Written by Shane Black, Jonathan Lemkin, and Alfred Gough
Directed by Richard Donner

The fourth installment of the Lethal Weapon series of films was made almost six years after the previous one. The cast is back intact, along with a few new faces and a terrific new villain. Lethal Weapon 4 doesn’t make much of a pretense at being taken seriously. This time, the tone was set right from the beginning for a comedic romp that included a lot of action.

Right from the spectacular opening, where Los Angeles Police Detectives Martin Riggs and Roger Murtaugh (Mel Gibson and Danny Glover) basically set downtown L.A. on fire, the tone is set. This time, Director Richard Donner seems to have a fascination with fire. One might even say he’s a bit of a pyromaniac.

It’s during this opening sequence that a couple of bombs are dropped of a personal nature. Riggs learns from Murtaugh that s girlfriend Lorna (portrayed by Rene Russo) is pregnant. In the spirit of turnabout being fair play, Riggs tells Murtaugh that his daughter Rianne (portrayed by Traci Wolfe) is also pregnant. So while Riggs is about to be a father for the first time, Murtaugh is facing the prospect of becoming a grandfather.

The next fireball involves a freighter in the harbor. Murtaugh, Riggs, and Leo Getz (portrayed by Joe Pesci) are out fishing when the freighter comes by, and they hear shots on board. This introduces the character of Detective Lee Butters (portrayed by Chris Rock). This also brings on what should be the main story of illegal Asian immigrants brought to this country on ships to be indentured servants (or slaves) for the cost of their passage.

When Murtaugh finds a family of these illegals hiding out in a boat, he takes them in, believing that somehow translates into “freeing the slaves”. Roger bonds with the father, Mr. Hong (portrayed by Eddie Ko), and finds that they have a lot in common. However, it is Mr. Hong contacting his uncle, who supposedly paid to bring them over, that might cost all of them their lives.

The question is whether it’s supposed to be a real film with a real plot and not just a farce. If there’s any part of Lethal Weapon 4 that’s supposed to be a serious film, it fails miserably. Plot holes abound. During the opening sequence, Riggs and Murtaugh are dispatched to the scene of a man with a gun and a tank of napalm on his back torching a downtown street. Instead of paying attention to the perpetrator, they are discussing their personal lives. During the process, two other squad cars come onto the scene and are torched. There were opportunities to take him out that they missed.

That’s not to say it’s not fun, I just couldn’t take Lethal Weapon 4 seriously. Continuing the story of the friendship between the two partners and advancing the characters sufficiently that the plot doesn’t feel like a rehash of the same thing over and over works quite well. Donner has a good feel for these characters and knows how to use the actors and their talents to best advantage.

Gibson and Glover pretty much carry the film and look like they are having fun doing it. I would have liked more of some of the secondary characters. With all the development of the character of Lorna in the last film, she is given a few great sequences in Lethal Weapon 4, but ends up relegated to the background most of the time during the action because she is pregnant. Pesci has more to do here than in the last film, and doesn’t come off quite as annoying as he did in Lethal Weapon 2.

I hated the character of Lee Butters. It seemed like they had an opportunity to get Chris Rock in the film and took it, without regard for whether he was really suited for the role. If I based my entire assessment of his acting abilities on his performance here, then I would say he can’t really act at all. He’s just translating his stand-up routine to this character. Thankfully, he seems to have gotten better as the years went on with his acting ability.

Jet Li, however, was wonderful as the villain enforcer Wah Sing Ku. He had a menacing demeanor reminiscent of Mr. Joshua in the first film. It helps that he’s not just a sidekick, but also has his own situation playing out. For the most part, he comes off as unstoppable and willing to do what it takes to achieve his goal, even if it means slaughtering women and children who get in his way. His face often looks gentle right before he goes into action, and the intensity that brews in his eyes at this time gave me the one character I really could take seriously in the film.

If you’re looking for a good thriller, you won’t find it in Lethal Weapon 4. What you will find is a fun film with characters I felt I was emotionally invested in after knowing them through the first three. Some casting choices could have been better, but overall, it is a well-made comedy with some great action sequences.


SPECIAL FEATURES:

” Commentary with Director Richard Donner
” Behind-the-Scenes Documentary Pure Lethal
” Deleted Scenes