Fight Clip Club: Lethal Weapon

I’m getting too old for this sh*t…

If you spend any time online in pop culture circles around the holidays, you’ll have heard something about the debate as to whether Die Hard is a Christmas movie or not. (It is, but I’m not going to get into that whole can of worms here.) Arguments back and forth include that an action movie can’t be a Christmas movie too; it takes place on Christmas Eve, at a Christmas party, and so absolutely is; and of course the evidence that not only is it a Christmas movie, but a Hallmark Christmas movie.

And so with all this discussion, I’ve long wondered why my household’s other favorite Christmas movie that’s an action movie doesn’t get the same treatment in arguments and honorings in the lore. That movie is Lethal Weapon. The first one, from 1987.

The parallels are there: action movie, family in danger from bad guy, takes place on Christmas (or very near to it), and the holiday decor shows up in most scene backdrops. We watch Die Hard every Christmas Eve, it’s true, but we also watch Lethal Weapon while putting up decorations and wrapping presents.

As far as fights go, this movie is more about shootouts, car chases, and one odd torture scene, but the final fight between the title character (Riggs, who’s quipped as being the Lethal Weapon for reasons) and the main henchman of the bad guy is one of the best unarmed fights I’ve enjoyed. Let’s go check it out together. Meet me after the paywall.

Fight Clip Club is my only paywalled series, and I’d very much appreciate your support. If you’d like to follow FCC and can’t manage the fee, just let me know and I’ll set you up. Think of it as a holiday gift from me to you.