Lethal Weapon 4 (1998)

Is it my imagination, or is the once cool Lethal Weapon series on a death spiral? The movies now have a cast of thousands (Glover, Gibson, Pesci, Rene Russo, Chris Rock, everyone's latest baby, a bunch of bad guys, etc.) and they seem like nothing more than a feeble attempt to get them all some screen time. There's no coherent dialogue, no plot, and no point. Watching Jet Li play the latest supervillain was the only reason to be mildly entertained.

Fmovies: This is one of the worst movies I've seen. It's especially disappointing compared to how good 1 & 2 were. The main problem is that it can't seem to decide whether to be serious or funny. One moment, the movie has a comic tone. The next somebody gets killed. Also, what's funny about a pregnant woman being beaten up? The first two in the series took things more seriously and threw in only a little comic relief. Why'd they have to turn this into a cartoon?

Also lacking in this movie is a good villain as in 1 & 2. Jet Li pretty much just stands around and sulks menacingly through the whole movie. And what a silly plot. Jet Li needs to kidnap a family so that he can force the uncle to make counterfeit plates to print Chinese money to pay off a general so that his relatives can be released?

This movie left such a bad taste in my mouth. I wish I could erase it from my memory so that I won't think about it the next time I see Lethal Weapon 1 & 2.

Overall, I rate it 1/10.

Sure I like an action film just as much as the next guy, but I also like another thing, a thing I like to call plot. The first 3 Lethal Weapon films were great on action and plot, unfortunately this one has niether. Another downfall was to many characters, everyone drug the film down. Sure Jet Li was a magnificent villian, but what good is he if he's in a film this bad. The action in this film left a lot to be desired, number one had the breathtaking fight between Mel and Garey Busey, number 2 had the awesome car chase at the beginning, part 3 had the scene set in the hockey rink during a kings game, this movie has no memorable scenes, and the attempts at humor are pathetic. One last thing, why did Riggs have short hair.

Lethal Weapon 4 fmovies. I read somewhere when the DVD of this film came out that it would be a good "demo" model for dealers trying to sell DVD players and surround-sound equipment. Well, they were right; it's awesome, or at least it was back in '99 when the disc came out, back when not everyone had a DVD player. It's still top-of-line for picture and sound. When bullets are flying around, you hear them from all five speakers. It here it almost seven years later and we still find many films without this kind of excellent surround- speaker participation.

The Lethal Weapon series, this being the fourth and last of them, was popular because of the combination of action, comedy, suspense, romance and drama. For me, they wore thin because the characters were too loud - always shouting at each other, too profane, too smug, too much Liberal-agenda and there was too much action. Things needed to slow down here and there, and give the viewer a break now and then.

This sequel is no exception, although it was a little tamer than the first three Lethal Weapons, that is until going berserk again in the final few scenes, one of which - the hospital scene - was totally unnecessary. To be honest, some of the action scenes in this movie were amazing even if they had no credibility. You just have to suspend belief and enjoy some of the outrageous scenes in here.

As usual, there are the left-wing agenda plugs, unwarranted cheap shots at the NRA, it's okay-to-have-a-baby-out-of-wedlock, etc. etc. Although the couple does finally get married, a rabbi performs an irreverent quickie ceremony, another slam on the seriousness of marriage.

With all that goes on in this film, as in the three previous LWs, you are worn out by the end. If you are a fan of this serious, this last sequel should please. I thought it was the best of them.

Lethal Weapon 4 starts out with a boring and ridiculous beginning. I remember watching it the first time and thinking, "oh no, another bad sequel."

However, once past the first ten minutes, the film starts to pick up its pace and retreat into familiar Lethal Weapon style.

Just like film 2 and 3, Lethal Weapon 4 isn't as good as the original, but it never gets to the point of unbearable. It is quite entertaining and fun to watch, with some very great actors, that have some very great chemistry between each other.

Mel Gibson and Danny Glover fit like a glove, and Joe Pesci is perfect as the comedy relief, not being like the recent "side kicks" we always see, that are so obnoxious we want to punch them. Mr. Pesci is a very talented actor, and he always makes me laugh, whether it's Lethal Weapon 4 or Raging Bull and Casino.

Rene Russo provides Mel's love interest yet again, and though I found the marriage thing a bit of a throw-in, it was still good for the story. It provided some laughs at the end of the film.

Chris Rock stars in one role where his character is not completely annoying or loudmouthed, mainly because he wasn't extremely famous yet, and had only been on SNL and a few small roles in film... Joes Pesci and him throw back and forth a few insults and jokes, and bounce off each other, which helps me welcom Rock a bit more.

Jet Li's first American film, I believe, proves he can be a quite and intriguing character, which later helped him get roles in films like Kiss of the Dragon and The One.

Another thing about this franchise is that director Richard Donner directed all four films, and it's always good to use the original director for a sequel, rather than a lesser director, as we have countless examples of. (especially horror films!)

From the opening jazz music we have come to love, Lethal Weapon provides enough entertainment and fun to keep one entertained, and it's definitely worth watching. I hope they stop while they're ahead, and do not make another Lethal Weapon film, because it's rare for a film series to still be entertaining and imaginative after these many sequels. 3/5 stars-

By this point in the series, it seems that they just aren't trying as hard with these films, which is kind of a shame. The Lethal Weapon series is really a good group of action films, but part 4 doesn't really seem to take itself seriously. It clearly had the biggest budget and probably some of the most elaborate stunts and action scenes (as well as some of the most exciting, such as that thrilling freeway chase scene), but many of the other elements of the film have deteriorated badly.

I think that with the addition of Chris Rock, while he delivered a satisfactory performance as far as the role that he was playing, caused the film to detract into too much goofy comedy, which unnecessarily diverted attention away from the surprisingly interesting smuggling plot involving illegal Chinese immigrants and counterfeit money. Joe Pesci was just as funny as ever, which is probably the reason the Chris Rock actually took away from the film as a whole. Pesci is all the comic relief that a Lethal Weapon movie ever needed, and Rock is another substantial addition of comic relief that just isn't necessary.

Danny Glover and Mel Gibson work great together for the fourth time; I'm beginning to wonder if they couldn't go on with this great duo forever. And of course, Renee Russo is back, with her and Riggs picking up with their quirky relationship, right where they left off at the end of part 3. But the person who really steals the whole show is Jet Li. Man, I thought Jackie Chan was fun to watch! Even though it's not all exactly real, this guy pulls out some unbelievable martial arts moves that give Lethal Weapon 4 a much-needed boost of energy. I wonder how long it will be before Jet Li and Jackie Chan come out with a movie together. Probably never, because if they worked together, no one could touch them, and if they were enemies, neither of them would be able to end up as the loser or the bad guy. Oh well, we can still hope, right? Even though the 4th installment in the Lethal Weapon series is not nearly as good as any of the previous three, it still remains a quality action film, despite its many weaknesses.