Lethal Weapon 4 (1998)

Riggs and Murtaugh, both feeling too old for the proverbial, try to stop the Chinese Triads from doing their business in the U.S. Uncle Benny, Chinatown's mob boss, has imported Chinese slaves to pay for an artist to create counterfeit Chinese currency which the Triads will use to buy the Four Fathers back from the Chinese military...After the second film, the makers took the grittiness of the first two away, and decided that a comic book element needed to be added, because Black was/is the king of one liners, and many found this to be the endearing factor of the wonderful chemistry the two leads have.There was no doubt that this was going to be a success, it's Lethal Weapon, and the characters are like everyday people, and over the years that the films have been released, we have grown to love them.And whilst the film goes through the Lethal Weapon motions, the title seems irrelevant now, because Riggs is more placid now, but to show he still has that 'dark' side, the makers get him to act like a fool during the set pieces, rather than him becoming unhinged.The action is very impressive, there are a lot of laughs, and the whole film feels like one last family reunion before everyone parts company.The story is complete tosh, Li, in his Hollywood debut, is wasted in his role, he just spends the entire amount of his screen time looking slightly perplexed. Rock is the newcomer, and does a really good job in an otherwise worthless sub-plot, and Pesci, a wonderful actor, turns it up to eleventy stupid, and ruins every scene that he's in, even the heartfelt goodbye at the end.But it's Lethal Weapon, and everyone knows it raised the bar in the 'Buddy Cop' genre. Many have tried to mirror it's charm (hello Rush Hour) but failed miserably.Not the send off I would have liked, but it could have been a whole lot worse.

When Lethal Weapon 4 came out in 1998, I was worried that this movie would have gone stale and lost its appeal. To quote the famous line throughout the series, "I'm too old for this s****". All concerns were quickly dispelled after the first several minutes when I found myself very pleased that Mel Gibson and Danny Glover returned for one last time with the fourth and final entry into the Lethal Weapon series and ensuring, they aren't getting too old for this.Lethal Weapon 4 wastes no time kicking off the action when during a gunfight with an armoured man equipped with an automatic weapon and flamethrower terrorising downtown Los Angeles, Sergeant Martin Riggs (Mel Gibson, who returns sans mullet) find out that he is going to be a father after finding out that Lorna Cole (Rene Russo) is pregnant. Meanwhile Sergeant Roger Murtaugh (Danny Glover) finds out that his daughter Rianne (Traci Wolfe) is pregnant and that he is going to be a grandfather. Unbeknownst to Roger Murtaugh, the father is Detective Lee Butters (Chris Rock), an intense yet idealistic LAPD officer. Roger has always stood firm that he did not want his daughter to marry a police officer. When Riggs, Murtaugh and Leo Getz (Joe Pesci) run into a vessel while on board Murtaugh's prized boat, they uncover an illegal Chinese immigrant smuggling ring run by the Chinese triads led by Chinatown crime boss "Uncle" Benny (Kim Chan) and a high-ranking Triad negotiator Wah Sing Ku (Jet Li in his Hollywood debut) who is highly proficient in martial arts and is ruthless in his dealings with others. While Riggs and Murtaugh respectively contend with becoming a father and grandfather for the first time, along with Butters they must work together to shut down the illegal operation one and for all.Mel Gibson and Danny Glover return in their old roles as Martin Riggs and Roger Murtaugh for one last time. Martin Riggs still bends a few rules here and there and still exhibits his crazy side, however his suicidal streak from the first Lethal Weapon is long gone. Roger Murtaugh is still the same exasperated hard nosed family man from the first three movies, but his bond with Riggs is much more stronger. Joe Pesci as Leo Getz is still annoying as usual but provides welcome comic relief. Leo Getz is now a private investigator albeit not a very good one after leaving his former jobs as an accountant and real estate agent behind. Rene Russo is always a quality actress and she does no wrong returning as Lorna Cole. Chris Rock is a welcome addition as Lee Butters, the idealistic detective new on the scene in more ways than one. Steve Kahan returns as Captain Murphy who has been a staple throughout the Lethal Weapon series. And Hong Kong martial arts megastar Jet Li receives a welcome introduction to international audiences with his role as the formidable villain Wah Sing Ku. Thankfully Richard Donner returns in the director's chair and he continues to preserve the spirit of all the previous Lethal Weapon movies and continues to carry it onto the forth movie in the series.Sure it's something that have all seen it three times before, but it's something that I still enjoy watching. Lethal Weapon 4 was a welcome addition and the fittingly ends the series neatly with a nice bow on top.To all the cast and creators of the Lethal Weapon series from 1987 to 1998, thank you for an awesome series. The Lethal Weapon legacy still proudly sits amongst my collection of movies at home.8/10.

Martin Riggs (Mel Gibson) and Roger Murtaugh (Danny Glover) are back fighting a crazy armored guy with a flamethrower. Lorna Cole (Rene Russo) is pregnant. Roger's daughter Rianne is pregnant and secretly married to young detective Lee Butters (Chris Rock). Riggs and Murtaugh is shark fishing with Leo Getz (Joe Pesci) when a Chinese ship almost run them over. They exchange fire and discover a Chinese people smuggling ring. Wah Sing Ku (Jet Li) is the high ranking Triad bad guy. Murtaugh finds a boat full of people and he takes them home with him. The city can't find insurance for the guys to be on the streets so they made them captains to hang out on desk duty. Instead they take Butters along on their investigation.I thought Murtaugh was retiring. Even Riggs is getting too old for this sh!t. That should be enough but this is crazier, more explosive, jokier, and more ridiculous. It is overloaded. What started as a fun duo has expanded each and every sequel into a whole gang. It overshoot its target and has become an unmitigated mess. There are way too much story and too many characters. It takes forever to get the story moving because the audience has to catch up with all the characters, both new and old. It's odd that the addition this time is an angry Chris Rock. He's probably the funniest guy in the cast but his character is more tiring than funny. Any time the movie starts to move, it gets bog down with jokey side stories and various diversions. Also there isn't any compelling about the investigation. The bad guy Jet Li is revealed right away. The only thing left is for him to do is some kung fu fighting. The rest about the bad guys is meaningless and a waste of time. This is simply a rambling tiresome end to a great franchise.

I saw this movie for the first time when it was released in the theaters. For all practical purposes, this is a bad film. The best way that I can describe the overall tone is a cross between an episode of the TV show Jake and the Fat Man and one of the Police Academy movies. The acting is fairly poor. Glover plays the same type of character he played in most of his films. The plot is a simple enough story. Even today the story holds up and is suspenseful to watch. There really isn't much more to say about this movie. I will say it again: a movie's function is to entertain. And I am always entertained when watching this one.