TheRetroCritic

One year before Die Hard , a little film called Lethal Weapon came out and gave us a solid mix of 80's cop action and Christmas spirit. The film spawned several sequels, of course, and became one of the action franchises to follow. But how does the very first film hold up? Probably the darkest film in the franchise, Lethal Weapon focuses more on Riggs' (Mel Gibson) depression and Murtaugh's (Danny Glover) family life than the actual crime plot at hand, which almost feels like a subplot at times. The villains, Gary Busey's Joshua, a tough ex-army guy turned ruthless killer, and Mitch Ryan's General do pop up now and then, offering the odd action beat but all in all, this first film is more of a character piece about the slow building of an unlikely friendship. A lot of emphasis is put on Riggs' suicidal state following the death of his wife as we see him get dangerously close to killing himself and almost jeopardising various cases. Luckily, he's

Robert Downey Jr should be in every movie. Even as an extra or something: just there. His impressive comeback is no huge surprise in that he is one of the best actors working today but it is very welcome. A film like Kiss Kiss Bang Bang, without him, would no doubt had been forgotten and left for dead...especially with THAT title! Thankfully though, there's life in this old dog yet. Kiss Kiss Bang Bang stars Downey Jr as a petty thief turned actor turned detective who gets entangled in a twisted Raymond Chandler-style story that's actually kind of hard to follow...but then again so was The Big Sleep . We're introduced to this world by a terrific self-conscious voiceover courtesy of Downey Jr himself and although the film's unique tongue-in-cheek style is a tad jarring at first you soon get into it and join the gang on their wacky adventure. The film itself is stylish, fun, clever, entertaining and very funny. Downey Jr and Val Kilmer make a good double act as they

After the cop out that was... Cop Out , it's Adam McKay's turn to give us his take on the old buddy pictures of the 80s. On paper, The Other Guys should have been glorious but, as funny as it is throughout, there is still something missing. Perhaps it prioritizes jokes rather than focus on the cop genre it's riffing off a bit too much, perhaps the shaky-cam and modern feel of the film takes away some of the nostalgia we have come to expect from those classic cop movies. Having said that, Will Ferrell is always fun and Mark Wahlberg is great proving once again that comedy really is his calling as opposed to drama, which he can barely do (as his previous 3 efforts have conclusively proven). The supporting cast is also spot on with Michael Keaton's TLC quoting captain almost stealing the show. Alas the film tires in the last half hour and the whole thing becomes very hit and miss. The jokes wear thin and you end up missing the film's first half. Still, The Other