The gang from It’s Always Sunny In Philadelphia has never shied away from ambitious projects, and in the era of fan-made trailers and amateur shot-for-shot remakes, it was not at all surprising when we learned that Mac (Rob McElhenney) and Dennis (Glenn Howerton) had made not just one, but two unofficial sequels to the Lethal Weapon franchise. Where the studio’s canon stopped at Lethal Weapon 4 in 1998, Mac and Dennis kept the legacy strong with parts 5 and 6, which they wrote, directed, and starred in. They each play detectives Martin Riggs (Mel Gibson) and Roger Murtaugh (Danny Glover), although they do inexplicably swap out their roles halfway through each installment. Now, with the upcoming Lethal Weapon series is aiming to give the beloved property a second life on the small screen almost 30 years after the start of the film franchise, here’s just a few examples of how the Always Sunny tribute was able to outshine the original.
Charlie’s Henchman
The Lethal Weapon series had no shortage of over-the-top villains, from heroin smugglers, former cops, and even international dignitaries who went around boasting about their diplomatic immunity. While Frank (Danny DeVito) really hams up his performance as the big bad, Chief Lazarus, the henchman played by Charlie (Charlie Day) seemed to channel the very spirit of the franchise’s earliest days. With his ill-fitting blonde wig and light colored suit, Charlie’s nameless and near-silent henchman would’ve seemed right at home in the 1987 original. And, like all great villains of that era, we find out that he has a twin brother because nothing says action movie tough guy better than a twin who is out for revenge.
Riggs’ Interrogation
One of the most brutal scenes from the first movie was when Martin Riggs (Mel Gibson) was being held captive and tortured with electric shocks. In the gang’s first Lethal Weapon installment, Dennis, who had been playing Murtaugh up until this point, is now playing Riggs, shirtless and strung up to a drain pipe in the alley behind Paddy’s Pub. Charlie, who’s also playing a different henchman entirely, administers the electric shocks with a prop stun gun. As far as their projects go, it’s one of the most faithful homages from the original movies, but the Always Sunny rendition still manages to come out on top. If for no other reason than the candid shot of Dee (Kaitlin Olson) taking out the trash partway through.
Chief Lazarus’ Resurrection
Wasting no time getting going, the gang’s follow-up, Lethal Weapon 6, opens with some terribly offensive Native American mysticism, which brings Chief Lazarus back to life, prompting his desire for (wait for it) revenge. This is a definite shift in tone from the four proper Lethal Weapon installments, and even the gang’s own Lethal Weapon 5. That being said, who’s to say a little supernatural element wouldn’t have helped to liven up the franchise by the time they got around to Lethal Weapon 4, you know?
The Wedding Scene
Riggs and Murtaugh’s relationship was always a complicated one, but it was the heart of the Lethal Weapon franchise on the whole. For Lethal Weapon 6, the gang plays off the harmless playfulness that we saw between Riggs and Roger’s daughter (Traci Wolfe) in Lethal Weapon 2. In the gang’s still-unfinished sequel, Murtaugh’s retired, though not entirely happy that his former partner is marrying his daughter, played in their version by Dee. After some prodding, and the shortest one-on-one basketball match of all time, Murtaugh shows up to the wedding. Things aren’t destined for a happy ending, however, as Charlie’s twin henchman (see above) detonates a bomb, killing Murtaugh’s daughter/Riggs’ bride-to-be.
Now, let’s be honest, Lethal Weapon has never shied away from putting those closest to the main characters in harm’s way. Murtaugh’s family has been kidnapped, shot at, and ruthlessly terrorized in their own home, and I think we all remember Riggs’ spine-chilling “they killed them both” revelation from Lethal Weapon 2. But having Riggs marry Murtaugh’s daughter, only to kill her off at the alter injected some high-stakes emotion that the first four films only hinted at.
The Volleyball Game
Okay, technically this is an homage to the immortal scene from Top Gun, but it really elevates the gang’s take on Lethal Weapon 6. Murtaugh’s back on the force, so he and his partner celebrate with a good old-fashioned game of shirtless volleyball, and they do so with a fantastic tribute to the 1986 Tom Cruise classic, right down to the soundtrack. Of course, Always Sunny goes one better by following Riggs and Murtaugh into the locker room, where Mac and Dennis not only abruptly switch roles mid-scene (out of necessity, really), but engage in a jovial wrestling match that scares off any chance that a legitimate investor will help them finish the film. But as Mac pointed out, Lethal Weapon was about the love between these two men, and that kind of self-awareness was something the original never came close to. Nor Mac, for that matter.
