The ads for "Lethal Weapon 4" tell us to "Celebrate the 4th on the 10th," and while that obviously refers to the numbered installment and the date it opens, it also makes one think of the 4th of July, a time for meeting old friends and having a knock down, drag out get together. There's no better way to describe this movie than that.
Once again we're brought together with people we've grown quite accustomed to seeing and we enjoy their company because of their outgoing personalities, the friendly comic banter and camaraderie among all of them, not to mention the many "fireworks" and the inevitable "guests" who'll crash the party. Simply put, if you've enjoyed any or all of the previous entries in this long running series that began in 1987, you'll have a blast getting to see these characters again in this film.
Rushed into production to fill Warner Brothers' summer of '98 void that was created when the latest "Superman" film was yanked from the schedule, this movie is subsequently quite rough around the edges and probably features the weakest plot of the four "Lethal Weapon" films. The villains are thinly constructed types and the criminal activity in which they're involved isn't anything outrageously special or intriguing once completely revealed.
Plot elements such as promoting Riggs and Murtaugh to the status of captains to keep them off the streets and out of trouble aren't reinforced once they've been introduced, and a dual pregnancy subplot doesn't go very far, especially when Renee Russo looks anything but pregnant (other than the volleyball under her dress). In addition, the film tries to pull off some "touchy feely" moments to offset some of the brutal violence, but more often than not they don't work as well as they should.
Having long abandoned the original "lethal weapon" plot device (of Riggs being a loose canon, which made the original rather unique), the filmmakers have thrown all caution to the wind and don't care about such "insignificant" details. The film's really just about getting the entire cast together again one last time and giving them some spectacular action set pieces in which to play.
As such, director Richard Donner (who helmed the first three installments, as well as "The Omen," "Superman," and more recently, "Conspiracy Theory") has delivered some spectacular action sequences that are thrilling and which thoroughly pleased our preview audience. Starting out with an over the top scene featuring a flame throwing, machine gun firing terrorist, it's clearly evident that we're in for the same sort of goofy mayhem found in the previous films. Later sequences are also quite thrilling, including a "fun" freeway "skiing" piece that has to be seen to be fully appreciated, as is the case with some well-executed martial arts fighting scenes.
While I've come down hard in the past on films that push the "suspension of disbelief" factor (ie. "Armageddon," etc...), this picture gets away with it for two reasons. First, it doesn't go beyond what we've already grown accustomed to in this series (People being pummeled in fights but still coming back for more, the detectives discussing other matters in the heat of the battle, etc...). More importantly, though, the film also benefits from familiar and likeable characters (thus making it so much easier to forgive their "plot faults") and Donner perfectly mixes outrageous stunts with enough humor to make everything that much easier to swallow.
Speaking of humor, the addition of comic Chris Rock (TV's "Saturday Night Live") to the cast works quite well and adds a much needed additional layer of fresh humor to the proceedings. A scene where he and Joe "Okay, okay, okay" Pesci deliver a scathing diatribe about cell phones is very funny, as are most other moments featuring this gifted comedian, including a brief, but hilarious recounting of his character's childhood. One almost gets the sense that he may be one half of the next "Lethal" team once Gibson and Glover turn in their guns and badges (which may be never if they keep getting paid so much to star in these films).
The rest of the performances are exactly what you've come to expect from these characters, and if you've liked what Gibson, Glover, Russo and Pesci have delivered before, you'll feel the same way about them again after this flick. Other than their retreading the same, familiar material, the only other major complaint is that there are too many sidekick characters (now totaling three) with not enough screen time for any of them, especially Russo who's all but absent for a great deal of the film (but is fun when she's there).
As the villain, Asian film superstar Jet Li proves to be a physically capable antagonist, but the team of screenwriters (who reportedly worked feverishly on the set to mold the story as it was being shot) didn't do much in making him a real character. Menacing, but as flat as a squashed piece of cardboard, Li can't do much to flesh out his first ever villain character (he's previously always played the hero) in this, his American film debut. Even so, his acrobatic martial arts skills are amazing and fun to watch.
Given that talent, Donner occasionally revs up the action to a point nearing that of legendary Hong Kong director John Woo ("The Killer," "Face/Off"), including several fight sequences between Li and Gibson and Glover that were clearly the favorites with our audience. While some (actually many) of them push that credibility factor to the limits, the film still manages to get away with it.
Benefitting from a built in audience that loves these characters, the jokes and the familiarity of it all, this supposedly last installment of the popular series should be a big hit this summer. Featuring some spectacular action set pieces, stunts, and more humor than many straight comedies manage to produce, "Lethal Weapon 4"is a big, loud, and often viciously violent experience that can't be accused of holding anything back.
If that's not your idea of entertainment, you'd better skip this film. On the other hand, if you've liked the series' other installments, you won't want to miss this one because you'll enjoy the heck out of it. We did, and thus give the film a 7 out of 10.
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