R.I.P. Richard Donner 1930-2021

The entertainment world was saddened to learn of the death of director Richard Donner at age 91. One of the most dependable filmmakers in Hollywood at his peak(1976-1998), Donner's deep, booming voice was felt in many popular, era-defining films, three of which will never be forgotten- "Superman", "The Goonies", and "Lethal Weapon". That's right, Dick put Christopher Reeve in a red cape and blue tights and gave Mel Gibson a gun and a badge. A prolific TV director, Donner worked on twenty-five shows(including the "Fugitive" and "The Twilight Zone") before finding his big screen mojo, and formed an impactful production company with his wife Lauren- his superhero success inspired her to pursue the "X-Men" property in 1994, ultimately launching Hugh Jackman and that eleven-film franchise. Join me as I rank all 21 of Donner's directorial efforts in order of importance.

21. "The Toy"(1982) Richard Donner's worst movie is an odd relic of the early '80s that isn't even fondly recalled by Richard Pryor's legions of followers. I assume they both just wanted to stay busy when they chose this problematic remake of French filmmaker Francis Veber's 1976 comedy. Jackie Gleason's wealthy Louisiana businessman buys a "toy" for his spoiled preteen son(future porn actor Scott Schwartz), and Pryor's desperate unemployed protagonist is forced to do all sorts of goofy shit that's supposed to be funny and isn't. The racial undertones here makes it impossible to imagine this movie getting made by a major studio today. "The Toy" actually made money, but there's more to life.

20. "16 Blocks"(2006) Donner's last movie was this tired buddy cop thriller, territory that he'd trekked in the "Lethal Weapon" franchise, which we'll obviously get to. Bruce Willis looks as bored as I was watching, and rapper Mos Def annoyed me as the motor-mouth convict/witness he must protect from corrupt NYC cops(a villainous David Morse is the only bright spot). Stick to "48 Hrs".

17,18,19. "X-15"(1961), "Salt and Pepper"(1968), "Lola"(1970) I'm lumping Donner's first three movies together, because they have no reputation at this point, and won't be seen by anybody that isn't highly motivated to do so, as dusty relics from the 1960s have become ancient history. Mary Tyler Moore made her film debut in the low-budget docu-style aviation drama "X-15". A pre-fame Charles Bronson also appears in that and the equally-obscure "Lola". Everybody has to start somewhere.

16. "Radio Flyer"(1992) This '60s-set coming-of-age tale, though technically well made, contains the troubling message that child abuse can be dealt with simply by running around your neighborhood and losing yourself in a land of make-believe. Elijah Wood and Joseph Mazzello should have told their mother(an underused Lorraine Bracco) about their abusive stepfather. I'm pulling a Roger Ebert on this one. The backstory- Donner was a last-minute replacement for screenwriter David Mickey Evans("The Sandlot") who was removed from the director's chair early in production. Tom Hanks narrates.

15. "Assassins"(1995) Sylvester Stallone vs. Antonio Bandares. This should have been more exciting than it was. Fun fact- the Wachowski sisters got their big break selling this screenplay and made crucial contact with super-producer Joel Silver(although they disliked the film and disowned it). A stone-faced Stallone was losing his U.S. audience, and the joyless, overlong "Assassins" couldn't compete with the fall's breakout hit, David Fincher's "Seven". At least Julianne Moore continued her rise as a computer hacker/love interest.

14. "Timeline"(2003) This ambitious time-travel adventure indicates that Donner probably should've retired on or around his 70th birthday. Maybe Tarantino is onto something with his repeated insistence that most directors lose it when they become senior citizens. It's not that this movie is really bad, it's just utterly forgettable, and it lost over $40 million. Paul Walker and Gerald Butler are among a group of history students that enter a wormhole to medieval France. Only their most loyal, die-hard fans will want to go with them.

13. "Inside Moves"(1980) John Savage is a depressed, partially-crippled Californian trying to rebuild his life in this respectable drama that Donner dove into to get his mind off of "Superman"(more on that later). David Morse and Diane Scarwid are both solid in supporting roles, but I don't think Donner ever really decided what kind of movie he wanted to make out of this script from Barry Levinson and Valerie Curtin. "Inside Moves" never really commits to it's darker moments, and a supposedly-uplifting basketball subplot feels out of place. That's why it's unknown to virtually everyone under age 40.

12. "Ladyhawke"(1985) We've got a gorgeous 26 year old Michelle Pfeiffer, a post-"Blade Runner" Rutger Hauer, and a pre-Bueller Matthew Broderick. These elements should have made this medieval France-set fantasy an '80s classic. Andrew Powell's subpar musical score is a major problem. "Ladyhawke" failed to recoup it's budget at the spring box office, but had a long cable afterlife and it's high-concept premise is just begging for the reboot/remake treatment.

11. "Maverick"(1994) Get used to Mel Gibson's name and face. He considered Donner a mentor during their six-film partnership. This lightweight Western, based on the 1957-1962 TV show, made over $100 million in the U.S., thanks largely to the easy charm of it's lead, then in his unassailable superstar phase that Donner helped construct. Jodie Foster has been an unwavering ally since playing his saloon-girl love interest, while series star James Garner and super-screenwriter William Goldman class up the proceedings as well. An agreeable time-passer.

10. "Scrooged"(1988) Bill Murray's first starring role in four years(he went off the grid to escape the "Ghostbusters" craze) was this cult Christmas comedy that I remember being a rather hyped-up affair as we entered the holidays. Murray recruited his SNL writer-pals Mitch Glazer and Michael O'Donoghue to craft his comeback as a mean-spirited TV executive that gets visited by three ghosts. What should've been a Tim Burton movie(he was too busy) turned into a fraught alliance between Donner and Murray- they had different visions of the film's style and tone. "Scrooged" is a little too over the top for my taste, but it did make $100 million worldwide.

9. "Conspiracy Theory"(1997) Mel Gibson and Julia Roberts were a potent pair in this paranoid thriller, produced with gusto by Joel Silver, way before conspiracy theories were the dark domain of QAnon and online Trumpers. In 1997, it was just summer fun. Mel's manic energy makes a difficult character digestible, as his crazed cabbie Jerry Fletcher dodges the evil government. Don't spend too much time analyzing Brian Helgeland's overstuffed script. Just enjoy Donner's bustling NYC shoot and the glossy star power that we just don't get anymore in this IP era. Patrick Stewart is good as a shadowy CIA villain.

8. "Superman II: The Richard Donner Cut"(2006) Long before the Snyder cut of "Justice League", Donner got to go back and finish HIS version of the super sequel that he was unceremoniously fired from in 1979 by producers Ilya and Alexander Salkind. I'm glad he got to dust off that precious Brando footage in The Fortress of Solitude(technically, this is Marlon's last role), but for me, "The Donner Cut" is just a curiosity, a companion piece. I grew up watching Richard Lester's theatrical cut regularly, and it hasn't been replaced. In a less divisive world, we could combine the best stuff from both versions, credit both men, and then we'd have a perfect movie. Maybe one day.

7. "The Goonies"(1985) We're down to the Big 7, the essential Richard Donner collection. Many will object to me placing Sean Astin and Corey Feldman and Chunk and the Asian kid from "Temple of Doom"(Ke Huy Quan) this low. What can I say? I just don't LOVE this movie as much as every other person on the planet in my age group seems to. That doesn't mean it isn't a classic, as sequel rumors persisted for decades. Steven Spielberg worked his magic as producer, and it must be noted that the young cast adored Donner(especially Feldman) and consider this a formative experience. With a Chris Columbus screenplay(what a dream team), the Goonies are good enough- gotta love that Cyndi Lauper theme song.

6. "Lethal Weapon 4"(1998) This fourth episode is like the last season of a long running TV show(or maybe not, if #5 finally materializes). It's comforting, familiar, like that warm sweatshirt you put on after a long day. This franchise became a big part of Donner's identity as a filmmaker, and his consistency behind the camera really makes it feel like one long story told over eleven years, way before Marvel and the "Fast and Furious" crew normalized that sort of thing. The freeway chase and the rain-soaked fight to the death between Riggs/Murtaugh and Jet Li's scary Yakuza villain are both among the series' best moments.

5. "Lethal Weapon 3"(1992) The second-biggest hit of the summer of '92(behind "Batman Returns") represented the peak of the "Lethal" era in pop culture. Michael Bay's "Bad Boys" wouldn't even exist without the dynamic duo of Gibson and Glover. That doesn't get said often enough. With all due respect to Walter Matthua and Jack Lemmon, they never had to diffuse a bomb in an underground parking garage or survive a wild shootout in a burning housing development. Some critics called "LW3" more of the same, but go ask "Alien 3" what happens when you mess with perfection. A 37 year old former model named Rene Russo landed her breakout role as Internal Affairs ass-kicker Lorna Cole.

4. "The Omen"(1976) Donner's fourth feature was the real start of his cinematic career. The '70s was a sensational time for horror lovers, and a TV-trained Donner was more than ready to continue what "Rosemary's Baby" started. In one of his last big roles, Gregory Peck plays an American Ambassador in the U.K. and the unknowing father of the devilish Damien(Harvey Stephens). A birthday party hanging and a glass-pane decapitation are among the horrific highlights. Fueled by Jerry Goldsmith's score, "The Omen" was the must-see movie of the '76 summer, spawning sequels that Donner passed on. He had better things to do.

3. 'Lethal Weapon 2"(1989) We're entering the realm of pure cinematic bliss here. I feel bad for anyone that wasn't alive when mega-producer Joel Silver, swimming in "Die Hard" profits, signed off on this slick, super-charged sequel that helped close out the decade that's synonymous with epic entertainment. Shane Black's original vision was dark(Riggs dies). Donner wasn't interested in a downbeat tragic arc, so Jeffrey Boam's rewrites gave us an elating late-night victory over those vile South Africans AND Leo Getz, played by a motor-mouthed Joe Pesci at the dawn of his omnipresence. Where else are you going to find a bomb on a toilet? "Lethal 2" is a blast.

2. "Superman"(1978) It's hard to believe there was ever a time when Hollywood didn't believe in the financial viability of superheroes. That was the climate in the mid-'70s, when nearly every big name actor you can think of passed on the opportunity to wear an "S" on their chest. Thank the movie gods they did, because Donner's masterstroke was the selection of a 24 year old theatre geek named Christopher Reeve, then skinny and unknown and absolutely wonderful in the role. "Superman" is a special movie, that still stands tall whenever the overworked genre it essentially birthed is discussed. Marlon Brando and Gene Hackman collectively played a huge part in changing people's perceptions. John Williams' soaring score remains one of his best.

1. "Lethal Weapon"(1987) The first "Weapon" was released with little fanfare in March '87, and swiftly became one of the beloved films of the 1980s. Mel Gibson was a megastar the moment he locked Gary Busey in a triangle choke, after a string of underwhelming dramas that mostly failed to build off of his Mad Max hype. Danny Glover is equally great, as cinema's ultimate bromance was born before our eyes. Joel Silver handed Shane Black's scintillating screenplay to a hungry Donner and his casting director Marion Dougherty and the rest is history. This movie has been a firm favorite since I was an R-rated action-loving preteen, and I know I'm not alone. Now, let's hear it for Dick Donner.