Movie

Lethal Weapon 2

Name: Lethal Weapon 2
Released: 1989

1989 • Action, Crime, Thriller

Woke Score

out of 10

Plot

Riggs and Murtaugh are trying to take down some drug dealers but the they turn out to be not run of the mill drug dealers; they have automatic weapons and helicopters. Eventually they grab one of their vehicles and find a million dollars worth of gold coins or Krugerrands in the trunk. Later Murtaugh is threatened by the men they're pursuing. That's when the Captain reassigns them to protect a man named Leo Getz who is suppose to testify in a big case. When they get to where Leo is, someone tries to kill him and that's when they learn he laundered half a billion dollars worth of drug money. He then takes them to a place he once went to and that's when the people there start shooting at them. Later when they come back with back up they learn that the men work for the South African consulate and have diplomatic immunity. They deduce that they are the ones they were looking for, but because of they have diplomatic immunity they can't do anything.

Overall Series Review

The film’s central conflict is a direct political allegory, setting its American heroes against a major real-world evil of the time: South African Apartheid. The villains are explicitly white, racist government officials who abuse diplomatic immunity to run a drug ring, making the narrative a clear moral fight against systemic, race-based oppression. The villainous diplomat and his chief enforcer are defined by their bigoted ideology, which Riggs mocks by calling them "Aryan and Adolf." However, the main heroes are a classic buddy-cop pair, a Black family man and a white maverick, whose bond is based on universal merit and loyalty, not identity hierarchy. The narrative does not feature any of the typical 'Girl Boss' or anti-natalism themes; the female characters exist primarily in a supportive or motivational capacity. The core of the plot is about two lawmen choosing a transcendent moral law (justice) over corrupt legalism (diplomatic immunity), which affirms an objective standard of right and wrong.

Categorical Breakdown

Identity Politics7/10

The plot centers on a conflict between a multiracial police duo and white, racist South African diplomats who embody the Apartheid regime, making race and political ideology the defining characteristic of the villains. The film positions the fight against systemic racial oppression as the main goal, aligning with high-score criteria; however, the white male hero and his white love interest are both staunchly anti-racist, preventing the vilification of all 'whiteness' and demonstrating a core of universal merit.

Oikophobia1/10

The movie does not express civilizational self-hatred. It celebrates the American family unit, embodied by Roger Murtaugh's home life, and frames the two police officers as heroic protectors of their nation and community. The only institutional critique is aimed at the corruption of international law (diplomatic immunity), not America's foundation or ancestors.

Feminism1/10

Gender roles are traditional. Roger Murtaugh is celebrated as a protective husband and father. Riggs' motivation revolves around his deceased wife, and his current love interest is killed to fuel his rage. There are no 'Mary Sue' or 'Girl Boss' characters, and the narrative affirms a complementary, family-centric structure.

LGBTQ+1/10

The film contains no elements of queer theory, alternative sexualities, or gender ideology lecturing. The focus remains strictly on a traditional male-female pairing in the main character's romantic life and Murtaugh's nuclear family.

Anti-Theism1/10

The core theme of the climax is an affirmation of objective morality, with the heroes forsaking the letter of the law to enact righteous justice against genuine evil. There is no explicit attack on religion or faith; the moral framework is based on a clear distinction between right and wrong.