4. Lethal Weapon

I'm too old for this shit!

Released 

1987 

Credits 

Director: Richard Donner 

Writer: Shane Black 

Cast 

Mel Gibson (Martin Riggs)

Danny Glover (Roger Murtaugh)

Gary Busey (Joshua)

Mitchell Ryan (The General)

Darlene Love (Trish Murtaugh)

Critical

7.6/10 (IMDB)

83% (RT Critics)

85% (RT Audience)

Box Office 

Domestic Gross: $65,207,127

Worldwide Gross: $120,207,127 

At the Oscars 

- Nomination for Best Sound 

I decided to put up another one today since Aliens has come up a few times.

And finally I get a movie to come up on the countdown , I love Lethal Weapon and most of the franchise. It not only set the bar , it elevated itself away from being just another buddy cop comedy. It provided some tremendous chemistry between Gibson and Glover , had some amazing one liners and the action is there from beginning to end as well.

No doubt that without this movie , one of my favorite sets of movies (Bad Boys 1&2) wouldn't be a thing. I owe it a ton for that alone.

Also I think this is a lot closer than most people think for Gibson's best performance , to Braveheart. He hit some lows in this movie that AT LEAST put the template down for what was to come. That scene when he's about to eat his gun is as heartbreaking as you'll find in action movies and really sets this character up for greatness. I love it.

Aliens was #3 on my list and should have placed better than 5. Since when is being a good film a disqualifier for an action movie? And Aliens is not only good, it is absolutely brilliant, a film that truly raised the bar for both action and science fiction.   All time there are only TWO action films I have ahead of Aliens, and they both will be featured on this countdown.

Lethal Weapon was #6 on my list, one of the most influential action films ever released. This film pretty much INVENTED the buddy cop movie. The chemistry between Danny Glover and Mel Gibson has been widely imitated but NEVER duplicated. As UT pointed out it also features some of Mel Gibson's finest acting. My mother is also a HUGE fan of the Lethal Weapon series, so for us it even counts as a family film!!


10.Bloodsport
9.
8.Commando
7.First Blood
6.Lethal Weapon
5.
4.
3.Aliens
2.
1.  

Alien is much more of a horror flick than Aliens as well. Plus you have a Ripley and company much more on the offensive trying to fight the Aliens rather than being hunted in a confined space which naturally lends itself to more action. This film is relentless with one of the more famous final fights in the genre.

1.
2. Aliens
3.
4.
5.
6. Robocop
7. First Blood
8.
9.
10. Bloodsport

I just never got into the buddy cop genre as I have a preconceived notion that they focus more on comedy (which I'm really picky with) than action.

Never watched the Alien films. I really should.

Never watched Lethal Weapon. Not until just before submitting my list. Mel Gibson is great and the chemistry between him and Glover is pretty good, but as a whole I didn't enjoy the film that much. Average action film. "I'm too old for this shit" didn't have much impact on me because it's been quoted so much and it's basically the only thing I knew about it going in. Didn't know it was the first buddy cop movie though. That deserves credit.

Jul 17, 2018 22:04:04 GMT Shootist said:

Alien is much more of a horror flick than Aliens as well. Plus you have a Ripley and company much more on the offensive trying to fight the Aliens rather than being hunted in a confined space which naturally lends itself to more action. This film is relentless with one of the more famous final fights in the genre.

YEAH! What he said! Stick that in your Empire Strikes Back voting ass and smoke it, RT.

-_-

Jul 17, 2018 22:24:14 GMT Emperor said:

Never watched the Alien films. I really should.

You definitely should. It's just as good as Aliens but from the slant of a whole different genre's lens.

I struggled to think of the buddy cop movie that I wanted as my representation on my list. 48 Hours was great and really paved the way for the trend and subsequent Eddie Murphy fave, Beverly Hills Cop. And Tango & Cash is a guilty pleasure personal favorite. But really nothing before or since really gets it just so spot on right in an iconic, timeless way as Riggs & Murtaugh.

Jul 17, 2018 22:24:14 GMT Emperor said:

Didn't know it was the first buddy cop movie though. That deserves credit.

It's not. I think 48 Hours is generally credited as kicking off the buddy cop trend as we know it.

I'm having a mental blank on Aliens appearing on other lists, were they in earlier additions? Whatever the case, I haven't had the chance to talk about one of the greatest sequels of all-time. The movie has a very simple mandate and that's MORE ALIENS! which could have been really bad if it wasn't for Cameron's ability to craft really endearing characters we actually give a damn about. Sigourney returns and she's faced with the horror of waking up to a world she doesn't understand anymore. Everyone she had ever known is dead and her only purpose seems to be dealing with a life-form that ruined her life. She's a lost soul through out the movie and it's only through her maternal instincts and her relationship with Newt she's able to find her purpose. I haven't seen a more cathartic sequence then when she goes all mama bear on the aliens, rescues Newt and takes down the Queen in a 1-1 free for all.

It's universally agreed that Aliens is a great movie, but what made it such a good action movie were the combat sequences between the marines and the aliens. There's a real tension through out and as the audience we're curious to see what a team of trained killers can do against an army of these mutant life-forms. It's dark, it's gritty, it's intense but most of all it's enjoyable and sets up a gripping finale.

I really enjoy Gibson's performance as a loose cannon in Lethal Weapon and wish I could be invited to a Murtaugh dinner.

I would safely say that the Top Three (in no particular order) are The Terminator, Die Hard, and Predator.

Jul 18, 2018 1:46:59 GMT 🤯 said:

Jul 17, 2018 22:24:14 GMT Emperor said:

Didn't know it was the first buddy cop movie though. That deserves credit.

It's not. I think 48 Hours is generally credited as kicking off the buddy cop trend as we know it.

48 hrs may have come out first, but Lethal Weapon is the movie that had the most impact on the genre by far.

Beverly Hills Cop came out before and doubled Lethal Weapon's take at the box office so I would say it made the biggest impact.

Lethal Weapon is cute 80's action movie but it can't hold a candle to Aliens or Robocop. I'm not sure I would have even put it in my top 20 but I don't hate it, I LOVE Gary Busey and that final fight scene with the triangle choke was ahead of it's time for 1980's. Rickson Gracie choreographed that fight scene, this was really how the Gracie's first became a thing in the USA, after that they wrote an article about Rickson in Playboy magazine and this led to Art Davie hooking up with the Gracie's for the first UFC pay per view. 

Jul 18, 2018 9:45:45 GMT Shootist said:

Beverly Hills Cop came out before and doubled Lethal Weapon's take at the box office so I would say it made the biggest impact.

A. Beverly Hills Cop is not really a buddy cop movie.   It's more of a straight forward action/comedy.

B. Lethal Weapon is a far more influential film.

3. Predator 

Get to the chopper!

Released 

1987 

Credits 

Director: John McTiernan

Writer: Jim Thomas 

Writer: John Thomas 

Cast 

Arnold Schwarzenegger (Dutch)

Carl Weathers (Dillon)

Elpidia Carillo (Anna)

Bill Duke (Mac)

Jesse Ventura (Blain)

Critical 

7.8/10 (IMDB)

80% (RT Critics)

87% (RT Audience)

Box Office 

Domestic: $59,735,548

Worldwide: $98,267,558 

At the Oscars 

- Nominated for Best Visual Effects 

Jul 18, 2018 13:18:41 GMT thereallt said:

Jul 18, 2018 9:45:45 GMT Shootist said:

Beverly Hills Cop came out before and doubled Lethal Weapon's take at the box office so I would say it made the biggest impact.

A. Beverly Hills Cop is not really a buddy cop movie.   It's more of a straight forward action/comedy.

B. Lethal Weapon is a far more influential film.

Yeah Lethal Weapon is probably the 2nd most influential action movie of the 80's when it comes to what we were going to see moving forward. And the sequel is great as well - the franchise as a whole gets a little overlooked when it comes to what it meant to the genre. I think #4 is a logical place for it on this list - even if I don't enjoy two of the three movies above it. 

Fuck this list. Predator numba one.

Jul 18, 2018 16:30:10 GMT RT said:

Fuck this list. Predator numba one.

I would have burnt my laptop to hide all evidence if that actually happened.

Predator came in at #4 on my list. One of my favorite things about it is you have a film starring some of the largest and most powerfully built men in Hollywood playing a crew of absolute badasses.....and then the film completely turns that on it's head and they are all as helpless as a teenage school girl in a Jason movie. Couple that with pulse pounding action, tension throughout the film you could cut with a knife and one of the all-time great movie monsters and you end up with one of the all-time great action films ever made.

Plus who can forget this classic line??

^
Yeah, what he said.

Now I want to see why UT loathes this film.


1.
2. Aliens
3.
4. Predator
5.
6. Robocop
7. First Blood
8.
9.
10. Bloodsport

Loathe might be strong , I just ain't an Arnie guy and it being #1 would be blasphemous.

Predator would have been the highest ranking "pure" action movie on my list at #3 or #4 and was the movie I was (realistically) rooting for to claim the top spot.

You've got the GOAT action movie cast in Arnold, Carl Weathers and Jesse Ventura. Yet the real star of the movie is The Predator, which has to be one of the most iconic movie monsters of the past 31....40....50 years ever. thereallt summed it up perfectly in his post.

It's one of those movies that always stuck with me over the years. I could devote an entire storytime to the first time I saw Predator if I were in the mood.

Jul 18, 2018 21:40:48 GMT UT said:

Loathe might be strong , I just ain't an Arnie guy and it being #1 would be blasphemous.

Arnold is the GOAT of action stars.

When you have Terminator, Terminator 2, Commando, The Predator and True Lies on your resume there is no denying  it    

Plus the Conan movies, Running Man, Total Recall...Arnie just straight cranked 'em out. I'd say Sly beats him in the long run, but Arnie at his peak was the pinnacle.

Time to catch up....

Lethal Weapon was a fun popcorn flick. Honestly don't recall much about it beyond the obviously great chemistry between Gibson & Glover, but I did enjoy it. It's the sort of thing I'd have thrown on the bottom to fill out a list of 15 or 20. Fwiw the Lethal Weapon with Jet Li is my favorite of the series/the one I remember best.

Speaking of Danny Glover, am I the only Predator 2 fan here? 

I'm that weirdo who never really got into the Alien movies. I know I've seen Alien, and I think I've seen Aliens, but I'm just going to assume Alien > Aliens because Alien has Picket Fences star Tom Skerritt while Aliens does not.

Jul 19, 2018 1:32:32 GMT thereallt said:

Jul 18, 2018 21:40:48 GMT UT said:

Loathe might be strong , I just ain't an Arnie guy and it being #1 would be blasphemous.

Arnold is the GOAT of action stars.

When you have Terminator, Terminator 2, Commando, The Predator and True Lies on your resume there is no denying  it    

Good for him , doesn't mean I enjoy any of those movies. 

2. The Terminator 

You're terminated, fucker. ~ Sarah Connor 

Released 

1984 

Credits 

Director: James Cameron 

Writer: James Cameron 

Writer: Gale Anne Hurd 

Cast 

Arnold Schwarzenegger (Terminator)

Michael Biehn (Kyle Reese)

Linda Hamilton (Sarah Connor)

Paul Winfield (Ed Traxler)

Lance Henriksen (Hal Vukovich)

Critical

#229 Movie of All Time (IMDB)

8.0/10 (IMDB)

100% (RT Critics)

89% (RT Audience)

Box Office 

Domestic Gross: $38,371,200 

Worldwide Gross:  $78,371,200

1. Die Hard 

"Come out to the coast, we'll get together, have a few laughs..." ~ John McClane 

Released 

1988 

Credits 

Director: John McTiernan 

Novel: Roderick Thorp 

Screenplay: Jeb Stuart 

Cast 

Bruce Willis (John McClane)

Alan Rickman (Hans Gruber)

Bonnie Bedelia (Holly McClane)

Reginald VelJohnson (Sgt. Al Powell)

William Atherton (Richard Thornburg)

Critical 

#121 Movie of All Time (IMDB)

8.2/10 (IMDB)

93% (RT Critics)

94% (RT Audience)

Box Office 

Domestic Gross: $83,008,852

Worldwide Gross: $140,767,956 

At the Oscars 

- Nominated for Best Sound 

- Nominated for Best Film Editing 

- Nominated for Best Sound Effects 

- Nominated for Best Visual Effects 

Decided to put up #1 today as well , everyone knew what it was going to be and it's easier this way. Like I said at the beginning , Die Hard is now the highest vote getter in PW Top Ten history and it took #1 here by a landslide over Terminator (suck it Arnie). It's really the right choice too as Die Hard is incredible despite me speaking out of my ass a few countdowns ago and saying fuck Die Hard - I didn't mean it and it hurt my feelings to say. Though I do still enjoy With A Vengeance better - that takes nothing away from the original.

John McClane is IMO the greatest action hero of all time , along with the brains and brauns he also has a unmatched charm and wit about him that makes him connect. He was the first every man action hero and still remains the best. I love all the little things this movie provides , like just the extra layers and the comedy him being barefoot the whole time. It makes a difference.

Die Hard's importance to the genre can not be understated , it's probably the most influential action movie of all time and one of the most influential movies of any genre. Without Die Hard setting the mold , my nineties movie experiences would have been far different. I seen With A Vengeance first and like it for more for different reasons but that doesn't mean I don't love the original. In fact when it was decided we were doing 80's action , instead of going and watching enough movies to make it to ten or some of the more iconic movies I haven't seen like I normally do - I popped in Die Hard again and rekindled my adoration for it.

Terminator is better.

Here was my final list.

1. Aliens
2. The Terminator
3. Die Hard
4. Blade Runner
5. Bloodsport
6. Predator
7. Rambo: First Blood
8. Robocop
9. Commando
10. The Running Man