Current Forum: Session 11: Action/Adventure and Sexuality	Read 4 times 	
Date: 02-Apr-2001 22:18:24	
Author: FIELD, KATHRYN L. <klf7188@garnet.acns.fsu.edu>	
Subject: Murtaugh v. Riggs 	
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       While both Murtaugh and Riggs are masculine characters in the film, Lethal Weapon, there are many differences between them. Murtaugh is a fifty-year-old veteran cop who comes home to his loving family every night. Riggs on the other hand is ayoung, rogue cop who is suicidal after the death of his wife. 
       In Fred Pfeil’s article he states that Lethal Weapon and similar films, “project a particular ‘urban look,’ their palettes shifting between bleached or even washed-out pastels and dark 
metallic blues and greys” (223). The mise-en-scene of the two men’s homes are radically different. Murtaugh resides in a suburban two-story house with nice furnishings and a boat parked out front. Riggs smokes cigarettes while lying in bed within his mobile home out in the middle of nowhere. The interior is dark and cluttered. Murtaugh’s family and home promote stability, while of course we see the unstable nature of Riggs.
       Throughout most of the film, Riggs plays the strong, masculine figure. He is always saving the day, though usually in his unconventional way of shooting and killing the bad guys. Murtaugh likes to play by the rules and doesn’t take risks, claiming “I’m too old for this.” However, by the end of the movie, the partners learn from each other and become well balanced cops--Riggs becomes a little more cautious, Murtaugh a little more risky. 
       Lethal Weapon’s conclusion provides a good example of the typical “male rampage” film. Riggs insists on fist fighting the villain, Mr. Joshua, in order to teach him a lesson of who’s tougher. After the blood and mud brawl is over with the camera capturing each punch with both high and low angle shots, Joshua falls to the ground in defeat. But it’s not over yet, and he 
attempts one more attack on Riggs. He is shot down by both Riggs and Murtaugh. The exhausted Riggs collapses into his partner’s arms in a manly(?) embrace.