Lethal Weapon 4 (1998)

User Rating:

6.4/10   

Director:

Richard Donner

Writers (WGA):

Shane Black (characters)
Jonathan Lemkin (story) ...

Release Date:

10 July 1998 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Crime | Thriller

Tagline:

The Gang's All Here.

Plot:

With personal crises and age weighing in on them, LAPD officers Riggs and Murtaugh must contend with a deadly Chinese crimelord trying to get his brother out of prison.

Plot Keywords:

Triad | Baby | Immigrant | Lapd | Private Investigator

Awards:

4 wins & 10 nominations

Cast

Mel Gibson	...	Martin Riggs
Danny Glover	...	Roger Murtaugh
Joe Pesci	...	Leo Getz
Rene Russo	...	Lorna Cole
Chris Rock	...	Detective Lee Butters
Jet Li	...	Wah Sing Ku
Steve Kahan	...	Captain Ed Murphy
Kim Chan	...	Benny 'Uncle Benny' Chan
Darlene Love	...	Trish Murtaugh
Traci Wolfe	...	Rianne Murtaugh Butters
Eddy Ko	...	Hong, Chinese Refugee
Jack Kehler	...	State Department Man
Calvin Jung	...	Detective Ng
Damon Hines	...	Nick Murtaugh
Ebonie Smith	...	Carrie Murtaugh

Also Known As:

Lethal 4 (USA) (promotional abbreviation)

MPAA:

Rated R for violence and language.

Runtime:

127 min | Philippines:125 min | Portugal:123 min (TV version)

Country:

USA

Language:

English | Cantonese | Mandarin

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Sound Mix:

DTS | Dolby Digital | SDDS

Certification:

Australia:M (cut) | Australia:MA (uncut) | Philippines:PG-13 | Iceland:16 | Canada:14 (Nova Scotia) | Canada:14A (Alberta) | Canada:AA (Ontario) (original rating) | Canada:G (British Columbia) | Canada:PA (Manitoba) | Canada:R (Ontario) (video rating) | Finland:K-14 (cinema release) | USA:R (certificate #36137) | South Korea:15 (video rating) (cut) | South Korea:18 (original rating) | Argentina:16 | Belgium:KT | Canada:13+ (Quebec) | Chile:14 | Finland:K-16 | France:-12 | Germany:18 (w) | Hong Kong:IIB | Ireland:18 | Italy:T | Mexico:C | Netherlands:16 | New Zealand:M | New Zealand:R16 (video re-rating) | Norway:18 | Peru:14 | Portugal:M/12 | Singapore:NC-16 | Spain:13 | Sweden:15 | Switzerland:12 (canton of Geneva) | Switzerland:12 (canton of Vaud) | UK:15 (cut)

Filming Locations:

Bradbury Building - 304 S. Broadway, Downtown, Los Angeles, California, USA

Company:

Warner Bros. Pictures

Trivia:

On the Beretta 92, a button on the right side of the frame must be pushed in to un-block the lever on the left side, which is rotated down 90 degrees, in order to release the slide so the weapon can be 'stripped' and cleaned. It is possible to grab the gun, push the tab down, and pull the slide off to disarm the weapon. When Wah Sing Ku pulls the slide off of Riggs' Beretta 92, the button has already been pushed down and the lever partly rotated.

Goofs:

Crew or equipment visible: After the scene where Lorna tells Riggs who the father of Murtaugh's grand baby is, when Riggs and Lorna pull up to Murtaugh's house and Riggs opens his door to get out of the truck, reflected in the door are several crewmen standing around in front of Murtaugh's house.

Quotes:

Martin Riggs: What's goin' on Rog, why you lyin' to me? Where's the money coming from? IA says you're on the take.
Roger Murtaugh: You ever hear of Ebony Clarke?
Martin Riggs: Yeah, she writes those cheesy sex novels... why? You boinkin' her?
Roger Murtaugh: No I'm not boinkin' her, Trish is Ebony Clarke.
Martin Riggs: You *are* boinkin' her.
Roger Murtaugh: [big grin] Yeah, Yeah I'm boinkin' her.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Dogma (1999)

Soundtrack:

Premonition

One Of the Rare Franchises That Never Gets Too Overbearing and Dull...

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 teh 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 imaginitive after these many sequels. 3/5 stars-

JOHN ULMER