It stars Mel Gibson and Danny Glover alongside Gary Busey, Tom Atkins, Darlene Love, and Mitchell Ryan.

In Lethal Weapon, a pair of mismatched LAPD detectives—Martin Riggs (Gibson), a former Green Beret who has become suicidal following the death of his wife, and veteran officer and family man Roger Murtaugh (Glover)—work together as partners.

Following the recent death of his wife, Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) narcotics Sergeant Martin Riggs, a former Special Forces soldier, has become suicidal and erratic.

Despite the protests of the police therapist, the captain believes Riggs is faking his psychosis to be forcibly retired with a generous pension, and partners him with fellow war veteran and seasoned Homicide Sergeant Roger Murtaugh.

He reveals that during the Vietnam War he worked for "Shadow Company", a defunct CIA paramilitary unit tasked with destabilizing the local heroin trade.

Following the war, the ex-CIA agents, mercenaries, and soldiers involved reformed Shadow Company as a criminal organization and began shipping large quantities of heroin from Asia to the United States, under the leadership of retired General Peter McAllister and his right-hand man Mr. Joshua.

Riggs provides sniper support to help Murtaugh and Rianne escape, but all three are captured and recovered to a nightclub basement, a Shadow Company front.

A short time later, after visiting his wife's grave, Riggs shares Christmas Day dinner with Murtaugh and his family.

Other actors in the film include Jackie Swanson as Amanda Hunsacker, Grand L. Bush as Detective Boyette, Jack Thibeau as Detective McCaskey, Don Gordon as Officer Hines, Ed O'Ross as Mendez, Al Leong as Joshua's assistant Endo, Lycia Naff as Dixie, and Sven-Ole Thorsen and Gilles Kohler as Shadow Company mercenaries.

Black stated that his intention was to do an "urban western" inspired by Dirty Harry where a violent character "reviled for what he did, what he is capable of, the things he believed in" is eventually recruited for being the one that could solve the problem.

Leonard Nimoy was among the directors considered for the project, but he did not feel comfortable doing action films, and he was working on Three Men and a Baby at the time.

Casting director Marion Dougherty first suggested teaming Gibson with Danny Glover, given Murtaugh had no set ethnicity in the script.

Fresh from his success as Mister in The Color Purple, he felt the role of Roger Murtaugh offered a whole new range of character expression and experience: "Aside from the chance to work with Mel, which turned out to be pure pleasure, one of the reasons I jumped at this project was the family aspect.

Gibson and Glover then flew home to pack, and, returning to Los Angeles, began an intensive two months of physical training and preparation.

An established star since his Academy Award-nominated performance in The Buddy Holly Story, Busey had not auditioned for a film in years but was suffering from a career slump; he credited Lethal Weapon with reviving his stardom.

True Hollywood Story biography, Busey says he was hired to play Joshua because the producers were looking for someone big and menacing enough to be a believable foe for the imposing Gibson.

Stunt coordinator Bobby Bass planned and supervised all phases of Gibson's and Glover's intense pre-production training; physical conditioning, weight workouts, and weapons handling and safety.

To familiarize the actors with the specialized skills and sensibilities acquired by undercover cops, arrangements were made for Gibson and Glover to spend time in the field accompanying working LAPD officers.

Throughout filming, technical advisers from the LAPD as well as the LA County Sheriff's Department worked closely with Donner and the actors to ensure authenticity.

[4] Gibson and Busey were instructed in Capoeira by Adams, Jailhouse rock by Dennis Newsome and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu by Rorion Gracie.

[4][5] Bobby Bass, the stunt coordinator, a former US Army Special Forces instructor and judo champion, also provided training in various techniques.

In another scene, Riggs picks up a street-walking prostitute, but instead of having sex with her, he takes her home to watch The Three Stooges on TV, thus illustrating his loneliness following the death of his wife.

Kamen and Clapton had worked together on the music for the 1985 BBC TV series Edge of Darkness (the feature adaptation of which would later, by coincidence, star Mel Gibson).

[18] Variety wrote, "Lethal Weapon is a film teetering on the brink of absurdity when it gets serious, but thanks to its unrelenting energy and insistent drive, it never quite falls.

[21] At The New York Times, Janet Maslin wrote, "The film is all fast action, noisy stunts and huge, often unflattering close-ups, but it packs an undeniable wallop.

[23] The film was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Sound Mixing (Les Fresholtz, Dick Alexander, Vern Poore and Bill Nelson) (losing to The Last Emperor).

[26] A television version premiered in September 2016 on Fox starring Clayne Crawford as Martin Riggs, Damon Wayans as Roger Murtaugh, and Thomas Lennon as Leo Getz.