Mel Gibson's Hamlet

Something brought this one to mind the other day... Two things I've heard quite frequently when discussing this movie are:
1) "Mel Gibson did a good job as Hamlet," and
2) "I was surprised that Mel Gibson did a good job as Hamlet."

I agree that Gibson was good; it's the surprise part that amuses me. Maybe nobody who's made that comment has seen Lethal Weapon? It's probably his definitive role, though, along with Mad Max. So how could anyone who's seen Mel Gibson in Lethal Weapon be SURPRISED that he might do a decent job portraying a brooding, suicidal loner?! I mean, you pop Prince Hamlet out of Denmark and give him a 20th century LAPD job, and he'd BE Martin Riggs. Where's the surprise come in?

Amusing side note: My former Shakespeare professor, Wallace Cleaves (great teacher), said that they should have called the version Mel starred in "My Favorite Scenes from Hamlet, in No Particular Order."