Lethal Weapon 4 Review
by Bob Bloom (cbloom AT iquest DOT net)February 22nd, 1999
Lethal Weapon 4 (1998) Starring Mel Gibson, Danny Glover, Rene Russo, Joe Pesci, Chris Rock and Jet Li. Directed by Richard Donner.
Lethal Weapon 4 is crass, vulgar, childish, ultraviolent, profane, stupid and appealing to the lowest common denominator of movie audiences. And yet ...
It's hard to really hate this movie, simply because of the by-play and chemistry of stars Mel Gibson and Danny Glover. Yea, it's the same old shtick they've done in the other Lethal Weapon movies, but it still exudes some magical pull that sucks you in.
It's like going to a strip joint. You enjoyed yourself, but feel dirty and hope that no one saw you go in or out.
The plot of Lethal Weapon 4 is convoluted and really makes little sense. The script is full of preposterous holes and dead ends. And yet ...
The ease with which Gibson and Glover, along with series veterans Joe Pesci and Rene Russo, slip back so comfortably into their roles allows for an easy familiarity that lets you ignore all the movie's shortcomings as you just tag along for the ride.
The movie doesn't condescend to its audience as does, say, Armageddon. >From the outset, Lethal Weapon 4 lets you know you're in for a fantasyland shoot-'em-up, and any resemblance to real police work is purely
coincidental.
Lethal Weapon 4 really is a big, expensive game of cops and robbers played by a bunch of overage adolescents who had several million bucks to spend. Consider it the most expensive home movie ever made.
The team of producer Joel Silver and director Richard Donner know what the audience wants - and gives them plenty of it. Lots of big bangs, car chases and crashes, gunplay and fisticuffs, all done in such an outlandish manner that you could probably substitute some of the critters from the Warner Bros. animation stable and release the film with Wile E. Coyote and the Road Runner instead of Gibson and Glover.
A saving grace is that no one really takes the proceedings seriously, especially not Gibson. He mugs, chuckles, rolls his eyes and continually lets the audience know that he's having a frolic.
Adding to the festivities is Chris Rock as an eager young detective who teams up with veterans Riggs and Murtaugh to solve a case involving murder, illegal smuggling and counterfeiting. The story, however, is secondary to the interplay between the main protagonists.
The only breath of fresh air is offered by Hong Kong action star Jet Li as the main villain, a human killing machine. Li does some impressive martial arts moves that will have the audience gasping.
Lethal Weapon 4 is not art. It's not even good filmmaking. At a little over two hours, it's a bit flabby and could have used some tighter editing. But none of that really matters, does it?
It's the action - the stunts and pyrotechnics - that will lure moviegoers. Lethal Weapon 4 does what a movie of this caliber is supposed to do. It will take your mind off the heat, the rain, the flooding - whatever. And that's the bottom line, isn't it? If you go in with low expectations, you will walk out satisfied.
Bob Bloom is the film critic at the Journal and Courier in Lafayette, Ind. He can be reached by e-mail at [email protected] or
[email protected]
Originally posted in the rec.arts.movies.reviews newsgroup. Copyright belongs to original author unless otherwise stated. We take no responsibilities nor do we endorse the contents of this review.
