Number One with a Bullet

It's been a long time since I've seen it...but I recall the title theme being exceptionally good.

I was a big fan of Valerie Bertinelli, too, so I'd have watched this just for her, probably.

She & Billy Dee (who I'd already seen in "Hit", which is enormously better than this, among others), plus the title music, are really about the only reasons to watch this clear Lethal knockoff. (If you want a much better spin on Lethal, have a look at "Bon Cop, Bad Cop".)

(1987) Number One With A Bullet ACTION COMEDY

After the success of "Lethal Weapon" came this low budget effort which is quite good but cannot level up to the same manner as the first two "Lethal Weapons films in terms of budget anyway. But in my opinion is better than "Lethal Weapon 4" and for it's story line and resonating characters. It has Det. Nick Barzack (Robert Carradine) and Det. Frank Hazeltine (Billy Dee Williams) on a crusade to bring down a drug ring. At the same time Barzack is having problems with his home life as he is still separated with his wife, Tereasa Barzak (Valerie Bertinelli) and his boss of the police department, Capt. Ferris (Peter Graves).

Is this the pinnacle of 80s buddy cop movies? I'm a millennial, so my bases are rooted in Turner and Hooch, and Cop and a Half, then I have fond memories of catching the TV versions of Lethal Weapon.

Number One with a Bullet is an amazing hit in my nostalgia vein. You can sense that the film makers are sick of the genre, but everyone is still having a good time. You can see background characters trying to hold back their snickers as Nick smart alecks banally as Everybody Loves Raymond's mom dotes on him, and I join them as Frank the trumpet player practices on his kazoo between set pieces.

And there's loads of action. Plane vs helicopter shoot outs, dump yard car magnet dodgeball, generic explosions, and loads of ACAB negligence.

If you ever wanted to see Naked Gun played straight, check this one out.

Number One With A Bullet is a buddy cop action/thriller with the mismatched pair of actors Robert Carradine and Billy Dee Williams. I am a fan of both of the leading men in this film, however they have zero onscreen chemistry. This was a later era film for Cannon studios and was poorly promoted and I didn't even know that this existed until recently. Robert Carradine put forth a effort in this movie, but was definitely not right for this. Billie Dee Williams is always cool, but can't really elevate a movie that's nothing special in the first place. Even the action is not that great and this is the same company that made Invasion USA. I would rather watch that instead.

A typical buddy buddy cop thriller of the late '80s, heavily derivative and sadly too low budget to do much with the premise. The story involves a couple of cops (Carradine and Williams) who go on the trail of nefarious criminals and gradually uncover a minor conspiracy. Peter Graves plays the police chief. It's amiable enough in a low-to-mid budget way, with some action, but entirely forgettable with it.