Loaded Weapon 1 (1993) starring Emilio Estevez, Samuel L. Jackson, Jon Lovitz, Tim Curry, Kathy Ireland, Frank McRae, William Shatner directed by Gene Quintano Movie Review

Loaded Weapon 1 (1993)   3/53/53/53/53/5


Emilio Estevez, Samuel L. Jackson and Erik Estrada in Loaded Weapon 1 (1993)

Curry's a Cookie Monster

When "Loaded Weapon 1" was released the sequel was already planned and a poster made but after a poor showing and bad reviews it was never made. That's a shame because "Loaded Weapon 1" is not a bad movie; in fact it is on par with many spoof movies and has certainly got better with age. By that I mean it suffers from the same problems; from having as many jokes miss as hit whilst after 40 minutes it becomes tedious but yet still strangely enjoyable.

So if you can't guess by the movies title it basically uses "Lethal Weapon" is the basis for spoofing. We have Colt and Luger which are Riggs and Murtaugh and various recognizable story aspects and scenes from the "Lethal Weapon" movies such as a scene where Luger is on the toilet and another where Colt does a moonlit bum walk. But it is not just the "Lethal Weapon" movies which are spoofed as there are other scenes which mimic "Basic Instinct" and "Silence of the Lambs".

Gratuitous Beaver Shot in Loaded Weapon 1 (1993)

But of course as a spoof movie the storyline to "Loaded Weapon 1" is expectedly weak with the focus being on the gags. And we get what you expect which is an onslaught of gags from scenes being mimicked, clever lines and a lot of sight gags. In fact some of the scenes are so loaded with gags that it is impossible to take it all in and is one of the reasons why it has got better with age because you pick up on things so easily missed the first time around.

But like so many spoof movies the longer "Loaded Weapon 1" goes on the less entertaining it becomes as it becomes a slog. It is a problem which all spoof movies have, even those which are deemed as classics suffer from going from entertaining to being a slog. Unfortunately for "Loaded Weapon 1" it doesn't find a way to come good and goes out on a poor ending rather than a fanfare of comedy.

Aside from that well Emilio Estevez and Samuel L. Jackson do a nice job of dealing with all the jokes and whilst neither have the dead pan delivery of Leslie Nielsen bring their own touches to the roles. But where "Loaded Weapon 1" is let down is the lack of decent cameos, yes there is Whoopi Goldberg, Bruce Willis, Tim Curry and Charlie Sheen but it lacks that constant amusement of suddenly spotting a star in a minor role which other spoof movies got right.

What this all boils down to is that "Loaded Weapon 1" is a spoof movie which has never been a bad movie but is one which has got better with age. It is exactly what you expect from a spoof movie from an onslaught of hit and miss gags to the fact it becomes a slog by the halfway point but that is how spoof movies are.


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