a single word of what he just said???".

Mickey then says to them "I'll tell ya what I'll do" but a dog get's in his way and Mickey annoyed says "Fucker!" then he refers to challenge them to a hare coursing bet "I'll do you a favour. You have first bet. If I win, I get a caravan...and the boys get a pair of them shoes. If I lose...fuck it, I'll do the fight for free".  So, Turkish takes the bet and says "Alright, I reckon the hare get's fucked" and Mickey grins and says "What?  Proper fucked?!" and he and his men laugh and Mickey says "You got that, London?". 

Pitt has plenty of great lines, especially when he tells Turkish and Tommy that he wants a caravan for his mum, and he tells them in his gutteral tongue what colour scheme she wants for it and he says "she awfully partial to the periwinkle blue!  Am I clear boys!" and Turkish says "oh yeah perfectly clear, Mickey!".

And last of all is the moment where Mickey in the aftermath of his mom's wake (as she was burned to death in her own caravan while she was asleep by Bricktop's men) has a stinking hangover and is barely conscious not long before the fight.  So, as Turkish and Tommy stand over a hungover Mickey, the Pikey suddenly says "Need to have a shite!!".

Stephen Graham next is also very good in his role as Tommy, Turkish's business partner, who unwittingly lands them in trouble after "Gorgeous" George is hospitalised by Mickey and after they have little choice but to use them in their unlicensed boxing matches where they could be in serious debt to local gangster, Bricktop.

Graham also his moments such as the scene where Tommy goes to the Pikey campsite to buy a caravan from them and he meets with Mickey.  So, in the scene Mickey asks Tommy "D'ya like dags?" and Tommy puzzled asks "Dags?" and Mickey says "Yeah, ya like dags?" and Tommy then realises what he means and says "Oh, dogs!  Yeah, I like dags.  I like caravans more".  Then as Goregous George hitches the caravan to the back of their car and start to drive away, Tommy says to GG "I don't see what the fuss is about, they aren't bad fellas" but then the wheels come off the caravan.

Then there is the scene where Turkish is accosted by Bricktop's men, lead by Errol who is about to use a samurai sword on Turkish, who is pinned down on the floor, but then Tommy saves him by rushing in and pointing his gun at Errol.  So, Tommy says to Turkish "Turkish, get your arse up!" and he looks at the men and says "You lot?  Follow me, and I'll fucking shoot you!".  Errol, not intimidated takes a step toward Tommy and says "Calm down, son, behave yourself" but Tommy bravely takes a step forward and points the gun at him, saying "I've got the gun, son.  I think its you that should behave!".  Tommy then cocks then gun and says "What?  You want to see if I've got the minerals?!" and he then backs off and runs out after Turkish.

Another good scene comes when Tommy wants to confront Boris over selling him a dud gun and they go to his house to wait on him.  So, Tommy says to Turkish "He's left the door open.  Should we go in?" and Turkish says "I don't want to go in there. He's a dangerous bastard. Taken too many disco biscuits in the heat of Russian disputations. He's got as many of these nuts (points to his testicles) as he has those nuts! (points to his head)". Tommy however says " I don't care if he's got fucking hazelnuts. I want a gun that works, and I'm gonna tell him!".  However at this point a deranged Boris walks by them and Tommy tries to talk to him and says "Boris..." but Boris suddenly grabs Tommy by the balls and pushes him up against the front door of his house, leaving Tommy wincing in pain and Turkish says "You certainly told him, Tommy!".

And lastly there is the scene where Tommy lectures Turkish on drinking a carton of milk, so Tommy tells him "You shouldn't drink that stuff anyway" and Turkish asks "Why?  What's wrong with it?" and Tommy says "Its not in sync with evolution!" and Turkish scoffs and says "Shut up!".  Tommy then continues saying "Cows have only been domesticated in the last 8000 years. Before, they were running around mad as lorries. The human digestive system hasn't got used to any dairy products yet".  Turkish then looks bemused at Tommy and says "Well fuck me, Tommy.  What have you been reading?!" and Tommy takes the carton of milk off Turkish and says "Let me do you a favour!" and he throws it out the window only to hear a crashing sound seconds later.

Alan Ford next up is great as the sadistic and ruthless gangster, Bricktop, who as Turkish at one describes it "will take bets on anything that involves blood and pain" and get's involved in intimidating Turkish and Tommy into getting Mickey to fight for him.

Ford has plenty of highlights of his own that include his first scene where Bricktop watches two boxers sparring in the ring.  And Bricktop says "If that's not worth a bet, I don't know what is" and he says to one of his men, Gary "He doesn't look bad, does he?" and Gary says "No, he looks great.  He'll do you proud, govenor!".  Bricktop then says to Gary "You reckon that's what people should do for me, Gary?  Do me proud?" and Gary says "Its what you deserve" and Bricktop laughs and says "Pull your tongue out my arsehole, Gary!  Dogs do that!  You're not a dog, are you, Gary?" and Gary says "No, no, I'm not".  Bricktop then walks off and says to Gary "But you do have all the characteristics of a dog, Gary.  All except loyalty" and then Errol and his fellow henchman, John zap Gary with a stun gun.  Bricktop then turns to Gary's associate, Liam and says to him "You're a ruthless little cunt, Liam, I'll give you that..." and then "But I've got no time for grasses!" then John throws a plastic bag over Liam's head to suffocate him and Bricktop then says "Feed em to the pigs, Errol!".  Bricktop then looks over at the two nervous boxers, who look at what is going on and Bricktop shouts at them "What the fuck are you two lookin at?!!".

Another good scene is when Bricktop meets with Turkish and Tommy and Turkish has to tell Bricktop that Gorgeous George is out of commission.  So on being told that by Turkish "We've lost Gorgeous George" Bricktop says "Well, where'd you lose him? He ain't a set of fucking car keys, is he? And it's not as if he's incon-fucking-spicuous, is it?!".  Turkish then says "We're not backing out" and Bricktop threateningly says "You bet your bollocks to a barn dance you're not backing out!".  And at the end of the scene when Bricktop tells Turkish that Mickey is to go down in the fourth round, he finishes by saying to them both "You're on thin-fucking-ice, my pedigree chums. And I shall be under it when it breaks. Now, fuck off!".

Then there is the scene where Bricktop having told Turkish that Mickey in his first fight with them, is to go down in the fourth round but Mickey at the start of the fight knocks out his opponent with one punch, leaving Bricktop furious.  So, after the fight has finished, Bricktop walks off and says to himself "That fucking Pikey has put me in it!".  However, Bricktop is stopped by another better, Fringe, who says "Well, thanks for the tip, Bricktop!".  Bricktop then grabs the Fringe by the face and angrily says "Listen, you fucking fringe, if I throw a dog a bone, I don't want to know if it tastes good or not! You stop me again whilst I'm walking, and I'll cut your fucking Jacobs off!" and he cuts him and walks off.  

And lastly there is the scene where Bricktop walks into Vinny and Sol's pawn shop and he sits down and addresses them just after Lennie and Sol try and dispose of Franky "Four Fingers" body.  So in the scene Bricktop, with a cup tea in his hand says to them "And when you got your six pieces, you gotta get rid of them, because it's no good leaving it in the deep freeze for your mum to discover, now is it? Then I hear the best thing to do is feed them to pigs. You got to starve the pigs for a few days, then the sight of a chopped-up body will look like curry to a pisshead!".  Bricktop then continues and tells them "You need at least sixteen pigs to finish the job in one sitting, so be wary of any man who keeps a pig farm. They will go through a body that weighs 200 pounds in about eight minutes. That means that a single pig can consume two pounds of uncooked flesh every minute. Hence the expression, "as greedy as a pig!".

Vinny then asks Bricktop who he is, besides someone who loves feeding people to pigs, which prompts Bricktop to stand and say "Do you know what "nemesis" means? A righteous infliction of retribution manifested by an appropriate agent. Personified in this case by an 'orrible cunt... me!".  Bricktop then goes over and opens the door and says to them "Gentlemen...." and Sol, Vinny and "Bad boy" Lincoln (Goldie) who is with them go through to another room where they find Bricktop's men sharpening some knives and Tyrone lying in a body bag fidgeting nervously.

Vinnie Jones next up does pretty well in a role that is similar to his last one in "Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels" as Bullet Tooth Tony, a ruthless gangster, who is hired by an American jeweler, Avi to find a precious diamond.

Jones has his share of good moments as well that include his first scene where Tony is seen slamming the door of his car against the head of a man but then his phone suddenly rings and Tony grabs the man and pushes him aside.  Tony then goes into his car and answers the phone and says rather politely "Bonjour!".

Then there is the scene where Tony meets with Avi and the London jeweler, Doug the head at Doug's office.  And Avi asks Tony "Should I call you Bullet Tooth?"and Tony says "You can call me Susan if it makes you happy!".  Avi then says "Tony, there is a man I would like you to find" and Tony says "That depends on all the elements in the equation.  How many are there?" and Avi tells him "40,000" and Tony looks interested and he asks "Where was he last seen?" and Doug says "At a bookies" and Tony then says "At a bookies..." and he turns to one of Doug's daughters, who sit either side of Tony and says "Pass me the blower, Susi".

Another good scene from Vinnie is when Tony interrogates Mullet, a Scottish sleazy lowlife, for information on the bookies robbery.  So, Tony asks Mullet "I want to know who blagged Bricktop's bookies" and Mullet says "Do me a favour, Ton!" Tony says to him "I will do you a favour, Mullet.  I'll not get out this car and bash the living fuck out of you infront of all your girlfriends!".  Mullet then moves up to the window of the driver seat, where Tony is and Mullet says "You got to make it worth my while, mate.".  Tony however then grabs Mullet's tie and forces his head against the window and rolls it up to wedge Mullet's head in it and Tony says "Comfortable, Mullet? It seems sadly ironic that it's that tie that's got you into this pickle. Now you just take all the time you want!".

Tony, then starts his car and drives it slowly down the street with Mullet nervously running along side it with his head still jammed in the window.  Mullet gasps asking "What the fuck are you doin, Ton?!" and Tony says "I'm driving down the street with your head stuck in my window. What do you think I'm doing, you pen-ass?!".  Mullet then shouts "Slow down, Ton!" but Tony says "I don't think I'll slow down. I think I'll speed up. You can play some music if you like" and he turns on the radio to hear Madonna's "Lucky star" and Tony says "Oh, I love this track!".  Mullet, who is now frantically trying to keep up pace with the car, gasps and finally says "I think it's two black guys, in a pawn shop on Smith street!".  Tony then says "You better not be telling me porkie pies!" and Mullet desparately says "I'm fucking telling you, it's two black guys who work off a pawn shop in fucking Smith Street!".  And Avi, looks on, impressed with Tony's technique and says "That's very effective, Tony.  Its not too subtle but effective" and he asks of Mullet "Are we taking him with us?" and Tony relents and rolls his window down to release Mullet's head, who is dumped on the roadside.

And last of all is the scene where Tony delivers his big speech to Sol, Vinny and Tyrone, who enter a bar all wearing balaclavas and point their replica guns at Tony, who is not in the least bit intimidated by them.  So, who he addresses them and says to Vinny "So, you are obviously the big dick. The men on the side of ya are your balls. Now there are two types of balls. There are big brave balls, and there are little mincey faggot balls".

Vinny then says to Tony "These are you last words, so make them a prayer" but Tony, unphased continues "Now, dicks have drive and clarity of vision, but they are not clever. They smell pussy and they want a piece of the action. And you thought you smelled some good old pussy, and have brought your two little mincey faggot balls along for a good old time. But you've got your parties muddled up. There's no pussy here, just a dose that'll make you wish you were born a woman. Like a prick, you are having second thoughts. You are shrinking, and your two little balls are shrinking with you. And the fact that you've got "Replica" written down the side of your guns...".  And the camera suddenly zooms in on their guns that clearly shows the word "replica" on them.  Tony then continues "And the fact that I've got "Desert Eagle point five O"..." and he places his gun on the table and says "...written on the side of mine....".  The trio then nervously look at Tony's gun which indeed says what he said it does and Tony says "Should precipitate your balls into shrinking, along with your presence. Now... Fuck off!".

Dennis Farina is also great as Avi, the Jewish American jeweller who arrives in London to get the diamond.  Farina has his share of good moments also such as the scene where Avi talks to Doug the head over the phone about Franky Four Fingers betting streak.  So, Avi tells Doug "Do you know why they call him Franky Four Fingers? Because he makes stupid bets with dangerous people! When he doesn't pay up, they give him the chop! And I'm not talking about his fucking foreskin either!".  Doug then says of Franky "I'm sure he can pay" and Avi says "Not with my goods he's not!" and he says to his bodyguard, "Got a toothbrush? We're going to London" then he says to Doug "Do you hear that, Doug? I'm coming to London!!". 

Then in a quick montage, Avi flies over in a plane to London and arrives in Doug's office, who welcomes him warmly, and Avi sharply replies with "Shut up and sit down, you big bald fuck!".  Avi then continues "I don't like leaving my own country...especially leaving it for anything less than warm, sandy beaches...and cocktails with little straw hats!" and Doug smiles thinly and says "We've got sandy beaches" and Avi replies "So, who the fuck wants to seem em?!".

Then there is the scene where Avi recruits Bullet tooth Tony to retrieve the diamond and Tony says he will try and find out who "blagged the bookies" and Avi says "Blagged? Speak English to me, Tony. I thought this country spawned the fucking language, and so far nobody seems to speak it!".  So, Tony explains "Blagged?  Robbed!".

Another good scene is when Tony and Avi are in a car with Boris in the boot of Tony's car and Avi asks him "So, how do you wanna get rid of him?" and Tony says "Well, do you want to shoot him?" and Avi says "That's a little noisy, is it?".  So, Tony says "Well, do you want to stab him?" and Avi says "That's a little cold-blooded, isn't it?" and Tony annoyed says "Do you want to kill him or not?!".

And lastly there is the scene near the end (SPOILER!!!) where Avi and Tony tack down Sol and Vinny, who have the diamond Avi is looking for and on believing the Vinny's dog swallowed it, Avi insists Tony cut open the dog to look inside.  So, Avi says to Tony "Tony.  Look in the dog" and Tony shocked says "What do you mean "look in the dog"?!" and Avi says "I mean open him up" and Tony says "Its not like he's a tin of baked beans!  What do you mean open him up?!" and Avi says "You KNOW what I mean!" but Tony looks shocked and says "That's a bit strong, isn't it?".

Then Sol and Vinny try and stop Tony as he is about to use his knife to open the dog and Vinny produces the diamond from his trousers and Avi takes it and examines it closely with his loupe and smiles.  However then the dog really does take the diamond and swallows it and Avi grabs Tony's gun and shoots at it randomly but it escapes and Avi shouts "I FUCKING HATE DOGS!!  COME ON, TONY!!" and he is about to run out he looks back and says that Tony isn't moving (offscreen) and he says worriedly "Tony....".  Then we cut to the montage of Tony on the plane and getting in the taxi and arriving back in the states.  And at the airport in New York, Avi is asked by a customs official "Anything to declare?" and Avi says "Yeah, don't go to England!".    

Lennie James next is excellent as the pawn shop owner, Sol, who is used by Boris to rob a bookies and he ends up in serious hot water as the bookies is owned by Bricktop.

And Lennie has his moments also in the film that include his first scene where Sol examines a diamond that Bad Boy Lincoln and Sol says to him "Nah, its a moissanite" and Lincoln asks "A what-a-nite?".  And Sol explains "A moissanite is an artificial diamond, Lincoln. It's Mickey Mouse, mate. Spurious. Not genuine. And it's worth... fuck-all!".  

Then there is the scene where Sol and Vinny prepare to rob the bookies and as they sit in a car, driven by their obese getaway driver, Tyrone, Sol asks Vinny if he got a gun for the robbery, so Vinny produces a hefty assault shotgun.  So, Sol surprised says "What the fuck is that?!" and Vinny says "This is a shotgun, Sol" and Sol says "Its a fucking anti-aircraft gun, Vincent!" and Vinny says "Yeah, well I wanna raise a few pulses" and Sol tells him "You'll raise hell!  Never mind pulses!".

Another good moment from Lennie is when Sol and Vinny go in and rob the bookies, wearing balaclavas to conceal their faces, however the female bookie swiftly raises the security screens, which trap Vinny.  So, Sol shoots a hole in the security screen and he warns the bookie "Drop the screen now!" and the bookie does so and Vinny falls to the floor.   Sol then points the gun at the bookie and says "Fill the bag" and the bookie tells him "All bets are off" and Sol cocks his shotgun and says through gritted teeth "I'm not here to make a fucking bet!".  The bookie then says "Appreciated..." and she points to the words "All bets are off" which are written on a board behind her "...but all bets are off.  If all bets are off, there can't be any money can there?".  Sol, angrily says "I'm not fucking buying that!" and the bookie says "Well that's handy, cos I ain't fucking selling it.  Its a fact!".

Sol then looks at a man dressed in a suit, lying on the floor, carrying a briefcase (who he and Sol have mistaken for Franky Four Fingers) and Sol says to him "Show me your hands!" and the man shows Sol he has ten fingers and Sol says "You've got five fingers!  God!!".  Then Sol looks at the bag of copper coins, which is all the female bookie has left and he yells "Copper coins! WHAT DO YOU MEAN, COPPER FUCKING COINS!!" and the bookie quickly grabs his shotgun and fires a warning shot at him and Sol and Vinny quickly run out to the front door, where they are trapped as it is locked.

Another good moment is where Sol, Vinny and Tyrone are being primed for the chop as Bricktop and his men have put the trio in body bags ready to cut them up and Sol pleads with Bricktop not to as he has something to offer him.  So, Sol desparately says to Bricktop "Why do you think we've got a dead man missing an arm in our office?!" and Bricktop says "Tell me...talk to me!" and Sol says "You give us four days...I'll get you a stone the size of a fucking home! I kid you not!". 

And lastly there is the scene where Sol, Vinny and Tyrone, wearing balaclavas go into the bar where Tony is and they point their guns at him and Sol tells Tony "Now I don't want to put a bullet in your face, but if you don't give us EXACTLY what we want, there will be fucking murders!".  But Tony delivers a speech that puts the fear of God into them and they end up shrinking away from Tony.    

Robbie Gee is also pretty good as Vinny, Sol's business partner, who get's involved in Boris's ploy to rob Bricktop's bookies, which ends up costing them more than they bargained for.

Robbie also has some good moments but I will only mention a couple to keep things a bit shorter (as this post is long enough as it is!) and the scene I will mention first is the one where Vinny bemused by Tyrone's weight as a getaway driver, as in one scene Tyrone struggles to get himself out of a small car.  And Vinny says to Sol "I thought you said he was a getaway driver. What the fuck can he get away from, eh?!".

Then there is the scene where Bricktop pays Sol and Vinny a visit at their pawn shop and he explains to them his process for disposing of a corpse by using pigs.  And after that Sol says "Well, thank you for that. That's a great weight off me mind. Now, if you wouldn't mind telling me who the fuck you are, apart from someone who feeds people to pigs of course?!".

And last of all is the scene where Sol, Vinny and Tyrone drive over to confront Tony and Vinny questions Sol on the effectiveness of the replica guns that Sol got them (which he loaded with blanks).  So, Vinny asks "Do they fire?" and Sol replies "Of course they fire" and Vinny asks "But how do you know?" and Sol says "They're replicas!" and Vinny says "What do you know about replicas?!".  So, Sol decides to prove his point and fires a shot from his replica gun and shatter the glass of the front windows, leaving the guys yelling in surprise.  So, Vinny yells "What the fuck are you doing, Solomon??!!" and Sol angrily says "You wanted to know whether they worked or not!" and Vinny shouts "I didn't mean try it in the car, Sol, you arsehole!!". 

Rade Zerbedzija is really good as Boris the blade, the manipulative sneaky former KGB agent, who is also nicknamed Boris "the bullet dodger" to which Avi asks why to Tony at one point who simply replies "because he dodges bullets, Avi!".

Rade has some good scenes also such as the one where Boris sells a gun to Tommy and he tells Tommy "Heavy, isn't it? Heavy is good. Heavy is reliable. If it doesn't work, you can always hit him with it!". 

Then there is the scene where Sol and Vinny try to negotiate with Boris over their cut for robbing the bookies.  In the scene, Vinny angrily says to Boris of the diamond he holds "We want half of this, and that's because we're being generous. We could, by all rights, keep the whole fucking stone, Boris!" and this prompts Boris to groan and he suddenly puts earplugs in his ears, takes out his gun and shoots Franky Four Fingers in the head much to the consternation of the others. And Boris tells them "You fucking idiots. He could not know my name. Give me the stone!".  However, Sol gives Boris the bad news "The only man who knew the combination, you just shot" so Boris mutters to himself in Russian and instead takes out a cleaver and chops off Franky's arm that is attached to the suitcase

So after, Boris has done the chop, he cleans up and he says to Sol and Vinny "You can keep the 10 grand, along with the body...but if I see you again, YOU MOTHERFUCKERS!" and he makes a dangerous move toward them, sending Sol and Vinny jumping back and Boris finishes "...well, look at him!".

And last of all there is the scene where Boris has a stand-off in the hallway of a pub with Sol, Vinny and Tyrone and Avi.  So, Boris in the scene aims his assault rifle at Avi, who holds the case with the diamond and he says to Avi "Pass me case, or I shoot you!" and Avi having told the trio to go fuck themselves already then says to Boris "You know what? Fuck you, too!".  So, Boris instead points his rifle at the trio and says "You!  Drop guns!" but Vinny bravely says "Fuck you!" but Tony next door in the bar area hears the commotion and shouts out to Avi "Avi!  Pull your socks up!" and he fires off several shots through the wall as everyone ducks in the hallway.

So, in the next moment, Sol and Vinny scarper leaving Tyrone behind and Boris, who lies bleeding from being shot and Tony then enters and sees Boris.  So, Tony asks "Boris, what are YOU doing here?" and Boris weakly says off-screen "Fuck you!" so Tony shoots him twice, but then Boris continues "You piece of crap!" and Tony says "Don't take the piss, Boris!" and Boris reaches for his gun, so Tony shoots him four more times.  However, Boris is still alive and shouts weakly "Fuck you!!" and so Tony shoots him again, then we hear Boris says "Almost had it!" and Tony groans and says "Fuck sake!" and takes careful aim and shoots Boris one last time and wear hear Boris finally collapse.  

Mike Reid, who was a former stand-up comedian and his most notable acting role up to this point was playing Frank Butcher in Eastenders, does pretty well her as Doug the head, the London jeweller, who works with Avi to retrieve the diamond from the heist in Antwerp at the start of the film (lead by Franky).

Reid has a few good scenes but I will just quickly mention just two, firstly the one where Doug arrives outside his jeweler shop and he is surrounded by some Jewish kids, who are loitering and smoking.  So, Doug says to them "What are you doing here?" and one of the kids says "Its a free country, ain't it?" and he spits on the ground and Doug says to him "Well it ain't a free shop, is it?!! So, fuck off!".

Then there is the scene where Doug leads Avi to an illegal boxing fight and they are stopped several times by security to check their tickets.  And Avi impatiently asks "Are we ever going to get into this place?!" and Doug tells him "Avi, Avi, you gotta understand. This ain't exactly Vegas, and this ain't exactly legal!" and Avi says "I'm not looking for Vegas or for legal. I'm looking for Franky fucking four fingers!".

And lastly there is the scene where Tony's daughters suggest that Tony try and locate Franky for Avi but Doug is less enthusiastic at the idea and Doug's daughter, Susi regails Avi of a story about Tony.  So she says "He got shot six times, had the bullets moulded into gold. I shoot you, you go down! He has two in his teeth that Dad did, so he loves Dad" and Avi asks "Six times?!" and Doug says "In one sitting". 

Benecio Del Toro also does well in a rather brief role as Franky Four Fingers, the reckless robber, who likes to gamble and does the jewel heist at the start of the film.

Benecio has some good moments here and there but I will only mention a couple of his scenes such as the one where Franky purchases a gun from Boris.  And Boris tells him "The weight is sign of reliability. I always go for reliability" and Franky tries a few moves with it and says "I'll take it.  How much do you want for it?" and Boris says "Nothing".  So, Franky asks "OK, so what do you want for it?" and Boris tells him he wants Franky to place a bet on an unlicensed boxing match for him.  And Boris tells Franky "Well...there is not too many bookies that takes those kind of bets. And I already have an outstanding debt with the house. I know something most don't" and Franky looks at him and says "So, nu?  What do you know?".

And lastly there is the scene where Franky meets with Doug, who examines the diamonds Franky obtained during the heist.  And Doug says "From Russia with love, eh?" and Franky says "I have stones to sell, fat to chew, and many different men to see about many different dogs, so if I am not rushing you...".  Doug then says "Slow down, Franky, my son.  When in Rome" and Franky says "I am not in Rome, Doug. I am in a rush. I got to make the bookies" and Doug asks "Who are you betting on?" and Franky says "Bomber Harris" Doug says "Ah, the unlicensed boxer".  Doug then takes a moment and asks "Do you know something I don't?" and Franky says with a grin "Bubbe, I probably know a lot you don't!".

Ade next up is pretty good also as Tyrone, Sol and Vinny's getaway car driver, who actually proves to be more useful than either of them!

Ade has some good moments of course in the film that include his first scene where he drives the getaway car for Sol and Vinny and they have just go into the car and he is introduced to Vinny.  So, Sol says to Vinny "Tyrone'll drive for us.  He's done a rally driving course, haven't you, Tyrone?" and Tyrone says "Course I have!".  And Vinny has brought along his dog with them, who is somewhat rampant and hyper and Tyrone of course doesn't like the dog much and says "I don't want that dog dribbling on my seats".  Vinny then says "Tyrone, this is a stolen car mate!" but Tyrone insists "While I'm at the wheel, it's my car, so stop that dog dribbling on my seats. All right?!".

Then there is the scene where Sol and Vinny bungle their robbery of the bookies and they make their escape in the getaway car but before they go, Tyrone suddenly notices Franky in the rear view window getting out of a van.  However Sol and Vinny don't want to hang around and yell at Tyrone "GET US OUT OF HERE!" but Tyrone instead sneaks up behind Franky and knocks him out and then opens he back door and shoves the unconscious Franky into the back of the car.  Vinny looks puzzled and asks "Who the fuck is this man, Tyrone?!" and Tyrone answers "Its a man with four fingers and a briefcase, Vinny!".

And last of all is the scene where Bricktop's men chase Tyrone after they have seen him on the security video footage at the bookies when Sol and Vinny did their robbery.  So in the next moment, we see Bricktop question Tyrone (all without sound) and he sets the dogs on him to force him to talk.  So, Tyrone gives in just as the dogs bite at his trousers and Tyrone yells "I'LL FUCKING TELL YA!!  GET THOSE DOGS OFF ME!! I'LL TELL YOU WHO ROBBED YOUR BOOKIES!!".

And last of all from the cast that I will mention is Andy Beckwith, who is pretty good also in his role as Errol, Bricktop's main henchman, who cuts a pretty intimidating figure and has a face that is perfect for hard man roles such as this.

Andy has some good moments also such as the scene where Bricktop pays a surprise visit to Turkish's place where he is about to open his safe but is interrupted by Errol who says to Turkish "Oink!  Oink!" causing Turkish to drop a cup of sugar he is holding.  So, Errol then says "So, that's where you keep the sugar?" and Turkish turns and says to Errol and his partner John "What brings you two here?  Run out of pants to sniff?".  Errol then says "That sounds like hostility, doesn't it, John?" and John says "And we don't like hostility, do we, Errol?" and Errol says back "No we don't, John!".

And lastly there is the scene where Bricktop looks through the security video footage from the bookies as they see footage of Sol and Vinny lying inside the front door entrance.  So, Bricktop asks Errol "Do you know these tits, Errol?" and Errol replies "I know alot of tits, governor, but I don't any as fucking stupid as these two!".  So, Bricktop asks John, who replies "I can't help, guv" but then they see Tyrone open the front door of the bookies in the video and Errol says "Ah, Tyrone!" and Errol and John say in unison "You silly fat bastard!".    

DIRECTOR AND MUSIC

You can keep the 10 grand,
along with the body...
...but if I see you again,
you motherfuckers....
Well, look at him.

Read more: https://www.springfieldspringfield.co.uk/movie_script.php?movie=snBenecio Del Toro does well with his role as Frankie four fingers, 
however it is no more than an extended cameo as he doesn't really appear
 that long in the film.  Mike Reid (who was famous for his role as Frank
 Butcher in Eastenders) does a good job as the Jewish wannabe diamond 
dealer, Doug the head.  And I like the scene where Reid as Doug walks 
toward the entrance of his store and there some young Jewish boys 
hanging around, and he asks them what they are doing, and one of them 
spits and says "its a free country ain't it?" and Doug replies "yeah but
 it isn't a free shop, is it?!  So fuck off!".    

FINALLY moving onto the director, Guy Ritchie does a fine job here although he does once again utilise some of that rather distracting jittery camerawork in certain scenes, such as the Mickey's boxing fight near the end of the film, and Mickey's wake.  But both his writing and direction are overall pretty solid, and I like the way he juxtaposes the scene where Bricktop's men capture Tyrone, and where we see the hare coursing happen at the same time.  The intro also works well with how Ritchie introduces the characters with a title card to their names and its a sequence that flows very well.  

I also like the quick comedic cuts he uses for Avi travelling from American to London, as we see him get in a cub, quick shot of him on the plane taking a drunk, and a taxi arriving in London.  Ritchie also makes good use of diluting the colour in the film, using I presume the digital colour gading method that was used in films such as The Matrix and Fight Club.  This helps give the film the perfect visual griminess which is well suited to the atmosphere and setting of the East End London crime underworld.     

The film also has a fine soundtrack and there are some really good tracks to be found here, such as Oasis's "Fucking in the bushes" which is used really well during Mickey's climactic boxing match.  Other tracks included that are really good include "Ghost Town" by the Specials, Klint's two tracks, "Diamond" and "Where are you?" which are used in the title sequence and Mickey's mother's wake respectively.  Bobby Byrd's "Hot Pants (I'm coming, I'm coming, I'm coming)  which is a really good funky track, in the scene which introduces Tony.  And finally the Massive attack's powerful "Angel" is used very well in the film's most dramatic scene where Mickey desparately tries to make a futile attempt to save his mum who was burned alive in her caravan.

Its also of course worth mentioning the film's original score by John Murphy which is pretty good and its rather light hearted, pleasant and jaunty and suits the tone of the film pretty well.  Murphy also scored Ritchie's debut Lock, Stock and he also later went on to score Matthew Vaughan's Kick-Ass (who was the producer of Snatch).     

FLAWS 

As for the film's flaws...well yeah OK, Snatch isn't quite perfect.

For starters you could argue that the film isn't really much of a departure from Lock, Stock and its really more of the same of the East End grimy underworld, and it doesn't really see Ritchie stretch himself yet beyond that world in his filmmaking.

It has to also be said that some of the film's characters feel a bit superflous, such as Doug the Head's two daughters who say the same lines such as "yeah, dad, you told us!" which get's a bit grating.  And other characters in the film such as Frankie four fingers were underused, which in my opinion left Benecio Del Toro without a great deal to do in the film, except perform the diamond heist, go to London, get knocked unconscious, then get shot! (by Boris).

I also found it a bit strange how Mickey could lay out all the fighters he was up against with one punch in the film except the guy at the end, where he does land one of his punches on him at the start and it does knock the guy down but not for the count!  So, all of a sudden Mickey finds himself in a boxing match or just maybe perhaps he had anticipated all this and decided to go easy on the guy and do a rope-a-dope a la Muhammad Ali.

Anyway that's it for the flaws.

SUM UP

So, to sum up after nearly 20 years (wow its been that long!) Snatch is still a very entertaining comedy crime film that features an excellent ensemble cast as well as a funny and sharp script by Guy Ritchie.  And its just a bit of a shame that Ritchie lost his mojo as a film maker after this one (despite the success of his Sherlock Holmes films, I was not a fan) and its almost like straying from the grimy underworld of London saw him get a bit out of his depth.   

However despite that, Snatch remains one of Ritchie's most enjoyable films and its still well worth checking out today.

Right, sheesh!  That is FINALLY it for this review, so I will return soon with a shorter post, promise!

Till then I'll see you laters.