Review: Lethal Weapon 4
Starring: Mel Gibson, Danny Glover, Joe Pesci, Rene Russo, Chris Rock, Jet Li
Directed By Richard Donner
It seems that in each of the films that have made up this series, there has been at least one over-the-top but enjoyable action sequence. Riggs jumping off a building handcuffed to a suicidal business man, Murtaugh being pulled off an exploding john by his buddy, Riggs cutting the wrong wire and blowing up a highrise.
Lethal Weapon 4 opens with Riggs and Murtaugh crouching behind a car trying to avoid bullets being sprayed by a maniacal flame throwing one man destruction force. You and I probably wouldn't be able to think of a way out of a situation like that. But if Riggs were by your side, he'd have you take off all of your clothes and cluck like a chicken so that the perp might be distracted which would allow Riggs to fire at the fuel pack on his back, thus blowing him into the air and sending him directly into a gasoline tanker truck. That would probably work.
Sadly, Lethal Weapon 4 doesn't get much better after that. There are some funny moments in the film. It is one of the few action film series that has genuine belly-laughs and not just cheap one liners. But those occasional chuckles can't hide a lame and uninspired plot; one in which a ring of Chinese "bad dudes" smuggles in slave labor from China. Guns, kung fu and counterfeit cash all manage to work their way in.
But what is more annoying in this fourth and hopefully final installment of a once great movie franchise is the recurrance of an impending fatherhood theme for two of the main characters. Rene Russo's sole purpose in this film is as a breeder for Mel Gibson. The character that she portrayed in 3, tough as nails, sarcastic and sexy is nowhere to be found in 4. She is in a few paltry scenes and has nothing to do with the film's crime plot. Though her character seems written in to cash in on her popularity as an actress and her success with the previous sequel, Joe Pesci's presence is even MORE obvious. He serves absolutely no purpose and has forgotten how to make the character of Leo Getz enjoyable. On top of that, throw in the always annoying Chris Rock and some run of the mill, truly evil Chinese villians with zero personality and you have Lethal Weapon 4.
There are some exciting action sequences that go way overboard (because it's summertime, right?) And, when the jokes aren't busy blatantly hitting you in the face, humerous sequences that remind you of the good old days sneak their way in. But the bottom line here is that there is nothing new in LW4. The characters border on obnoxious, the bad guys are just plain bad, and the plot is inexcusably mundane.
It isn't so bad as to recommend that fans of the first 3 not go see it, but for those that aren't Riggs and Murtaugh buffs, save your money.
* * out of * * * * stars ©1998 Nick Amado email me at namado@concentric.net
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