7 Best Films by Richard Donner

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  1. The Goonies (1985)

  2. In comparison with other children's films, nothing beats The Goonies. Unparalleled are the acting, dialogue, sense of humor, premise, fantasy, creativity, comedy, and action-adventure. Of the child stars, Corey Feldman does an exceptional job. As for the rest of the cast, they're natural. The Goonies has it all that you can possibly want in a children's film.


  3. Lethal Weapon (1987)

  4. There are hundreds of them, but Lethal Weapon is the best buddy cop film of all time. The chemistry between Danny Glover and Mel Gibson is terrific. It's what makes the movie. One is pretty good for a detective although he's a big believer in "do as little as possible and, more importantly, stay alive," and the other is a true lethal weapon.


  5. Lethal Weapon 2 (1989)

  6. Featuring the best buddy cop pair of all time, Danny Glover and Mel Gibson with Joe Pesci thrown in the mix, there are a lot of good scenes in Lethal Weapon 2, but the most memorable is the toilet bomb incident. Another is Riggs taking down the stilt house with his truck. Leo Getz opening the car door is very funny.


  7. Assassins (1995)

  8. Thanks to Sylvester Stallone and Antonio Banderas, Assassins is a lot of fun to watch. The story is clever that's made better by the flashback of Robert Rath's assassination of Nicolai which caused him deep regret. Whoever thought of Antonio Banderas for Miguel Bain is a genius. The actor took Assassins to another level.


  9. Lethal Weapon 3 (1992)

  10. What I like about this is it has a high mix of comedy and action. The weird part is how Jack Travis case feels secondary in the grand scheme of things. Instead, the movie is all about Martin Riggs and Roger Murtaugh having a great time in many random scenes. Hence, they're pretty funny. As a bonus, Joe Pesci and Rene Russo join them for more fun.


  11. Inside Moves (1980)

  12. My hat is off to Richard Donner for making an unusual movie called Inside Moves. Notice the old man with meat hooks for hands? That's Harold Russell, the only double Oscar winner for the same performance in The Best Years of Our Lives. Often, it's John Savage who steals the show while David Morse looks quite young.


  13. Maverick (1994)

  14. This is a quite funny movie. Mel Gibson is practically the only one providing jokes (Graham Greene has done a good job with him) although he makes numerous goofy faces just to keep things moving. Honestly, without Mel Gibson, there's no Maverick. James Garner makes a cameo appearance as he was the original guy from the famous TV show.





Updated: 7/10/25