Man, this has not aged well. I missed this whole series when it hit theaters and never got around to watching it. I think I may have watched a scene or two over the years when it ran on TV but never watched it start to finish. And I’m kind of shocked this series was as popular as it was.
It’s not a terrible movie. It’s just so dated. The action and situations are so ridiculously over the top that it’s hard to suspend disbelief to fully enjoy the film. I can see this as a guilty pleasure like Commando or other crazy 80’s action movies. There is some good writing here in terms of the characters though. The positives on this are the chemistry between Gibson and Glover, crazy Gary Busey, the hostage exchange in the desert, Murtaugh’s family dynamics, and Mel Gibson being crazy. It’s enough to make this an interesting watch but just go in with reasonable expectations if you’ve never seen this before.