After Mel Gibson made himself a household name with the Mad Max Trilogy, he took a little time off, then returned to the screen in 1987 for the successful "buddy-cop" movie: Lethal Weapon. You can't deny the chemistry between Gibson's Martin Riggs & Danny Glover's Roger Murtaugh. The relationship has the perfect blend of dramatic heart and humor, which is the key to the success of the film. Initially, no sequel was planned (in fact the original filmed ending had both men saying goodbye forever), but director Richard Donner thought the characters were so good together, he just couldn't end the picture with them going their seperate ways. As a result, Lethal Weapon 2 was released two years later, adding Joe Pesci to the mix of this winning formula as Leo Getz ("Whatever you want...Leo Getz"). With the huge success of the sequel, it was only a matter of time before Lethal Weapon 3 hit theaters in 1992, adding yet another new key character, Rene Russo's Lorna Cole, a sort of "alter ego" of the Martin Riggs character. Since these movies are based on good chemistry between the characters, it's amazing to me how they're able to add new elements without deterring the original winning formula. Blind luck? Or Hollywood genius? You be the judge.
Now you may be wondering about which Lethal Weapon DVD Box Set to pick up, since there are two of them available. The first set has the first 3 films as well as Part 4 all together in a nice Black case. The other has only Parts 1-3 in a shiny silver case. Why get the shiny case box set? This is the special "Director's Cut" Legacy edition, which includes added footage to the first 3 Lethal Weapon movies. Lethal Weapon 1 has about 7 minutes of extra footage cut back into the film which adds some more insight into the Martin Riggs character. (...) The other films also have some added footage that are not as involving but still enjoyable to watch. I have to point out to many out there, Director's Cuts can be any length, so that doesn't mean you're going to get 20 minutes of extra footage every time you buy one. You also get DTS sound with this set, which isn't available on the other one. It's true that special features on the discs are pretty slim. But I do urge you to pick up Lethal Weapon 4 separately (Part 4 has a whole side of a disc devoted to extra Features) and enjoy the Lethal Weapon movies in all their glory.