Lethal Weapon 2 (HD DVD)

What is probably the worst movie in the Lethal Weapon franchise comes to HD DVD as Lethal Weapon 2 meets high definition, but outside of the audio and video improvements, which are negligible there isn't a lot to brag or talk about with this one.

As I said, Lethal Weapon 2 is probably the worst of the four films in the franchise as Riggs (Gibson) and Mertaugh (Glover) take on a group of drug smugglers led by Arjen Rudd, the minister of diplomatic affairs for the South African consulate. There in lies the rub, Rudd's got diplomatic immunity which means Riggs and Mertaugh can't touch him, so what to do? The movie includes booby trapped toilets and the tumbling of houses, but it really doesn't do anything other than introduce the classic character Leo Getz played by Joe Pesci who is much better in Lethal Weapon 3 and 4.

As for this HD DVD I really have a hard time giving it a pass. About six years ago Warner Bros. did special Director's Cut editions of the first three Lethal Weapon films, which incorporated the deleted scenes back into the film and presented the movies with in a widescreen format with accompanying Dolby 5.1 and DTS 5.1 tracks. Obviously the HD DVD version is going to look better as the backgrounds are less washed out, black levels are improved and object edges are much sharper, but as for audio we don't have much of an upgrade if at all as the DVD versions had the DTS track, which is comparable to the HD DVDs Dolby Digital Plus and if you ask me DTS wins out every time.

Special features wise nothing is new. Instead of the deleted scenes in the movie they are presented separately and then there is a short 4:30 minute action featurette, which was also included on the DVD.

I can really only recommend this disc if you don't already own Lethal Weapon 2 and really want it. In the future there is likely to be much better versions and a DVD should satisfy you until that time.