When was the last time you saw a third sequel entitled “Movie Franchise 4”? These days they just drop the numbers and change the title. I’m not sure why this is but it seems to be a relic of the 80’s and really best left there. This is especially true with Lethal Weapon 4. Released in 1998 it is a very poor film and a sad farewell to not only a fairly decent franchise but to that once great generation of action movies.
The film begins with Martin Riggs (Mel Gibson), the once suicidal cop, Roger Murtagh (Danny Glover), the grizzled homicide detective and Leo Getz (Joe Pesci), an ex money launder… on a fishing holiday. This kind of gives you an idea of how far this series has fallen. I’m not saying characters shouldn’t develop, but not at the expense of what made them interesting in the first place. This is thanks to director Richard Donner. The first movie, for all its witty banter, was quite a serious affair. Donner decided to focus on the comedic aspects from then on, at the expense of quality sequels. 2 was alright in a stupid but fun way and 3 had its moments but they were both worse than the original. This time there’s not a shred of interest to be had in the characters as they are now all parodies of themselves. Yes the old gang is back together but do we really need to see them like this? The actors seem to be having a nice time, but we sure aren’t.
Anyway, back to the fishing trip. Riggs and Murtagh stumble across a ship full of illegal immigrants brought to America by the Triads. Ah, yes. The evil Chinese, a trope which was played out even in the 80’s. I’m not saying there can’t ever be Chinese villains in an American cop movie but there are better ways to go about it. The Corruptor starring Chow Yun Fat and Mark Whalberg at least made an effort to acknowledge Asian-American culture and society. Here it’s just standard villainy and it’s boring.
So the old-fashioned self parodies now have to find out what the wicked stereotypes are up to. If this were not enough, there’s also a subplot involving Riggs and his fiance having a baby. At the same time, Murtagh’s daughter is also pregnant and wants to marry a young police officer played by Chris Rock. Yup. The saga begins with a man trying to shoot himself in the head and ends with old men talking about families and Chris Rock trying to act. He follows Riggs and Murtagh on their investigation, resulting in one dreadful comedic sequence after another. Remember the torture scene in the first film where they bad guys literally rub salt into Murtagh’s open wounds? Watch this clip of them interrogating a Triad boss with nitrous oxide and you’ll know how that felt.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u-bWIkGa0QAhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u-bWIkGa0QA
There are action scenes of course and while they aren’t as awful as the characters they aren’t that thrilling either. The shootouts are standard “bang , bang cover” stuff which in my opinion should have been dropped after The Naked Gun beautifully lampooned it. There’s an utterly pointless exchange featuring Danny Glover dancing around in his underwear to distract an armored man with a flame thrower. Hilarious stuff right? There’s an extended car chase where they crash through an office building in an equally daft smash up. A far cry from the gritty bloodshed of the first 2. This is what happens when the violence is toned down and comedy is played up. The edge has gone and we are just left with noisy explosions devoid of tension or excitement. But at least, despite all this boredom, we get to see Jet Li.
By the mid 90’s the traditional,80’s style action movie genre in America had run its course for the big stars of the decade. For every True Lies there was a Judge Dredd, Daylight, Mercury Rising and Eraser. The success of Jackie Chan’s Rumble in the Bronx and First Strike made these guys look too old fashioned and a lot more focus was given to Hong Kong style action in the West. Donner cast Jet Li as the main villain and he is by far the only thing worth watching in this movie. Li’s graceful technique of bone crunching violence is not quite on full display here but is still mesmerizing. He also seems to be the only person to give a damn. Everyone else is having a nice jolly holiday on the set. Li is there to work. In his 20 minutes of screen time Li crackles with more electricity than any bog standard shootout or car chase. He’s so good that when it came time for the final showdown, I wanted him to kill the heroes. Unlikely move for an action movie but think of the symbolism that would entail!
Much as I enjoyed Lethal Weapon 2, I really wish Richard Donner didn’t reject Shane Black’s original script. That version was a lot more intense and dramatic with Riggs dying in Murtagh’s arms at the end. Not only would it have been a better movie it would have ended the franchise and we would not be left with Lethal Weapon 4. That same year saw the release of Blade. A year later The Matrix would be released. They reinvigorated the action genre in a way Lethal Weapon 4 couldn’t. What should have been a fond farewell is just a sad reminder of how relics from the 80’s are best left there.
