Before Riggs tears down the embassy he and Murtaugh are seen outside discussing the course of action. Around them there's thick fog that disappears completely between shots. [Not fog. As the vehicles arrive, Riggs' truck slides sideways a bit, kicking up dust that slowly disapates during the scene.] Corrected by John W Rosa

Another gag that's too far from reality: How on earth can a car pull a supporting beam of solid mansion out the foundation? [While this event is not very likely, the design of such a 'stilt' is intended to hold a vertical load (the weight of the house) up. The angled braces help to control lateral motion created by wind and such. Neither of these is designed to withstand deliberate attempts to pull the stilt out sideways near its base. Is it as easy to do as shown in the film? Perhaps not, but not impossible.] Corrected by John W Rosa

In the scene where Riggs pulls the stilts out from under the house you can see the rear end come out from under the truck but then he backs up and jerks it again. [The axle is never shown coming free. At one point, the rear end of the truck lifts upward, allowing the wheels to drop quite a bit, but this is the effect of unloading the trucks weight from its rear leaf springs (jack up a car with a scissor jack under the rocker panel to see the same effect). Regardless, the cable he is using is attached to the truck frame, not the axle, so he can yank like this 'til the transmission fails and the axle mounts will never be at risk.] Corrected by John W Rosa

When Danny Glover is thrown out of the South African's office, one of the security people turns his hand as if to lock the door. Yet for the rest of the scene, the door is shown the whole time and there is NO lock on the door. This apparent lock-free policy is keeping a whole heap of protesters outside. [No one actually makes a move to lock the doors, they simply hold them closed 'til they feel Roger isn't intending to come back in. The protestors outside surely know that entering would be trespassing, so they remain outside by choice, not because of locks. Lastly, there's no reason the doors can't have remote-controlled electronic locks (especially since they are the front doors of a very real bank lobby used for this scene).] Corrected by John W Rosa

In the scene with the dive into the hotel pool the hotel balcony is protected by a solid wall. Therefore, only Riggs, who was rolling on the room service trolley, would have had a chance to fly over it, whereas Leo and the attacker should have ran into the wall. [It isn't a 'solid wall' but an orange metal railing. Such railings only come up to about waist level. Given the forward momentum of all three struggling men, they could easily have lost balance and toppled over the railing.] Corrected by John W Rosa

When Murtaugh and Leo pull up to is house he tells Leo to stay in the car and don't go anywhere. Leo I think he says he's cold so Murtaugh turns the car on. While Murtaugh is in the house the bad guys jump in the car and the guy in the drivers seat starts the car when it was already running. [There is a significant period of time between the shots, more than enough time for Leo to turn the car off, which he would do when the car was warm enough.] Corrected by MovieGuy

Just before Riggs walks in on Roger on the toilet, outside of the house Leo asks Riggs whether he should ring 999 as an officer is in distress. [Character mistake. Leo has no idea what the code is for an office in distress.] Corrected by wizard_of_gore

When Riggs is explaining to Murtaugh's wife how he found out his wife was killed, this is not how it happens (in the US). No police department would come upon a wreck and not personally (or have the agency where the officer lives) notify Riggs of his wife's death. The police community is too close. Maybe small town PD's don't but LAPD has directives on how to handle family member deaths for officers. Even if Riggs weren't an officer, no police department or hospital or doctor notifies anyone's immediate family of a serious / tragic death by phone and then asks them to drive to the morgue to "sign the body out" (identify the remains). They would tell them to come to the hospital, or wherever, making sure they have a ride, and then tell them about the death in person. [This falls under "what should" be done or "what could" be done. Just because it wasn't done, doesn't make it a mistake.] Corrected by Rlvlk

During the opening car chase, a car pulls out in front of Riggs and Murtaugh and blocks their path. Just before it pulls out, the headlights on Murtaugh's station wagon flash which is the cue for the other stunt driver to move. [We don't know for sure it is a signal for the car to move. During a cat chase, the occupants get thrown around and slide around on the seat, etc, making it more than possible the light switch can be switched on or off, let alone the fact that a short in the wiring could also cause it. Stunt drivers are generally using radios and have rehearsed the scene ad infinitum to do the scene, and flashing headlights may not be clear as a signal.]

In the opening scenes, Murtaugh and Riggs are pursuing and keeping up with a far faster BMW 635i in a big heavy Oldsmobile Delta 88 Wagon. Anyone who knows anything about cars knows that there is NO way a Delta 88 wagon could keep up with a BMW 635i in any pursuit. [It is a stretch, but a lot depends on the driver, the grade of the road and unknown modifications can also factor in.]

This film was banned in South Africa in 1989. The trailers played on TV but after about a week the movie disappeared without a trace. It was eventually shown on TV in 1998. [The movie was far from being banned in South Africa and "disappearing without a trace", it was passed uncut by the South African censor board (albeit with a heavy age restriction) and was one of the most popular releases that year.]

When Leo gets his Subway sandwich, he complains that it's tuna. When he holds it up you can see a dark red lunch meat, like salami. [Doesn't mean it can't have tuna on it.] Corrected by Phixius

In the scene where Murtah is fighting with the two guys in his garage he shoots them with a nail gun. These nail guns run on compressed air, yet there is no air hose attached to the gun. You can see this when he raises the gun to shoot the guy through the plastic. [It is a cordless nail gun. It uses a black powder charge, like a blank round for a gun, to power the gun. Both cops pull their guns on the contractor in an earlier scene when the nail gun is first used.] Corrected by Rlvlk

After Rudd and his men enter the office the hiding Riggs closes the door behind them. However, after Riggs shoots the aquarium he leaves through the open door. [After Riggs shoots the aquarium it cuts to the bad guys trying to pick up the fish which gives Riggs plenty of time to open the door. As a matter of fact you can see the door move when the scene cuts back to him as he says 'Big Smiles', mocking the arian salute.]

When Riggs is being attacked at his trailer, his MP-5 continues to blaze away. The MP-5 will empty a 30 round magazine in about 3 seconds. [It's obvious when you see a man cocks his MP in the helicopter that they are using extended clips which can hold hundreds of bullets. The clips wrap around the sides of the gun and make the MP5 look almost like an old-fashioned Tommy gun.]

If all the villains in this film are protected by diplomatic immunity, why is the guy who tried to kill Joe Pesci in the hotel running from Riggs and Murtaugh when they find his house? They couldn't have done anything to him anyway. [It's quite natural to panic when two armed police officers who witnessed you commit a felony (like attempted murder) turn up at your house looking for you. He was not thinking about immunity, he just wanted to get away from them.] Corrected by Twotall

The equipment that's supposed to protect Riggs and Murtaugh from the ill effects of the loo bomb is more than insufficient: just a vest, no helmet, no face shield, and nothing for Murtaugh's rather endangered private parts. Furthermore, if the mechanism was triggered by the removal of Murtaugh's weight from the seat there would certainly have been a way to simulate the weight mechanically. [That equipment would most likely have been all they had that would not require Murtaugh to get up to put it on, and was probably more to make him feel safer than to protect him. After all, he was sitting on top of a considerable amount of plastic explosive. What could save him if that went off? For all they know the bomb could be triggered by a change in the initial weight (ie. adding or removing something to fool it). Not worth the risk.]

In the scene where the toilet blows up, smashes through the window and hits the station wagon, it is clear that the windshield on the car has been broken already and duct taped in place. [The windshield had been replaced temporarily after Riggs had kicked it out when they were chasing the red BMW.] Corrected by Nancy<>Felix

Throughout this movie, Mel Gibson slips in and out of his Australian accent. [I don't think Mel ever tried to hide his accent. As he moved back to the states later in life, his accent started to fade over the years. At that point in his life his accent wasn't as pronounced, but you could identify it when he said certain words or phrases. Given his chequered past though, a certain hint of a non-American accent isn't entirely inappropriate.]

At the docks near the end of the film Riggs shoots a guy multiple times and says names Shapiro, Wyler, Cavanaugh, Rika. When his saying Wyler's name his mouth is closed. [After seeing this many times Riggs is not actually saying the names. It is in his head he's saying them.]