Lethal Weapon 2 - Trivia, Questions and Fun Facts

[discussimdb]

Fan of Lethal Weapon 2 or just want to share your movie knowledge? This topic is dedicated to all trivia and questions related to Lethal Weapon 2

[harry]

It is interesting to note that Riggs is cutting up fresh vegetables to put in the chili and yet the chili is from cans.

[manuel]

The carpenter is named McGee. This is the actual surname of the actor portraying him, Jack McGee.

[alyssa]

The only Lethal Weapon movie where Riggs doesn't hit with his left hand.

[albert]

Danny DeVito was considered for the role of Leo Getz.

[lynn]

George Harrison, Tom Petty, and Jeff Lynne (three-fifths of The Traveling Wilburys) composed "Cheer Down" for the soundtrack of this film.

[elmer]

During 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.

[jeffrey]

Mark Rolston (Hans) and Jenette Goldstein (Meagan Shapiro) also costarred as Colonial Marine privates Drake and Vasquez in Aliens (1986).

[brent]

In the scene in which Leo is cleaning Martin Riggs's house, you can hear the song "I'm Not Scared", by the short-lived British pop group Eighth Wonder, of which Patsy Kensit was the lead singer.

[veronica]

Joe Pesci and Philip Suriano would act together six years later in Casino.

[marc]

The hotel where the balcony fall is filmed is the same one from an episode of diagnosis murder.

[bryan]

Jenette Goldstein and Mark Rolston also appeared in Aliens (1986), as Vasquez and Drake, respectively.

[jim]

The bottle of cologne that is shot during the destruction of Riggs' trailer is "Hero." The first time we see Riggs going into his trailer, there is an ad for that same cologne on television.

[eli]

Shown unscheduled on Australian television the night Nelson Mandela was elected President of South Africa in May 1994.

[russell]

In June 1989, the pier set was still standing on the Warner Brothers backlot, as there was still concern that reshoots may have been required. The movie was released on July 10.

[ava]

Riggs intentionally dislocates his shoulder in this film, in order to get out of a straitjacket, then has to slam his shoulder back into place. This becomes a running gag throughout the franchise, where he slams his shoulder back into place after riding a motorcycle off a bridge in Lethal Weapon 3 (1992), and Ku (Jet Li's character) dislocates both of Riggs's shoulders in a fight scene in Lethal Weapon 4 (1998).

[scarlett]

Throughout several points in the movie, Riggs willfully mispronounces Arjen Rudd's name as "Aryan", willfully calls Pieter Vorstedt "Adolf", and refers to Rudd, Vorstedt, and their associates as the "Master Race". These are all references to Adolf Hitler and the Nazis, before and during World War II. "Aryan Race" or "Master Race" was a Nazi ideological form, which became a concept for white supremacism. The South African practice of Apartheid at the time, was also another ideological form of white supremacy, which is likely why Riggs made these comparisons. Plus, the fact that Vorstedt looked like Adolf Hitler, helped make the nickname stick. In addition, when Rika (Patsy Kensit) hands the overnight faxes to her boss, Arjen Rudd (Joss Ackland), there is a stylized eagle on the wall behind him, reminiscent of the Reichsadler (the eagle clutching a swastika in its claws), a symbol of Nazi Germany, which was in turn based on the Aquila, the Roman eagle holding the SPQR symbol.

[victoria]

[Gary BurgMAS*Hoff](/category/13648/gary-burgMAS*Hoff), of MAS*MAS*H (1972) fame, turned down tMAS*He part of Leo Getz.

[terry]

Joe Pantoliano was the first choice to play Leo, but he turned it down, due to a schedule conflict with The Last of the Finest (1990).

[ivan]

In the beginning chase scene, Riggs reads the license plate 24AdamHenry174, the "Adam Henry" part was an inside joke, being that it's a police movie. In police lingo, Adam Henry (AH) is an abbreviation for asshole.