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‘Lethal Weapon 2’ With Bill Simmons, Chris Ryan, and Van Lathan

May 11, 2021 · Action · Crime · Thriller · 1:29:54

Categories

Apex Mountain

Chris Ryan▶ 24:32South African villains

Most Rewatchable Scene

Bill Simmons▶ 36:43The opening car chase followed immediately by the straitjacket scene where Mel Gibson dislocates his shoulder
Chris Ryan▶ 39:14Agrees with the straitjacket scene pick and discusses how it was a bad influence on impressionable teenagers wanting to try dislocating their shoulders
Van Lathan▶ 39:49Agrees with Bill's pick and adds analysis about the straitjacket scene showing Riggs as a masochist and the Chekhov's gun aspect of the shoulder dislocation

What's Aged the Best

Bill Simmons▶ 46:44The toilet bomb scene as one of the great action movie premises of all time, plus various other scenes like Gibson confronting the villains and the trailer shootout
Chris Ryan▶ 48:04The toilet bomb scene as his most rewatchable scene
Van Lathan▶ 49:02The emotional chemistry and partnership between Riggs and Murtaugh, particularly the 'I love you' moment in the toilet scene

Casting What-Ifs

Bill Simmons▶ 1:08:20Mentions original choice to play Leo before Pesci was 'our guy very near and dear to our hearts here the rewatchables' but doesn't specify who

Joey Pants Award

Bill Simmons▶ 1:09:00Josh Acklin — Josh Acklin - 'obviously Josh Acklin is going to win because I didn't know his name until I saw this movie but I knew him from Hunt for Red October and this movie'
Chris Ryan▶ 1:09:58Jack McKee — Jack McKee - 'the person who is competing most with Josh Acklin though is Jack McKee who plays the dude doing the construction on Murtaugh's house'
Van Lathan▶ 1:09:25Jenette Goldstein — All the cops are 'that guys' - specifically mentions the female cop who is Vasquez from Aliens and Edward Furlong's mother, and the black cop with curly hair who's in Die Hard

Dion Waiters Award

Bill Simmons▶ 1:10:37Joe Pesci
Van Lathan▶ 1:10:42Joe Pesci — Joe Pesci (agreed with Bill)

Half-Assed Internet Research

Bill Simmons▶ 1:11:13Grand Theft Auto 5 homages Lethal Weapon with a protagonist finding his wife cheating with a tennis coach and pulling down a house on stilts
Chris Ryan▶ 1:14:22Richard Donner won the battle for the franchise's soul against Shane Black's darker vision, keeping it lighter and more fun
Van Lathan▶ 1:11:58Theory that Lethal Weapon movies aged Danny Glover in audience perception by 30 years, hurting his career - he was only 43 playing older but is now 74

Picking Nits

Bill Simmons▶ 1:16:43Cops should shoot helicopter blades instead of the body; villains should have just killed Riggs instead of elaborate death; condom ads wouldn't exist in 1989; Riggs shouldn't have brought girlfriend back to her apartment after shootout
Chris Ryan▶ 1:16:56Cops respect some rules like diplomatic immunity but not others; Riggs knowing details about deep sea fishing magazine when Murtaugh is the boat owner; different relationship with pets in 80s movies
Van Lathan▶ 1:17:36Defends the Riggs capture scene as villains needed quiet kill with guests upstairs, but agrees they could have used silencer; Riggs wouldn't know fishing magazine details; Riggs' dog is poorly cared for

Probably Unanswerable Questions

Bill Simmons▶ 1:21:27Is diplomatic immunity real or just a movie device? Could you actually pull down a house on stilts with a truck?
Chris Ryan▶ 1:21:41Discussed real-world diplomatic immunity cases and proposed a modern reboot concept with Logan/Jake Paul vs South African diplomats
Van Lathan▶ 1:22:02Referenced LiAngelo Ball case and questioned why he would steal sunglasses in China, discussed house structural integrity

Who Won the Movie

Bill Simmons▶ 1:28:12Joe Pesci — Gibson wins the movie but the title should be vacated like Reggie Bush's NCAA title due to cheating, so effectively no winner but Pesci makes the movie
Chris Ryan▶ 1:27:19Joe Pesci — Joe Pesci (agreeing with Van's strategy of voting for Pesci knowing Gibson would normally win)
Van Lathan▶ 1:26:45Joe Pesci — Joe Pesci (though acknowledging Riggs/Gibson obviously wins, comparing it to Charles Woodson winning the Heisman over expected winner Peyton Manning)

Movies Referenced (46)

Lethal Weapon (1987)

21 mentions · Bill Simmons, Chris Ryan, Van Lathan▶ 2:07IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Goodfellas (1990)

7 mentions · Bill Simmons, Van Lathan▶ 10:03IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Die Hard (1988)

5 mentions · Bill Simmons, Van Lathan▶ 6:53IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Beverly Hills Cop (1984)

4 mentions · Bill Simmons, Van Lathan, Chris Ryan▶ 19:02IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Aliens (1986)

3 mentions · Bill Simmons, Chris Ryan, Van Lathan▶ 2:34IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Home Alone (1990)

3 mentions · Bill Simmons▶ 10:04IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Iron Man (2008)

3 mentions · Van Lathan, Chris Ryan▶ 29:47IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Rushmore (1998)

3 mentions · Bill Simmons▶ 2:27IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Batman (1989)

2 mentions · Bill Simmons, Chris Ryan▶ 15:52IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Blood Diamond (2006)

2 mentions · Bill Simmons, Chris Ryan▶ 1:00:08IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Casino (1995)

2 mentions · Bill Simmons, Van Lathan▶ 10:12IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Fargo (1996)

2 mentions · Bill Simmons▶ 27:20IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Directors Referenced (3)

Mel Gibson

37 mentions · Bill Simmons, Van Lathan, Chris Ryan · Known for Braveheart, Conspiracy Theory▶ 1:28IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Richard Donner

3 mentions · Chris Ryan, Bill Simmons · Known for Lethal Weapon▶ 12:14IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Cameron Crowe

1 mentions · Bill Simmons · Known for Almost Famous, Jerry Maguire, Vanilla Sky▶ 17:37IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Actors Referenced (32)

Joe Pesci

23 mentions · Bill Simmons, Van Lathan, Chris Ryan · Known for Goodfellas, Raging Bull, The Irishman▶ 9:13IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Danny Glover

19 mentions · Van Lathan, Bill Simmons, Chris Ryan · Known for Lethal Weapon▶ 1:28IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Charles Barkley

4 mentions · Van Lathan, Bill Simmons · Known for He Got Game, Space Jam▶ 16:56IMDb ↗Lb ↗

James Murtaugh

4 mentions · Chris Ryan, Bill Simmons, Van Lathan · Known for How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days▶ 31:00IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Anthony Hopkins

3 mentions · Chris Ryan · Known for The Silence of the Lambs▶ 12:58IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Eddie Murphy

3 mentions · Bill Simmons · Known for Harlem Nights, The Nutty Professor▶ 38:03IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Michelle Pfeiffer

3 mentions · Bill Simmons, Van Lathan · Known for What Lies Beneath▶ 1:01:24IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Tom Cruise

3 mentions · Bill Simmons · Known for Top Gun, Minority Report▶ 37:37IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Bruce Willis

2 mentions · Bill Simmons · Known for Die Hard, Pulp Fiction▶ 6:53IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Eric Clapton

2 mentions · Bill Simmons · Known for Lethal Weapon▶ 1:02:40IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Liam Gallagher

2 mentions · Chris Ryan▶ 1:02:24IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Peyton Manning

2 mentions · Van Lathan▶ 1:27:02IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Writers Referenced (2)

Shane Black

12 mentions · Bill Simmons, Van Lathan, Chris Ryan · Known for Predator, The Nice Guys, Kiss Kiss Bang Bang▶ 25:16IMDb ↗Lb ↗

Roger Ebert

8 mentions · Van Lathan, Bill Simmons, Chris Ryan▶ 1:52IMDb ↗Lb ↗