LETHAL WEAPON 4
I can see the production meeting now. Director Richard Donner and his EFX crew are sitting around a table trying to come up with an excuse for Detective Murtagh to strip down and cluck like a chicken at the beginning of "Lethal Weapon 4" so his partner, Riggs, can poke fun at him for the rest of the movie. Someone says "Let’s dress up some nut-case in a robotic looking outfit, give him a flame thrower, and let him burn down the city!…and then Riggs and Murtagh show up. Riggs gets this idea to distract the pyro by…", etcetera, etcetera, etcetera.
Instead of giving the latest installment of the "Lethal Weapon" series a mil’s worth of thrills, the excruciatingly dull conflagration that results from this meeting of the minds stalls the movie before it has a chance to get started. It has nothing to do with the rest of the movie. It’s only purpose is to set up the running gag that the picture could have easily done without.
But wait! There’s hope!
"Lethal Weapon 4" redeems itself with another set piece that should have launched the movie. It’s nine months later. Riggs and Murtagh are on a long awaited fishing trip with their motor-mouth side-kick, Leo Getz. They riff, joke, and fill in the pertinent details of their personal lives. A ship cuts through the veil of night and sideswipes their craft. Bingo! The good guys are attacked because the boat is carrying a human cargo of Chinese illegals and they don’t want to get caught. It’s Riggs and Murtagh to the rescue!…along with Getz for comic relief.
And off we go….
Once again Mel Gibson and Danny Glover slide into the skins of the cop-roles they created in ’87. Gibson is Martin Riggs, the Lethal Weapon of the title, so called because the military trained him to be a killing machine. Glover is Roger Murtagh, the family man who helped give balance and purpose to Riggs’ life. The sturm-and-drang that gave sustenance to the first two entries has been shed to capitalize on the chemistry of the stars. They sound and act like a consummate comedy team performing one of their timeless routines. Joe Pesci reprises his role as Getz and has a chance to show what a great actor he is by delivering the soppiest speech about a dead pet and making it more believable than Mel, I mean Marty, coming to terms with his past. Then again, maybe Gibson, the actor, was just being generous. Chris Rock has a chance to be Chris Rock playing the new cop on the block, Lee Butters, who sucks up to Murtagh who thinks Lee’s tryin’ to hit on him with the requisite jokes about his manhood. The only reason this all works is because everyone is so damned good! "Lethal Weapon 4" plays like a comedy first with the action and a plot thrown in as a reminder that this is, after all, still a "Lethal Weapon" movie.
When the heroes and their loved ones are in harm’s way, the action cuts to the bone like a stiletto. But when newcomer, Hong Kong action hero, Jet Li, enters the picture, Donner gives him center stage to show off his martial arts and acrobatic skills as Wah Sing Ku, Riggs’ new nemesis. Li’s undeniable charismatic presence as the brains behind a Triad takeover is reason enough to go see "Lethal Weapon 4". Every one of his scenes bristles with tension and excitement even when he’s standing still. Riggs is no match for the younger, more athletic and acrobatic killing machine. His character, in fact, like Riggs in his prime, is a lethal weapon.
Besides "Lethal Weapon 4"s leaden opening, some of the subplots are contrived, especially the reactions to the loss of a home in a fire. Realistically, most people would be grief stricken and devastated. It ‘s just treated as one more plot device. Likewise, a couple of the action scenes are embellished steals from other movies like "Jaws" and the ending of the movie strives for an upbeat take on new life and family values that doesn’t ring true. Yet, despite all this! I’d be a liar if I said I never laughed so hard or was never so thrilled by a car chase(another steal - from "Speed"), and one specific fight scene that even gives Riggs’ live-in girlfriend, Lorna Cole(Rene Russo) from "Lethal 3", a chance to get into the act, that has to be seen to be believed!
Now! Imagine putting a Porshce engine in a beat up VW. The shell of the car may show wear and tear but the engine gives it new vigor. Likewise there’s enough new direction with a greater emphasis on tongue-in-cheek humor as the engine that brings "Lethal Weapon 4" up to speed.
Here's some suggested rentals:
The best of Director, Richard Donner
"The Omen"-1976
"Superman"-1978
"Ladyhawke"-1985
"Maverick"-1994
Early Mel Gibson movies:
"Tim"-1979
"Gallipoli"-1981
"The Road Warrior"-1982
"The Year of Living Dangerously"-1982
Look for Danny Glover in these movies:
"Annie Hall"-1977
"Julia"-1977
"Last Embrace"-1979
"Brubaker"-1980
"Melvin and Howard"-1980
"Iceman"-1984
"Witness"-1985