Lethal Weapon 3 (1992)

User Rating:

6.5/10   

Director:

Richard Donner

Writers:

Shane Black (characters)
Jeffrey Boam (story)

Release Date:

15 May 1992 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Crime | Thriller

Tagline:

The magic is back again!

Plot:

Martin Riggs finally meets his match in the form of Lorna Cole, a beautiful but tough policewoman. Together with Roger Murtaugh...

Plot Keywords:

Police | Internal Affairs | Police Officer | Gun | Policeman

Awards:

3 wins & 4 nominations

US TV Schedule:

Mon. July 20	12:30 PM	BRAVO
Tue. July 21	10:00 AM	BRAVO

Cast

Mel Gibson	...	Martin Riggs
Danny Glover	...	Roger Murtaugh
Joe Pesci	...	Leo Getz
Rene Russo	...	Lorna Cole
Stuart Wilson	...	Jack Travis
Steve Kahan	...	Captain Ed Murphy
Darlene Love	...	Trish Murtaugh
Traci Wolfe	...	Rianne Murtaugh
Damon Hines	...	Nick Murtaugh
Ebonie Smith	...	Carrie Murtaugh
Gregory Millar	...	Tyrone
Nick Chinlund	...	Hatchett
Jason Rainwater	...	Young Cop (as Jason Meshover-Iorg)
Alan Scarfe	...	Herman Walters
Delores Hall	...	Delores

MPAA:

Rated R for violence and language.

Runtime:

118 min | USA:121 min (director's cut)

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Sound Mix:

70 mm 6-Track (70 mm prints) | Dolby SR (35 mm prints)

Certification:

USA:R (certificate #31813) | Iceland:14 | Iceland:16 (video rating) | South Korea:15 | New Zealand:M | Argentina:16 | Australia:M | Canada:18A | Chile:14 | Finland:K-16 | France:U | Germany:16 (w) | Ireland:15 | Norway:18 | Singapore:NC-16 | South Korea:18 (director's cut) | Spain:13 | Sweden:15 | UK:15 | USA:Unrated (director's cut) | Canada:13+ (Quebec)

Filming Locations:

Century Freeway, Los Angeles, California, USA

Company:

Silver Pictures

Trivia:

This is the only Lethal Weapon film that does not feature the villains threatening Murtaugh's family or coming into their home.

Goofs:

Revealing mistakes: As Murtaugh turns from the motorcycle wreck/explosion, the last several frames of the shot show the cable supporting the motorcycle.

Quotes:

Riggs: We can't shoot a dog. People? Okay, but not dogs.

Movie Connections:

Spoofed in Mr. & Mrs. Smith (2005)

Soundtrack:

The Three Stooges Theme

The magic is still here but still a somewhat weaker movie, compared to the other Lethal Weapon movies.

Even though this is in my opinion the weakest out of the Lethal Weapon series, that of course doesn't mean that this movie isn't fun and entertaining to watch.

It suffers from the same minor flaws as the previous 2 Lethal Weapon movies. The story is incredibly simple, standard action material. It's totally uninteresting and also told in a totally uninteresting way. Also the villain is yet again heavily underused. But it's true that none of the Lethal Weapon movies have ever relied on its story. Instead the movie heavily relies on its two main character; Martin Riggs and Roger Murtaugh. And when you have two such characters like Riggs and Murtaugh, who have such an amazing chemistry together, you just don't need much else to make a good and entertaining movie.

Unfortunately the movie does nowhere live up to its fantastic and memorable beginning. Everything that happens after the opening sequence isn't really that interesting or memorable. The movie doesn't always have the right pace and the way the story is presented make it seem even less interesting than it is on paper.

The movie is filled with some great characters next besides to the two main leads. Joe Pesci returns as Leo Getz and Rene Russo joins the team as a woman who knows how to take care of herself. The villain is this time played by the always great Stuart Wilson. It however is unfortunate that all of these characters are given too little screen time, especially Joe Pesci and Stuart Wilson. All of the Lethal Weapon movies always had great villains, that were also at the same time always heavily underused. Same goes for Wilson in this particular case, who's talent is practically wasted.

But luckily the movie is still of course a perfectly entertaining one. This is absolutely thanks to Mel Gibson and Danny Glover, who still have the magic chemistry together, after already 2 Lethal Weapon movies. The two of them provide some great and hilarious moments together, that alone is reason enough why this movie is a good and enjoyable one to watch.

Maybe not as good- but certainly just as entertaining as all of the other Lethal Weapon movies.

7/10