Riggs and Murtaugh are on the trail of South African diplomats who are using their immunity to engage in criminal activities.Riggs and Murtaugh are on the trail of South African diplomats who are using their immunity to engage in criminal activities.Riggs and Murtaugh are on the trail of South African diplomats who are using their immunity to engage in criminal activities.
- Nominated for 1 Oscar
- 1 win & 3 nominations total
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaDuring production, Richard Donner was shocked when Mel Gibson confided that he was drinking five pints of beer for breakfast. Despite his alcohol problems, Gibson was known for his professionalism and punctuality.
- GoofsThe MythBusters (2003) duplicated the toilet bomb and showed that, by freezing the battery with liquid nitrogen, the explosion would have been delayed by about 15 minutes.
- Quotes
[Rudd fires at Riggs, hitting him several times. Riggs falls, writhing in pain. Arjen's gun clicks empty. Roger aims at him]
Roger Murtaugh: [shouting] DROP IT, ASSHOLE!
Martin Riggs: [weakly] Rog...
Arjen Rudd: [holds up his wallet] Diplomatic immunity.
[Roger slowly rolls his head on his neck, takes aim, and fires - his bullet goes through Rudd's wallet, and then his head]
Roger Murtaugh: It's *just been revoked*!
- Crazy creditsThe Merrie Melodies theme is briefly heard during the opening sequence.
- Alternate versionsTo receive a 15 certificate, the UK cinema version was cut by the BBFC. These cuts included:
- Reduced violence in the scene where Murtaugh kills two thugs with a nail gun (a shot showing blood on a thug's head was shortened and another showing nails embedded in the other thug's chest was optically darkened).
- Most of the sex scene between Riggs and his girlfriend was cut.
- Riggs' vengeful killing of the villains who killed his girlfriend on the pier was entirely cut.
- Riggs' repeated shooting of a villain during the final shootout was reduced.
- Kicks to Riggs' face by villain in climax were reduced.
- ConnectionsEdited into Alias: The Box: Part 2 (2002)
- SoundtracksCheer Down
Performed by George Harrison
Produced by George Harrison and Jeff Lynne
Courtesy of Dark Horse Records
Music by George Harrison
Lyrics by George Harrison and Tom Petty
As all actors from the first movie appear in the second one as well its pretty clear what you can expect acting wise and surprise, surprise: The acting is still stellar, close to perfection. Mel Gibson is always good and in the second installment of the series he gets to be a little more wild and add even more nuances to the character. For example we get to see Riggs hit on women which adds an entire new side to him as the side we saw in the first film was of him mourning. Also we find out how his wife dies in a beautifully underacted scene (if you want to know how she dies you'll have to see the movie). Danny Glover returns as well and he plays the character pretty much as he did in the first film which is good because the character he plays is the one who is not supposed to change. He is meant to be square and combined with the character of Riggs this becomes highly entertaining. However, a new element is put into the mix to make it even more entertaining, Leo Getz, played beautifully by Joe Pesci and is to this day still one of his most memorable characters. He is funny and fast talking but most importantly: he is a crook and when you put him together with Riggs and Murtaugh the mix becomes explosive. The main villains are played by Joss Ackland and Derrick O'Connor and they are also good and a bit more developed than the villains of the first movie obviously because they had to focus more on the relationship between Riggs and Murtaugh in the first movie. Riggs' love interest is played Patsy Kensit and she is good if a bit underdeveloped.
The story is excellent and is almost better than the story in the first one. It is entertaining and funny and best of all the incredible chemistry between Mel Gibson and Danny Glover is maintained and is almost as good as it was in the first movie. Furthermore the addition of Joe Pesci was a very nice touch because he immediately makes the scenes with him, Gibson and Glover even more interesting and entertaining. The plot with the villains is kept relatively simple like in the first film, which is good because the goal for the film is entertainment not to be thought provoking.
The action of the film is kept in the same style as in the first movie and it is still both exhilarating and entertaining. The effects are still relatively realistic and this of course gives the movie a level of credibility that is sorely needed in many modern action movies.
All in all a worthy sequel and an excellent film on its own.
8/10
- MinorityReporter
- May 28, 2005
- Permalink
Details
- Release date
- Country of origin
- Languages
- Also known as
- Arma Mortal 2
- Filming locations
- 7436 Mulholland Drive, Hollywood Hills, Los Angeles, California, USA(stilt house of Arjen 'Aryan' Rudd)
- Production companies
- See more company credits at IMDbPro
Box office
- Budget
- $28,000,000 (estimated)
- Gross US & Canada
- $147,253,986
- Opening weekend US & Canada
- $20,388,800
- Jul 9, 1989
- Gross worldwide
- $227,853,986
- Runtime1 hour 54 minutes
- Color
- Aspect ratio
- 2.39 : 1
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