Lethal Weapon 4 (1998) Warner Bros./Action-Comedy RT: 127 minutes Rated R (strong violence and language) Director: Richard Donner Screenplay: Channing Gibson Music: Michael Kamen, Eric Clapton and David Sanborn Cinematography: Andrzej Bartkowiak Release date: July 10, 1998 (US) Cast: Mel Gibson, Danny Glover, Joe Pesci, Rene Russo, Chris Rock, Jet Li, Steve Kahan, Kim Chan, Darlene Love, Traci Wolfe, Damon Hines, Ebonie Smith, Eddy Ko, Jack Kehler, Calvin Jung, Mary Ellen Trainor, Steven Lam, Richard Riehle, Richard Libertini, Bill Henderson. Box Office: $130.4M (US)/$285.4M (World) Body Count: 30
Rating: ***
Lethal Weapon 4, the fourth (and presumably final) entry in the wildly popular series, is a curious hybrid indeed. It deviates from the action-comedy formula of its predecessors with the inclusion of Hong Kong filmmaking tropes. Specifically, I’m referring to the casting of martial arts star Jet Li, in his first American film, as one of the primary antagonists. Also, its plot is incoherent to the point of everything stopping so one of the characters can explain what the hell’s going on.
For the sake of brevity, let me just say that Lethal Weapon 4 has our heroes, Riggs (Gibson, Mad Max), Murtaugh (Glover, The Color Purple) and the rest entangled in a case involving Chinese gangsters, the Triad, an illegal immigrant smuggling ring, a family of refugees, counterfeit money and a group of high-ranking Triad bosses called the “Four Fathers” recently taken from a Chinese prison. At the center of it all are a Chinatown crime boss (Chan, The Corruptor) and a Triad negotiator (Li) who does most of his talking with his hands and feet. I’ll leave it to the viewer to put the pieces together.
There’s plenty else going on in Lethal Weapon 4 like the dual pregnancies of Riggs’ fellow cop girlfriend Lorna (Russo, In the Line of Fire) and Murtaugh’s oldest daughter Rianne (Wolf). Although Lorna wants it, Riggs isn’t sure he’s ready to get married again. He still feels a sense of loyalty to his late wife. Rianne is secretly married to Lee Butters (Rock, New Jack City), a young detective who Murtaugh believes is gay and attracted to him because of the fuss he makes over the elder cop. He doesn’t know that Butters is his son-in-law and father of his grandchild. His family, including Riggs, is keeping it from him because of his stance against his daughter becoming involved with a cop. In addition, Murtaugh takes in a family of immigrants hiding from INS and the bad guys. They’re somehow connected to what’s going on. He argues that doing this is like freeing slaves because they’d surely be forced into labor to pay their debt to the criminals who brought them here illegally.
In keeping with tradition, Lethal Weapon 4 opens with a self-contained action scene in which the partners deal with a situation in their own inimitable way. This time, it’s a lunatic with a flamethrower in the middle of the street. Their take-down of the nut job involves Murtaugh in his underwear acting like a chicken (after Riggs talks him into it, of course). As always, the guys’ antics in the field cause them to called to the mat by their long-suffering CO (Kahan, Predator 2) only this time it plays out differently. Instead of suspending them or chewing them out, he promotes them both to the rank of captain. It seems that they’re the main reason the city lost its insurance policy and promoting them is the best way to keep them off the streets. HA! Does he really believe it’ll work? If so, he’s the only one. Nobody watching believes it for a second.
As usual, Riggs and Murtaugh make a big mess in the course of their investigation. They tear up streets and destroy sections of the city as they chase down bad guys. One chase scene has them defying every law of science as they jump off the freeway into one of the upper floors of an office building then crashing through the other side back onto the freeway. It’s one of the rare moments Lethal Weapon 4 even comes close to matching the insanity of the first movie. The fight scenes, choreographed by Cory Yuen (The Transporter 1 & 2), are truly amazing in that they allow Li to show off his superior martial arts skills to US audiences for the first time.
The main problem with Lethal Weapon 4 isn’t so much the convoluted plotline as the palpable hollow feeling that permeates the whole movie. It’s still fun, but lacks conviction. A lot of the time, everybody seems to be just going through the motions. The magic between the two leads hasn’t gone away completely; it just feels rehearsed and somewhat forced. At the same time, Richard Donner (The Goonies) makes a smart move in showing how Riggs and Murtaugh represent old school law enforcement while their younger colleagues with their psychology degrees and sensitivity training are becoming the new face of policing. Riggs himself has gone from certifiable psycho to mildly crazy man of action. While it’s interesting to note how he’s changed over four movies in eleven years, one can’t help but miss the wild-eyed, totally unhinged version of Riggs.
I wouldn’t label any of the performances in Lethal Weapon 4 as bad, but none of them are particularly exceptional either. The chemistry between Gibson and Glover remains even if their witty banter sounds slightly strained. Once again, Glover gets to show his tender side as he bonds with the patriarch of the Chinese family living in his house. They may not speak the same language, but they understand each other quite well. They’re both fathers trying to take care of their families.
Rock is a nice addition to the Lethal Weapon family. He’s loud and opinionated, but he cares about the victims he encounters on the job. His sympathy rises from him knowing first-hand what it’s like living in constant fear of the criminals running the streets. He explains to Riggs and Murtaugh how he uses his experiences to help him do his job. He has a funny bit with Joe Pesci (Goodfellas), returning as token twerp Leo Getz, where they discuss all the ways cell phone companies f*** their customers. Now a PI, the partners get Leo out of their hair by hiring him to follow the Chinatown crime boss. Yes, he finally gets the gun he’s been begging for since they first met.
Although it’s my least favorite installment in the franchise, Lethal Weapon 4 is entertaining enough to keep its head just above water. Stone cold killer Li makes for a more memorable villain than the dirty ex-cop in the previous film. It has plenty of action and comedic bits. It runs a bit longer than it needs to though. The screenplay could have used some tightening up. It is, however, a good way to wrap things up. The character of Riggs has come full circle and it looks like Murtaugh is finally going to retire for good. What’s special about these movies is that the characters really are an extended family. That’s what makes the Lethal Weapons movies stand out. Well done, Mr. Donner and thank you. It’s been real.
TRIVIA TIDBIT: The name of Kim Chan’s crime boss character is “Uncle Benny” in both Lethal Weapon 4 and The Corruptor.
